What is an SSL Certificate?

What is an SSL Certificate?

For search engines, a website’s security is of the utmost importance. In fact, Google started using HTTPS as a ranking signal in 2014. If a page renders as secure, it will serve as a vote of confidence for search engines, and thus, it will increase its rankings on SERPs. To make your site safe, you need to implement an SSL Certificate.

SSL Certificates are small data files that digitally connect a cryptographic key to a company’s details. They are installed on a web server and are responsible for activating the padlock and HTTPS protocol. The latter is extremely important to ensure a secure connection between a browser and a server. They are also responsible for providing secure credit card transactions and data transfers. Recently, they’re also becoming popular for fortifying browsing of social media sites.

Providing secure connections is crucial for user experience. Who would want to enter a site only to see that their information is not safe? By adding this layer of security, you’ll be guaranteeing that your users feel safe and confident while navigating your site.

Here are some of the advantages that buying an SSL Certificate will bring to your site:

  –  It encrypts sensitive information. An SSL certificate is necessary to prevent hackers from getting a hold of your information (or your visitors’). The information becomes unreadable to anyone except the intended recipient.

  –  It provides authentication. With the certificate enabled, you can rest easy knowing that the information you are sending is landing on the right server. This practice prevents information from falling into the hands of hackers or identity thieves who only want to steal your data.

An SSL Certificate is also beneficial for your site’s ranking. Since you are playing by the book and following search engines’ guideline of establishing secure connections, crawlers can identify your site as trustworthy. Additionally, it will allow you to build and enhance customer trust.