Have you ever wondered why do security personnel ever wear bullet proof vests over their normal uniforms? Does it not make them feel uncomfortable? They do so to get protection from any bullet attack. Now, you can argue that bullet attacks do not happen every day. One has to agree but the day it happens, a bullet proof vest is in a better position to save your life. You live to fight another day.
The world of the internet is equally dangerous. Your business websites do need security from predators such as viruses, hackers, phishing, and so on. Therefore, your websites need security. You have them in the form of an additional ‘S’ to the ‘http’ you have to your business address.
Is it really worth making the shift from the http to the https? Let us look at the concept in detail.
HTTPS – The Concept
HTTPS is not just the addition of the additional ‘S’. There is something more to it than just the additional alphabet. The ‘S’ stands for ‘Secure’. Therefore ‘Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure’ is the new norm in SEO today.
What makes it different?
As stated earlier, you have an additional layer of security. In fact, you have three layers of protection, encryption, data integrity, and authentication.
Why should you make the shift?
The main reason for making the shift is that Google has made it an SEO ranking signal. Hence, local businesses that do not make the shift take a major hit in their rankings. Now, which business would like to be in such a situation?
It is natural for local businesses to have apprehensions that it might affect their SEO marketing campaigns. We shall look at the misgivings and clarify them. However, the risk of suffering a drop in the Google Search Engine Optimizing rankings prompts them to make the switch.
That is not the only reason. There is a major push towards creating a more secure website experience. The security of the websites not rests with the business owners. If you do so, you reap the rewards from Google. Otherwise, you run the risk of customers shunning your website.
The Benefits of the Switch over
It is important for the businesses to understand the benefits of making the switchover from HTTP to HTTPS.
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Local SEO aspect: From the SEO optimization point of view, it is of paramount importance to do so. Google has categorically stated that it offers additional weightage in the rankings to the businesses that comply. At present, this might be a lightweight ranking signal, but it is sure to gain importance in the days to come.
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Security: The security aspect is also an essential one. Today, people are shifting to the online mode of doing business. You find more businesses jumping into the online bandwagon. The number of transactions involving transfer of money from the customer’s accounts to the businesses is increasing at an alarming rate. The customers prefer to have security aspects in place to safeguard their money as well as their bank accounts.
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Need of the Hour: There was a similar situation when businesses had to shift to becoming mobile friendly websites. The situation today is such that every business website has become compatible with mobiles.
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Effectiveness ECommerce websites need to make the transition as soon as possible. They have links to the banking websites. As it involves transfer of money, the secure banking websites might refuse to deal with businesses that do not conform to the HTTPS protocol.
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Accelerated Mobile Pages require HTTPS: With mobile smartphones ruling the ecommerce market access today, local businesses have to make the shift in the SEO strategy. Jumping on to the https bandwagon is necessary for faster loading of webpages to take place.
Concerns of the Switch-over
Just as there are benefits to the local businesses like local listing in SEO, and others, there are certain concerns or misgivings amongst the businesses intending to make the shift.
Let us list out the apprehensions.
Blocking of important URLs in robots.txt
Fear of reducing speed of loading of website
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Fear of web applications not being compatible with https
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Chances of messing up redirects and canonical tags
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Loss of SEO backlinks
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Fear of losing ranking in local seo for small business
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These concerns are genuine but the shift to https is vital as far as security and Google local SEO is concerned. There can be a small shift in the rankings in the initial stages but the benefits are definitely greater. The shift to https is certainly one of the most effective search engine optimization tips you will get.
How do you migrate to HTTPS?
Now that you know the SEO aspect of making the shift to https, it is imperative to know how to make the shift. We shall have a brief outline.
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Obtain SSL certificate: You can get these security certificates from a certificate authority. It is better to buy them from your hosting company as they install it as well.
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Set up redirects: This is the most important part of the switch. Every page of your HTTP should redirect to HTTPS. Using permanent 301 redirects is advisable as compared to the temporary 302 redirects.
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Updating internal links and other resources: Ensure you point the internal links to the new HTTPS pages. Similarly, you images and downloads should also point towards https.
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Prevent blocking of https from crawling: Using robots.txt clears the misgivings that your important websites will be blocked. Avoid the ‘noindex’ tag as well.
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Re-indexing your website: Access Google Search Console and ensure to submit your site map.
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Synopsis – Shift to https
Understand the importance of moving with the times. This is the day of HTTPS. Shifting to https ensures higher security. Hence, from the local search SEO point of view, you get a higher ranking. This shift ensures data integrity thereby ensuring your SEO content is of a better quality and uncompromised. You have a higher degree of authentication thereby keeping viruses and hackers at bay.
Final thoughts
You have just seen the importance of HTTPS in SEO now. Hence, it is in your best interests to make the shift as soon as possible and ensure a higher SEO ranking.