Benefits of Switching from HTTP to HTTPS Sites

In August 2014, Google made it clear that switching your website from HTTP to HTTPS will fetch a minor ranking boost. Most companies seem to have found the message and rightly so, they are making the move.

But what about those that are still apprehensive about the switch? For them, it’d make a sense to first understand how HTTPS is a better option and then do the switch.

Why HTTP ( HyperText Transfer Protocol)?

Http has extensively been used to access html pages. It also helps in accessing other resources. This has been used in sites where confidential information such as credit card details are normally not used.

Why HTTPS (Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol)?

HTTPS, or “secure http”, is meant to allow authorization and secured transactions. Since confidential information needs security while being exchanged, https helps in this cause. It offers an extra layer of security and thus, favored by websites over HTTP.

Where HTTP and HTTPS are same and where they are different

HTTPS is just the secure version of HTTP, otherwise both are the same
They are two separate communications
HTTPS uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for safe data transport purposes

Why should a business make the switch?

You should know that Google prefers and gives more weightage to sites that are trusted and certified. In fact, such sites get better ranks.

Why so? Because, such sites encrypt users’ information with an extra layer of security and guarantee them additional safety on the internet.

Sites using HTTPS convince users and make them worry-free for their buying which in terms enhances the overall performance of the business.

So, a business should make the switch to –

Give their website a far more secure system to operate
Give security to their site and users
Give users a secure online experience

So, it’s clear that HTTPS is now a ranking signal and HTTPS sites are at an advantage over those http ones. This is why the switch become important.

Layers of protection with HTTPS

You should know that 3 key layers of protection is available with data sent using HTTPS. It’s these layers that convince Google to give a slight ranking advantages to sites. These layers include –

The exchanged data is encrypted to give it due security
During transfer, data can never be either corrupted or modified.
Authentication benefits to make users aware of their selection of right website

SEO Advantages of the HTTPS Switch

It’s fairly obvious that sites using HTTPS are secure and this means they are sure to get the Google benevolence. The SEO benefits of such a move are many, including:

Increased rankings
Preservation of the secure referral information
Enhanced security and privacy
Zero tampering from 3rd parties
Encryption to all communication

Tips to follow when switching to HTTPS

There is absolutely no issues with the switching from HTTP to HTTPS. However, there are few precautions, or few tips recommended by Google, to take so that a minimum possible impact is felt on the traffic. Those tips include –

The switching move should be communicated to Google
It should be clear whether to use single, multi-domain or wildcard certificate
Only 2048-bit key certificates should be used
Relative URLs should be used for same-domain resources whereas protocol relative URLs for others
Allow your HTTPS site to keep crawling with the help of robots.txt
Let no pages get indexed by search engines
Use Google Webmaster Tools for track your migration and also for superior handling of HTTPS sites

Conclusion

So, it makes a lot of sense to switch your HTTP sites over to HTTPS one and give customers the kind of security and protection they expect for their website visits and online transaction.

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Dharam

Digital Marketing Specialist at SEM Expert India

Dharmendra Tripathi - A Digital Marketing Specialist, having over 17 years of experience working in digital marketing, specializing in SEO, SEM, SMO, Web Analytics & Brand Building, Paid Advertising and Social Media Management.