Encrypting traffic between browser and web server is becoming a hygiene factor for site owners. Don’t let the lack of https come between you and your visitors.
Already two years ago, Google made an unusual announcement that https, or encryption of traffic between web server and browser, was a ranking signal. Not an important ranking signal, as it only affects 1% of searches in the world, but given the massive volume of searches that happen every day, one percent is quite a lot in absolute terms.
It’s not often that Google is so open about its ranking signals. They are clear that content and links are most important, then they made a big deal about mobile-friendliness being important for ranking in mobile search.
However, Google has increased its focus on https by announcing that in January 2017 its popular Chrome browser will start warning sites with login or credit card payments as unsafe if they lack https.
-Today, HTTP connections are marked with neutral indicators, but this does not reflect the lack of security of HTTP connections. When you load a web page over HTTP, someone else on the network can see the page or manipulate it before it is shown to you,” writes Google Security Blog.
In the next step, sites with http connection will be labeled as insecure when users are browsing in incognito mode. The idea is that users in incognito mode expect better online privacy. Eventually, all http pages will be flagged as insecure with a red warning triangle in the address bar.
When Google so clearly demands https connections from websites, it is hardly possible to refuse. It’s high time for all site owners to get https quickly. Google itself has set a good example by encrypting traffic to all its services.
Encrypting your website requires a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. An SSL certificate is an electronic document that confirms your business identity and allows the web server to establish a secure encrypted connection to your visitors’ browsers. Angry Creative provides this for customers hosted with our hosting company Synotio.
Therefore, you should encrypt the web traffic:
- Prove to the visitor that the site really is what it claims to be
- Ensure that no outsiders have manipulated the data on the site
- Ensure that no outsider can intercept the communication between the web server and the browser