Google boosts search ranking for encrypted websites

Improving your website’s security can actually help bring in new business, as Google search results start giving preference to sites employing encryption.

With countless millions of pages on the internet, mastering the art of Search Engine Optimisation is vital when it comes to attracting visitors to your website. SEO involves ensuring that your website offers high quality original content, uses relevant keywords, tags content clearly and can be easily read by search engines. Without this your fancy website becomes just another drop in the ocean.

There are plenty of other tricks you can use to improve your site’s search ranking, attempting to decode the complicated ranking algorithms applied by search giants like Google, but proceed with caution.

If search engines think you’re trying to game the system they’re likely to downgrade your search ranking. Google offers plenty of useful tips to help you on your way and is adding best practice tips for deploying extra security on your website.

Google takes into account many factors when ranking your website in its search results, occasionally tweaking their secret sauce to improve results while weeding out sites trying to cheat.

Now Google is paying attention to whether or not your website employs HTTPS encryption, also known as HTTP over TLS, to protect your interactions with customers.

The S stands for Secure, encrypting traffic to stop outsiders eavesdropping on people’s interactions with your site.

This kind of security is already used by financial institutions and other sensitive services such as webmail and some social media sites.

Initially the use of HTTPS won’t carry a lot of weight when it comes to site rankings, but Google says it may increase its importance in time to encourage all website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS to help make the web a safer place.

Search giants like Google and Yahoo! have been making more of an effort to secure their own sites and services recently, amid revelations that intelligence agencies have been snooping on data.

Google recommends using 2048-bit key certificates for your own site and evaluating your security with tools like Qualys Lab’s SSL Server Test.

You might think you’ve got nothing to hide and your interactions with customers are rather benign, but it’s important to take your customer security and privacy seriously – especially if you want to keep them as customers.

A high-profile security breach can do irreparable damage to your reputation.

Google’s move to reward sites which employ HTTPS encryption should serve as an opportunity to reevaluate your site’s security.

Website security is good for business, especially when Google rewards you by bumping you up in the search results.

David Hancock is the founder and managing director of Geeks2U, a national on-site computer repair and support company. This story originally appeared on SmartCompany.