There are several important internet security-related changes coming soon, that may require updates to your website or other digital marketing assets. As a result, we’re starting a three-part series featuring some of these upcoming changes that may impact your business. These changes are set to take place by Summer 2018. In this series, you’ll find what’s going on and what our recommendations are for each.
Internet Security Changes Part I – Chrome Not Secure Warnings & SSL Updates
The first in our series will tackle the Google Chrome “Not Secure” warnings you may have been seeing and why it is important that you secure your domain with an SSL update. First, we should answer a question you might be asking yourself.
What is SSL?
A “Secure Socket Layer” (SSL) is a security protocol that creates a trusted environment for site users by establishing a secure connection during site visits. You can tell a site is secure because it the URL that displays begins with HTTPS vs HTTP.
SSL Update – Put this at the top of your to-do list this spring!
Right now, over 50% of websites shown on the first page of the Google search results pages are secure domains. In Google’s effort to provide consumers with the best experience possible, every opportunity to tell them you are providing a high-quality user experience is essential. Since 2014, Google has said that website security is an SEO ranking signal and they have given preference to indexing the secure versions of URLs over non-secure versions. Additionally, a secure URL can be used as a “tiebreaker” when competing websites equally meet the intent of a search query. Meaning that, if a competitor of yours has a secure domain and you do not, there is the chance you’re missing out on search visibility due to a non-secure domain.
Beyond the quality signals an SSL Certificate sends to the search engines, consumers are becoming more and more aware of the security on websites and are actively seeking secure interactions on the internet. Starting in July 2018 anyone who visits in a Chrome browser will receive notification that your website is not secure. As if a Google “Not Secure” warning in Chrome isn’t enough, it is likely that other browsers such as Firefox and Safari will follow suit. This will result in loss of trust in the domain and cause visitors to leave your site in search of the information elsewhere, so this is an essential update that should be performed at your earliest convenience.
The good news is that updating SSL is easy and free or low cost. Reach out to your website manager to guide you through this critical update or contact us to assist. We’re always here and happy to help.