HTTPS? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ HTTPS! (Actually, Google Says We Do)

When you visit a website, your browser typically shows a button to the left of the URL that says, “Secure.” Many novice tech users don’t actually know what this means, most often believing that the website is secure in terms of free from viruses or malware. This is not always the case however, and understanding HTTPS is very important to both online security, and for SEO.

What is HTTP and HTTPS?

You may be wondering, what even is HTTPS? To understand HTTPS, you first need you need to understand the older, more basic version: HTTP. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (aka HTTP) at its basics is a protocol in which your computer communicates with a server to show you a requested file. (This could be a web page, text file, etc…) This protocol originated with the internet, providing a fast, easy way to share sites and files, however but was not the safest way to send information over the internet. HTTP by design does not encrypt data, rather sending it as plain text. This means that anyone with the knowledge to do so, could easily look at the data you are sending. This is where HTTPS steps in.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) encrypts HTTP. That means when you send data over the internet, HTTPS encrypts or obfuscates it. While the client and host computer can decrypt the data, any interceptors on the network would only see a mess of letters and numbers.

How do they impact SEO?

Great, but how does this play into SEO? As we learned in class, a site’s reputation and authority play a huge role in its ranking on the SERP. If a browser labels a site “Not Secure” (which, to be blunt, reflects a problem with modern browsers…), users are less likely to visit and stay on the site because they feel unsafe with their data. On the flip side, if a browser marks a site “Secure,” users are more likely to remain on the site because the label builds trust that their data is safe.

Additionally, hosting a “Not Secure” site can potentially cause search engines to drop your site from SERP rankings. As mentioned earlier, HTTP does not encrypt traffic, so attackers can inspect and modify packets. That means a malicious user could compromise your beautiful website and turn it into a sloppy mess that Google has no intention of serving to its users.

In short, make sure that your sites utilize HTTPS. Doing so allows your users to have a safer, better experience and shows to Google that you care about your site visitors.

~ Rob

SOURCE: https://www.straightnorth.com/blog/https-and-website-security-why-its-critical-for-seo/