How to Improve Your
SEO Ranking with SSL

How to improve your SEO ranking with SSL

Recent announcement on the use of HTTPS as a ranking factor is likely to redefine SEO strategies and also have a major impact on the security of Websites and the Internet as a whole

Although Google and Bing shares little information on the algorithms used to determine their own Search rankings. This leaves web designers, SEO specialists and organizations to their own devices when it comes to improving SEO Performance

What Is HTTPS

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A study conducted by Brian Dean on BackLinko.com shows a correlation between HTTPS and higher search rankings was found. Combined with other factors and reflecting what Google had already confirmed:
From Google: We’d like to announce that we’re adjusting our indexing system to look for more HTTPS pages ... Our systems prefer the HTTPS version by default

This means that HTTPS Websites and pages will receive an SEO boost and be the default result for searchers. For the Webmasters we will need to make sure we have implemented SSL certificates properly to avoid a drop in rankings. Having an SSL certificate on your website is now the "New Website Standard" Just as important as a "Responsive Website Design" is - All websites should have a SSL Certificate

Over the past year or so we have been monitoring sites that use HTTPS in the SEO ranking algorithms. And we have seen the improvements with ranking that shows it most definitely helps

After introducing HTTPS by default on all its Services. As well as promoting the "HTTPS Everywhere" initiative, Google is encouraging stronger security once again by reviewing their algorithms to reward SSL users

In short, this means that if users can not connect to your website with HTTPS, your website will lose ranking in the Google search results

Conversions

Users trust secure connections. And Websites that follow good practices for "User Experience" will rank better in Google search results. According to a GlobalSign survey, 84% of users would abandon a purchase if data was sent over an insecure connection, and 82% of people won’t browse an unsecured website at all.

To enable HTTPS on your website you will need an SSL Certificate – a small data file that digitally binds a cryptographic key to your organization’s details. When SSL security is enabled, any data transmitted over the website will be encrypted, preventing it from being intercepted by a third party

Be Sure to Implement HTTPS Correctly

The 'S' at the end of HTTPS stands for 'Secure' which means all exchanges of information between the browser and the site are encrypted

This video from Google I/O explains why SSL is so important and why they are pushing the HTTPS Everywhere" initiative

AHREFS analyzed the HTTPS settings of the top 10,000 domains and found that about 1 in 10 had a flawless SSL/HTTPS set up

One of the most common errors is failing to use 301 Redirects properly

Another way is to use the ".htaccess file" to "force" or to redirect HTTP to HTTPS. This is a simple and straight forward method. You will need modify the ".htaccess file" which should be in the root directory of your website. If one is not there you can make one. Name it ".htaccess". Then edit this file and add a few lines of code to it. You can copy and paste the code provided below.

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-Forwarded-Proto} !https
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

Depending on which Web Server your site is on, you may need a different variation of this code

Most issues are typically relatively easy to identify. This free SSL redirect scanning tool from SeoReviewTools.com is helpful for identifying issues with SSL set up

The weight of HTTPS in search algorithms is forecast to keep increasing over the coming months. The news will no doubt boost the use of SSL technology, increasing the number of secure websites out there, and improving the safety of the Internet for end users

As a webmaster, there has never been a better time to make website security top of your agenda

Visit our Blog for more information about SSL

And all out hosting packages come with SSL installed at no additional cost to you

Looking for a little help with ranking for your Website?
Try our 17 Point SEO Tune Up

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