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Recent developments about why HTTPS is really important.
Google recently updated this information:
"HTTPS protects the privacy and security of your users
HTTPS prevents intruders from being able to passively listen to communications between your websites and your users. One common misconception about HTTPS is that the only websites that need HTTPS are those that handle sensitive communications. Every unprotected HTTP request can potentially reveal information about the behaviors and identities of your users. ."
"You should always protect all of your websites with HTTPS, even if they don’t handle sensitive communications. Aside from providing critical security and data integrity for both your websites and your users' personal information, HTTPS is a requirement for many new browser features, particularly those required for progressive web apps."
Google is sending this warning to would be visitors:
Who wants to go to a website that is not secure?
I don't know about you, but I wouldn't fill out a form if Google is warning me it is not safe.
Yes, this could kill your Lead generation.
You want to see this:
Peace of mind and trust are critical pieces of the customer experience.
A SSL certificate is a modest investment to promote trust and confidence so visitors will enter your website and learn about your products and services.
Once you have decided to move forward with a SSL certificate, don't forget to let Google Analytics know you did this through the search console. It is really simple. Click here for step by step instructions.
Still have questions about why HTTPS is really important for your website?
Here is some more information from Cyrus Shepard from Moz.
The Big List of SEO Tips and Tricks for Using HTTPS on Your Website
SEO advantages of switching to HTTPS
In addition to the security offered by HTTPS (which we'll discuss below) there are additional SEO benefits for marketers to take advantage of.
1. More referrer data
Whenever traffic passes from a secure HTTPS site to a non-secure HTTP site, the referral data gets stripped away. This traffic shows up in your analytics report as 'Direct.' This is a problem because you don't know where the traffic actually comes from.
If you use HTTP, traffic from sites like Hacker News shows up as 'direct', because Hacker News uses HTTPS.
Fortunately, there's a simple solution: when traffic passes to an HTTPS site, the secure referral information is preserved. This holds true whether the original site uses HTTP or HTTPS.
As more and more sites make the switch, this becomes increasingly important.
2. HTTPS as a rankings boost
On one hand, Google has confirmed the ranking boost of HTTPS. On the other hand, with over 200 ranking, it's likely you'll find the effect of any ranking influence to remain quiet small.
In fact, a recent study by Search Metrics showed no detectable advantage to sites using HTTPS.
Like most ranking signals, it is very hard to isolate on its own.
3. Security and privacy
Many people argue that HTTPS only provides an advantage if your site uses sensitive passwords. That's not exactly true. Even regular boring content websites can benefit from HTTPS / SSL encryption.
HTTPS adds security in several ways:
- HTTPS verifies that the website is the one the server it is supposed to be talking to,
- Because HTTPS prevents tampering by 3rd parties, it stops Man-in-the-middle attacks, making your site more secure for visitors.
- HTTPS encrypts all communication, including URLs, which protects things like browsing history and credit card numbers.