Google has been pushing more and more for web sites to secure themselves with HTTPS encryption and in July 2018 they will take a larger step utilizing their Chrome browser to identify non-secure sites to users. According to google, over 68% of traffic in Chrome on both Android and Windows is now secure while over 78% of Chrome traffic on Chrome OS and Mac is secure. If your current web site is not secured with HTTPS encryption, you are currently falling behind certainly other sites on the internet, but more importantly you may be falling behind your competitors web sites.
Could this damage your search engine rankings (SEO)?
It is rumored that security of a site may factor in how the site is rated and ranked in their search engine algorithms. This may mean that if your site is not secured, you may begin to lose your ranking in Google’s search results. While Google does not often release how it’s algorithm works or changes, it can be assumed at some point the ranking of the site may partly be determined by security of a web site the same way Google may determine the ranking of a site based on how responsive it is to mobile platforms. Certainly with the number of Chrome users, the security of a web site now being placed front and center by Chrome may have your visitors going elsewhere if they noticed you are not a secure site.
Ensure your web site is secured with an SSL certificate.
HTTPS encryption involves the installation of an SSL certificate on the web server that serves your web site. It activates a secure connection between the user’s browser and the server that is hosting the web site. There are numerous ways to ensure your site is secured with an SSL certificate, both freely and with a cost. The difference usually depends on how long the certificate is valid and whether it’s a feature that is included with a hosting package.
What McKula is doing.
McKula is currently converting all the sites we host to a platform which will allow us to take advantage of a free certificate system to ensure that our clients web sites are secured at no cost to them. If you have any questions about a web site that you own with regards to security, please do not hesitate to call us at (724) 424-1130.