The Importance of an SSL Certificate For Your Company Website

For businesses in any industry, the company website is a lifeline for prospective customers and clients to find you, get to know more about you, and possibly buy your products and services. And in the modern digital world, safety and security are at the forefront of most people’s minds, especially when it comes to giving sensitive personal information online. 

There are many different ways to keep a website secure, one of which is an SSL certificate. 

What is an SSL Certificate? 

SSL stands for “secure sockets layer” and it is a method of encryption that ensures data going from a user’s computer to a website remains secure. The goal is to make the data unreadable to anyone trying to steal information or any third parties in general.

It’s not uncommon for hackers and identity thieves to try and get personal information, but an SSL certificate can help keep it secure. Security is the primary reason that SSL certificates are important and should be used by every website. SSL certificates are required for an eCommerce website for security purposes, but it’s not the only benefit of an SSL certificate.   

How SSL Can Help with SEO 

SSL is also beneficial for your Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which should be great news for any business owner. SSL is part of Google’s search ranking algorithm, so it makes sense that websites with an SSL certificate will have better results when it comes to SEO. Google prefers websites with SSL’s, so sites with SSL certificates will rank better. For example, if two websites have similar content but one is encrypted with SSL and one isn’t, the encrypted site will get an SEO boost.  

Improving Ecommerce Conversions 

If you have an eCommerce store, savvy web visitors will be able to tell that you have an SSL certificate, and it will help build trust, showing you care about your visitor’s information.

When shoppers know they can make a safe purchase, they will feel more comfortable giving their personal information and will enjoy their experience more. It will also boost your brand online and create the perception that you’re a responsible company that cares about its customers. 

Does My Website Have An SSL? 

If you have a website and aren’t sure if it has an SSL certificate, there are a couple of ways to tell. The easiest is to look at the URL and see if it says “http” or “https”. The extra “s” means that the website is secure. Another way to tell is if there is a padlock icon in the URL bar. It may be on the left or the right, depending on your browser, but it will be up there to show you that the site is secure. If you don’t see either of those things on your website, then you may be losing potential visitors, customers, and search engine rankings. 

Boost Your Website Security Today

If you want to learn more about SSL and how it can benefit your website, get in touch with us today at WEB ROI.