The importance of HTTPS protocol in SEO

The differences between the two protocols are that HTTPS transmits information between the user and the site through encryption by a Web Server certificate.

One of the most critical and vital issues in SEO and site optimization is providing high site security. This article will discuss the importance of the HTTPS protocol in SEO optimization and its effect on increasing security.

What is SSL?

SSL stands for secure sockets layer and is a specific protocol for transferring information over the Internet. In other words, SSL can be considered a web standard for encrypting data between the user and the site.

Because the information exchanged by SSL is sent encrypted; They have a very high level of security and are protected from the risk of theft. SSL is a reassurance for companies and customers who want to send their private information, such as their credit card number, confidentially to the destination site. Web Server Certificates are required to establish an SSL connection.

What is the impact of SSL on SEO?

Browsers prefer to encourage site administrators to use the HTTPS protocol by showing not secure sites without SSL. Due to the very high security that HTTPS provides for exchanging user information, Prefer sites with SSL. In the continuation of this article, we pay the advantages of using SSL on-site SEO and its optimization.

1- Higher speed than HTTP

An SSL security certificate must be installed and enabled on the user’s browser and site to use HTTPS. After observing these two cases, it will be possible to access and receive site data through the secure HTTPS protocol.

A few months ago, Mozilla and Load Impact released statistics stating; Sites that use SSL; will experience 50 to 70% better speed and performance than other sites. If you want to open a site using HTTP protocols; You will be required to go through 9 general steps to form a connection with the site, process, and finally receive the information. Conversely, if you use the HTTPS protocol; Due to the simultaneous performance of two steps from the set of these 9 steps, you will see a significant effect in increasing the site’s loading speed and data.

2- Increasing website SEO and improving rankings

One of the most important and main advantages of using HTTPS on the site is; Increase website SEO and improve rankings.

In 2014, Google CEO Matt Katz stated that HTTPS is definitely a light and effective measure of Google’s website’s ranking. So, based on this sentence, we can say that using SSL on websites is very important for Google. Given a long time has passed since this statement, the use of HTTPS is more pervasive than in the past. The impact of this issue on on-site SEO is probably different than in the past. However, it is still a factor in Google.

3- Providing more security

The main advantage of using SSL for sites and encouraging site administrators to use it is that SSL provides more security. Important information is provided daily, from a simple login form to credit payment information on the Internet. Stealing this sensitive information is a constant concern for HTTP users; Because HTTP has drawbacks that allow users to eavesdrop on communication. This is not the case with HTTPS sites. Using HTTPS makes it easier for users and webmasters to think about high security. After using HTTPS, you will not have a problem with data theft.

Use the HTTPS protocol even for the simplest sites that do not have essential information; It is imperative. Even if it has little content, any area should take HTTPS seriously to avoid the risk of WordPress hacking.

4- Easier data reference

You may have noticed when installing SSL that when a page on your site has an HTTP address; The green HTTPS lock icon will not be displayed on that page. This indicates that your page is not entirely secure. It does not matter if the link is from your site or from another location. In any case, it is recommended to use HTTPS links inside the pages for high security and correct data transfer.

For example, if you use Google Analytics statistician on your site and the statistician code is loaded via HTTP, you will face a lack of global security. To solve this problem, it is enough to convert this link to HTTPS. This is because the data is referred between two sites through a protocol. That if both sites use HTTPS; The quality and speed of data exchange will be significantly improved.

5. More information in tools like Google Analytics

Various tools, including Google Analytics, are much more efficient using HTTPS. For example, in HTTPS, unlike HTTP, your website security information is stored.

This is one of the advantages that lead to improved site SEO. Because in this case, the displayed information will not be just a display of direct traffic.

6- Increasing users’ trust

The last of the benefits of using SSL on a site is the issue of building trust between users. As users today use the Internet for more and more sensitive matters than in the past; They have more worries about stealing their information. This leads to users staying away from less secure sites.

According to published statistics, 75% of Internet users care about sites that do not have acceptable security; They avoid them. These users choose sites with similar backgrounds and much more user security.

Challenges you may face when using HTTPS!

In this section, we will get acquainted with the challenges of HTTPS.

There is a possibility of error.

Moving an entire website from HTTP to HTTPS means moving a lot of things that are likely to leave many details and data that are important to you. Here are some common ones you may encounter; We mention:

• Block meaningful URLs in the robots.txt file!
• Add your Canonical tags to the wrong URLs.
• Your website is sending browser alerts to users and driving them away from your site.
• And…

All of these problems, although rare, can still occur. To prevent this, you need to do the transfer process correctly from the beginning.

Speed Problems

The use of the HTTPS protocol is a double coin that can both increase the speed of the site and can reduce the rate of the website due to the need for additional communication between servers. Since the loading factor is very influential in SEO and site ranking; You should not ignore this option in any way. You can use new technologies compatible with HTTPS, such as SPDY, to increase the speed of your site.

Costs

The annual cost of webmasters for SSL certificates is between 200 and 800 thousand tomans. This is not a significant amount for managing large websites, but it can be an additional expense for small websites.

Expenses related to various SSLs can be viewed and searched on the Internet.

Not everything is ready for HTTPS yet.

Not all conditions are ready to work with HTTPS. Older online applications are more likely to have problems with HTTPS.

Of course, now all the websites worldwide are moving towards SSL encryption. However, there are still obstacles in this direction. For example, if you use Google Adsense on your website, your ads and, as a result, your revenue may be affected.

Conclusion

We will probably see the web move towards using SSL encryption by default in the coming years. The importance of using these encodings and their effect on website security; is a topic that SEO experts, consultants working in this field, and site designers are well aware of. So in the coming years, we will see an increase in the popularity and broader use of the HTTPS protocol.

Google recently announced that Google Chrome software will no longer be available alongside URLs for websites that do not use the HTTPS protocol; it Will display the phrase Not Secure.