Benefits of SSL Certificates for Boosting Website SEO & Traffic
Websites are the front face of any business. So, as a business owner, how can installing SSL Certificates on the website help boost its overall SEO & digital traffic? This blog will provide you with an in-depth understanding of it
The leading search engine in the World, Google considers 200+ factors when deciding the ranking of a website in its SERP. One of these crucial factors is website security. As a website owner, if you want the website to be ranked higher in the SERPs, you give significant weightage to the security of online users visiting your site. Google is quite selective as it checks whether your website has been safeguarded or not through an SSL certificate, so there is no compromise to the SEO rankings. In case two websites have a similar infrastructure, then the website secured through an SSL certificate will have an advantage in getting ranked higher in the SERPs.
Before determining the core benefits of installing SSL Certificates regarding a website's SEO & its traffic, let's briefly explain what SSL certificates are.SSL Certificates - What Are They?
SSL or Secure Sockets Layer Certificate is responsible for offering an additional security layer by safeguarding the user information from online cybercrimes. SSL certificates are also accountable for providing encryption to all the user data exchanged between the web hosting server and users. The encrypted user data makes it difficult for cybercriminals to read and decode the data, hence, keeping this critical information privately intact.
As per a July 2018 update, Google has started notifying users about the websites that are not secure to use in the case of the absence of SSL certificates. A secured symbol of approval from the search engines related to SSL certificates serves as the booster for the website's SEO rankings.Benefits of SSL Encryption Certificates
SEO, also known as Search Engine Optimization, serves as the lifeline for the websites hosted on the Internet. The online business websites demand SEO to find their competitors and formulate better strategies that will help them in giving them a digital boost & higher ranking in the SERPs. If there is a fall in these page rankings, these websites will no longer be featured in the top SERPs, leading to reduced website visibility. Hence, an organic SEO must have a mandatory assurance of SSL certificates for boosting the SERP rankings.
The following are some key reasons why websites need to have SSL encryptions in place and how they help in enhancing the organic SEO rankings-
1. Boost in SEO
While browsing websites, most of us have seen a flash message saying "your connection to the site is not fully secure," even before the website gets loaded. The reason behind this warning message is that there is an absence of an SSL certificate on the website. This can be a scary experience for users visiting the site. Being the website owner, one must encash on this feature to win over the competitors. Having an SSL certificate installed helps boost the website rankings significantly. Installation of SSL certificates for the website must be done in parallel with other SEO functions.
2. More Secure Platform Translates More Visitor Trust
The present-day website visitor is more conscious about his information security. Web browsers like Google Chrome regularly alert their users whenever they get into an unsafe website, and then the search engines redirect these websites that are fully secure for users.
For instance, users use their credit card information online on an eCommerce site. The installed SSL certificate on the site will encode this information and send it to the bank server. The server present at the bank will then use HTTPS for setting up the connection and then replying. In the complete process, the security of user data remains intact, thus giving no room for cyber-attackers to steal away critical information.
As a website owner, one must inevitably encash this opportunity by introducing enhanced trust amongst website visitors. Web browsers will show the SSL certification, and whenever there is an online visitor, he'll get a sense of assurance and safety while making transactions. All of this ultimately results in automatic traffic redirection on the website with significant betterments in the SERPs rankings, giving an additional edge. SSL certificate installed on the website is excellent for boosting the website's SEO as well as the page visibility.
3. Secured Payments Causes Safer Shopping Experience
Owing to the growth of data breaches and leaks, website users don't tend to share their credit card and other banking information on a website that is not secure. Hence, it has been mandatory for a business website to have SSL certificates so that they remain compliant with the PCI security standards defined by the credit card industry. According to this policy, in the absence of an SSL certificate, no online business website can perform transactions. Visitors who get visual security cues on a site will find it a more secure and trusted online shopping experience.
4. Better Traffic and Conversion Rates
Whenever an SSL security is added to a site, it enhances its security for potential website visitors. A secured website will have more online visitors returning to the site, which is a result of increased loyalty for that particular website. Search engine crawlers also consider these micro-level factors when deciding the ranking of a website. Once it has been identified that a group of visitors is continuously returning to a website, its web traffic will see an increased footfall. These crawlers will now determine that the website has been successfully able to offer a secure platform for users looking to avail of certain services.
5. A Tie-Breaker for 2 Similar Websites
In 2008, in one of its updates, Google stated that if two websites are found to have the same criteria, the presence of HTTPS and SSL certificates will serve as the differentiating parameter for deciding the higher rank. Web browsers, by default, tend to prefer those websites that are secured so that the user-critical information remains secure at all times. SSL certifications and HTTPS have become an indispensable digital element today for the sites hosted on the Internet.Wrapping Up:
Whenever a lead gets converted into customers, SSL certificates, SEO, and website traffic serve as the fundamental driving factors. Web browsers have evolved 'smartly' in the past few years, resulting in websites getting highly efficient, backed with several features. SSL and SEO are the underlying foundations of any successful website that are required to create a significant digital presence. For any business owner, whether digital or physical, customers mean everything to them, and gaining their trust is very important for growth and success. By adding SSL certificates, eCommerce site owners can reap excellent conversion of possible leads, which finally turn out to be loyal customers.
