SSL is the Twenty-First Century’s answer to digital spies and their evolving strategies. SSL encryption essentially assists in keeping spies and hackers from breaching in to a website. It doesn’t matter if the source is a teenager hiding in a basement, or an NSA technician spying for the government. Unfortunately, Google has been having problems with their security lately. Even though the issues have been patched and the company continues moving forward, they now expect the websites they index in their search engine to assist in contributing to security.
Why Encrypt Your Site With SSL?
As the largest search engine on the Internet, Google has a large monopoly on the market. Websites already bend over backwards to optimize their SEO rankings. It’s easy to understand why Google expects web masters to pretty much pick up and move camp. Unlike SEO rankings, however, SSL benefits websites beyond the realm of being ranked in search engines.
According to Google’s statement, the company wants not only their service, but also the entire internet to be safer and more secure. Eventually all HTTP addresses will be replaced with HTTPS addresses. This push actually makes sense. SSL is the most secure option for any website. SSL helps with problems like phishing and other threats to private information.
Early adopters of SSL can use it as a powerful sales point. After all, good encryption is key in this age of identity theft. It doesn’t take much research to demonstrate how SSL encryption and certification can safeguard information that would otherwise be vulnerable to hackers.
While the potential penalties may be alarming, Google’s new system rewards those who follow the rules. Right now, the change’s impact on ratings is minimal. Over time, however, Google plans to ramp up the weight of SSL in search results. The benefit of beginning the process of getting SSL now is the fact that you will have an advantage over competitors who are slower to change. This may give your website more time in the spotlight as SSL becomes more important to SEO. The fact that Google is making such a concerted effort means even if SSL isn’t a heavily weighted factor now, Google will reward early adopters directly or indirectly as they continue their push.
How to Get SSL
Whether you want to protect your website and your customers data, or you want to stay on top of SEO rankings – now is the time to get an SSL certificate. At GlowHost, we’ve marked down our SSL certification services, cutting the original price in half. This allows all kinds of websites, regardless of budget, to upgrade security. An SSL certificate is probably the best investment a website could make, especially now, as the scales tilt in favor of the certified.
Google isn’t the only search engine pushing for webmasters to adopt SSL. This feels like many software adaptations of the past, when websites have had to push forward or stagnate. Search engines are the internet’s super highways. Without SSL, many websites will disappear to back roads, as the highways are upgraded and rerouted. SSL gives unrivaled peace of mind for webmasters and customers alike. With so many reasons to get a SSL certificate, why wait?