Urgent SEO Update: Google, SSL Certificates and Your Business Website

Watch Out! Google Will Now Label Websites Without SSL Certificates as, “Insecure”

Image via Wikipedia Commons

It's no secret that the Internet is the most resourceful online tool. However, did you know that approximately 1,579 data breaches occurred in 2017? Not only was this amount a 44.7% increase from the previous year, but these breaches led to the identity theft of numerous innocent victims.

As a result, websites will now be forced to purchase a legitimate SSL certificate before the search engine giant labels violating websites as insecure to incoming web visitors, starting on July 01, 2018, according to Google's new mandate.

Read on to learn more about how this edict can affect your website and how you can start abiding by this new rule.

What is an SSL Certificate?

In the broadest sense, an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate is a digital data file that serves as a padlock for a web server. Essentially, the presence of an SSL Certificate virtually eliminates the possibility of a hacker stealing sensitive data from a website. Websites that contain an SSL Certificate possess an HTTPS label, instead of a basic HTTP extension.

By obtaining an SSL Certificate, websites can receive an added layer of encryption to completely discourage acts of illegal data theft from outside invaders, giving web users peace of mind while they navigate throughout the web.

Why is This Happening?

Data breaches are becoming more of a prevalent issue due to a myriad of factors. To begin, many websites aren't secure and become easy prey for intelligent data hackers. In fact, according to Wired, 79% of Google's top 100 websites do not possess high-quality web security.

Additionally, this negligence also puts web users at risk. When criminals perform data hacks on websites, they aren't usually going after the website. These hackers desire to acquire sensitive personal data to compromise a person's identity or sell this data on the dark web.

Understandably, Google is now trying to prioritize Internet safety by requiring all websites to obtain an SSL Certificate. Therefore, ignoring this mandate could have severe implications for your website.

The Benefits of Purchasing an SSL Certificate

Although Google's new mandate forces websites to obtain rigid security, there are some great benefits to purchasing an SSL certificate, which include:

• An SSL certificate is the most effective way to prevent data breaches from savvy data hackers.
• Your users will feel safe while navigating through your website.
• The presence of an SSL certificate is professional and authentic, and allows prospective users to trust your site.

As you can see, there are a few important benefits to purchasing an SSL Certificate for your website. Hence, you should seriously consider making your SSL purchase soon to take advantage of these benefits.

How to Purchase an SSL Certificate

There are multiple companies that provide SSL certificates, such as Comodo, Namecheap, and DigiCert, and you should be able to receive this extra level of encryption for a reasonable price. However, stay away from Symantec or GeoTrust SSL certificates. Google is now planning to flag these certificates as illegitimate. Also, be wary of obtaining “free SSL certificates”, for Google could also ignore this SSL as well.

Need help installing an SSL certificate on your website?

In order to make the Internet safe for everyone, Google is now requiring all websites to have an SSL Certificate. The failure to do so will result in Google flagging your website as insecure; thus, it's important to make sure that your website is abiding by this new paradigm.

To have efelle take care of this update for you, just click here to contact our team!