Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Bob Gill
Search Engine Optimization Secure Websites Advice for Website Owners
A few years ago Google began advising webmasters that they were going to start favouring websites that were secured with an SSL Certificate in their search results. They hinted that they were going to give more consideration to sites that were secure versus those that were not in their search results. (Similar to their position on mobile friendliness and speed of websites). About a year ago Google started warning webmasters and site owners that the Google Chrome Browser was going start showing warnings to visitors of sites and web pages that were not secure and contained login forms, or forms collecting personal information.
Recently Google has cranked up the pressure on website owners to make their websites secure.
Starting in July of 2018, Google Chrome will mark all non-secure (HTTP) sites as “not secure,” according to a blog post published today by Chrome security product manager Emily Schechter. Chrome currently displays a neutral information icon, but starting with version 68, the browser will warn users with an extra notification in the address bar. Chrome currently marks HTTPS-encrypted sites with a green lock icon and “Secure” sign.
Google has been nudging users away from unencrypted sites for years, but this is the most forceful nudge yet. Google search began down-ranking unencrypted sites in 2015, and the following year, the Chrome team instituted a similar warning for unencrypted password fields.
And it’s not just the Google’s Chrome browser that is presenting these warnings currently. Microsoft’s IE Edge and Firefox are also displaying the neutral info icon in the address bar to warn visitors about the non-secure website.
Google is trying to persuade all site owners to operate their websites over the secure protocol. The Chrome team said today’s announcement was mostly brought on by increased HTTPS adoption. Eighty-one of the top 100 sites on the web are secure (HTTPS), and a strong majority of Chrome traffic is already encrypted. “Based on the awesome rate that sites have been migrating to HTTPS and the strong trajectory through this year,” Schechter said, “we think that in July the balance will be tipped enough so that we can mark all HTTP sites.”
The added bonus is that securing your website is also good for Search Engine Optimization. Contact us for more information or if you would like our assistance to help secure your website.
Give us a call or complete our contact form Note: There is a fee to purchase an SSL Certificate and install it on your website.
For more websmaster tips be sure to check out our SEO Trends in 2018 Blog Article
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