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Google has announced on Aug 06 2014 that it has modified its search algorithm to give more authority to web sites which have SSL Certificates. This will negatively affect your search engine rankings if you do not have one. Why would Google do this? Well first we need to understand what an SSL Certificate is and what is does for a domain, company, and website. This will help you understand Google’s motive behind this change.
The acronym SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a security technology for providing an encrypted link between a server and a client- like a mail server and a mail client (like Outlook), or a web server and a browser (like Internet Explorer). SSL helps protect information from hackers and other eavesdroppers on the web by encrypting the information sent back and forth between the user and the client. Whereas without an SSL protocol information is sent in plain text format through the web. Never give out personal information on a website that does not have an SSL certificate, or one which is out of date.
An SSL Certificate is a digital file which attaches a cryptographic key to an organization’s specific details. To get the Certificate, the company must apply for one, giving it’s domain and other company info to a third party certificate authority. After the info and company is vetted by the certificate authority, the certificate is granted and installed on a server for a specific domain.
SSL Certificates also provide a dedicated ip address for the domain, which is helpful for SEO especially if the website is hosted on a shared server, which is very common. If you are on a shared server with a spam website and your ip address is shared, Google may associate your website with the spam website just due to the ip address, even though all of your content is separate.
There is a large debate in the SEO community just on this subject of dedicated ip addresses affecting Search Engine Rankings. My personal opinion is that having a dedicated ip address is a small piece of the pie in the grand scheme of things, but a piece nonetheless. Running the risk of NOT having a dedicated ip address for serious SEO campaigns is like having unencrypted customer data for a merchant website sent through the web. 9 times out of 10 it may be fine, but there is always a risk of vulnerability.
Now, why would Google make this change? Read this article “Google SSL algorithm change affects seo rankings”. Essentially they are trying to make the internet a more secure place- which makes total sense! Since so many people (including myself) follow Google and their every move, the number of SSL Certificate purchases is about to spike. Time to buy stock in a certificate authority!
How much does an SSL Certificate cost? Depending on where you purchase the SSL certificate, your hosting company and the hosting package you have, and your amount of participation in the process of getting it and setting it up, it may cost between $50 and $100 US dollars. Contact your web developer or your hosting company to inquire how to get an SSL Certificate.
Now, after is is installed how do you know if the SSL Certificate was installed correctly and is working? Well, there are a 2 good ways:
- You will see a padlock icon to the left of the URL in the browser address bar.
- Http will be changed to Https
Be sure to click the padlock icon to make sure it’s the real deal. It should give you site security details after you single or double click on it.
In summary, Google has modified its search algorithm to give more authority to web sites which have SSL Certificates in a continued attempt to make the internet more secure. If you don’t have one your website search engine rankings could be negatively affected. As with all SEO practices, there are no guarantees of ranking improvement or decline. Having said that, this change is pretty cut and dry compared to most other Google algorithm updates.
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