Author: Kurt Schauer
The web is meant to become safer – the industry has been discussing HTTPS for a long time. Until now, website operators who do not transmit sensitive data could still quite easily ignore the secure hypertext transfer protocol. But since this year at the latest, the time seems to have come to migrate every domain to HTTPS.
The reason for this is simple:
Since January 2017, Google has been marking all insecure input fields and, prospectively, all HTTP URLs – regardless of their content – as insecure via the Chrome browser if they are not encrypted via SSL. This is likely to have a negative impact on the CTR in search results in any case. Google officially added SSL encryption to the list of ranking factors.
According to its own statements, Google wants to promote (data) security on the internet – the commitment to „Let’s Encrypt“ fits this perfectly. Studies show that switching from HTTP to HTTPS actually brings significant ranking advantages for websites.
Background:
„Hypertext Transfer Protocol“ is used for transmitting data on the internet.
When a website is accessed in a browser, the browser sends a request (HTTP request) to a server. This request is processed by the server, and the corresponding files for displaying the website are transmitted back to the browser (HTTP response). SSL stands for „Secure Sockets Layer“ and describes encrypted data transmission between client and server.
If a website is encrypted via an SSL certificate, it is ensured before data transmission that the requesting client (browser accessing the website) is actually connected to the server.
If the establishment of the secure connection is successful and completed, data flow from that point onwards occurs via the HTTPS security protocol.
Normal HTTP traffic, on the other hand, is unencrypted. A connection via HTTPS guarantees website users that data cannot be read or intercepted by third parties.
Why should a website be switched to HTTPS?
The topic of security is certainly the most important reason. Nobody wants sensitive data to be intercepted by third parties. In addition to security, there is another reason: search engine optimization. Google officially announced that an HTTPS encrypted connection is used as a ranking signal.
Since the end of 2015, Google has been trying to automatically access websites via HTTPS.
If it is accessible via the encrypted protocol, Google will prefer it. The SEO software provider Searchmetrics conducted an analysis on the topic of HTTPS. The analysis examines whether there is a connection between an HTTPS encrypted website and its visibility in search engines.
The data basis for this is a keyword set that has been observed since 2012 and consists of 30,000 selected keywords. The analysis showed that since Google’s announcement, there has been an advantage for websites if the connection is made via the HTTPS protocol. The trend clearly shows that the values are exclusively in the positive range. Thus, the connection for the visibility of HTTPS websites is also statistically proven. Further information on the analysis can be found at Searchmetrics.de.
What opportunities exist with a conversion?
Since encryption is a ranking signal, converting to HTTPS will definitely be worthwhile.
Google rewards a conversion with better rankings.
A good opportunity to be one step ahead of the competition. If the website is converted to HTTPS, this will have a positive effect on the website’s users.
The green padlock in the browser’s address bar indicates whether a secure connection exists. This is important, for example, for online shop operators, as it conveys security.
Convert now. Let us advise you. We will take care of a smooth conversion.
Do you have questions?
Eliana Gramer
Head of Web/Digital
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