In their guidance for webmasters, Google gives 5 basic questions that you should ask yourself about your website.
- Is my website showing up on Google?
- Do I serve high-quality content to users?
- Is my local business showing up on Google?
- Is my content fast and easy to access on all devices?
- Is my website secure?
In this article I’ll be looking at the fifth point here:
Is my website secure?
This might seem an odd issue to flag up when dealing with Search Engine Optimisation. However, from Google’s point of view it’s a way of helping to enforce good standards and user trust on the Internet and on their search service, and it consequently ranks sites based on whether sites are secure or not.
When you view a website, your browser and the server that the website is stored on work together. To do this there must be a connection between them and this is achieved via the Internet. But how do you know that when you type in www.amazinginternet.com you will actually get the correct website rather than a spoof version that is trying to steal your details? This is particularly important on e-commerce sites where you are sending financial and personal details.
The answer is that the website needs to be certified using a Secure Certificate (also known as an SSL Certificate), and then the information sent between the web server and the browser is encrypted so that only the server and browser can decode it.
How do you know if the website you are visiting is secure?
The easiest way is to see if the website address begins with https:// rather than just http://. You’ll also see a little padlock icon next to the address in your browser.
Increasingly web browsers are also displaying messages to draw your attention to sites that are not secure.
How do you get a secure certificate for your website?
Normally these are provided by your hosting company. Many companies charge extra for them. At Amazing Internet, we provide secure certificates for all client websites that we host, free of charge.
I hope you found this information useful. If you have any questions about your own SEO or need help with your website, don’t hesitate to get in touch.