Right since when Google officially announced that switching from HTTP to HTTPS would be one of the ranking factors, websites have found it essential to understand this as a requirement.
Most of them were HTTP or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, but are now sparing time to get themselves converted to HTTPS or ‘Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure’.
But the question that arises here is – Why does Google with the websites to be HTTPS and what all SEO benefits would they get in their conversions?
To understand this, let us plunge into the basics first.
What is HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)?
You would have known this well indeed that Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a method of transferring and receiving data and information over the internet.
It is basically an application layer protocol that denotes and focuses on the methods of displaying information to the user.
HTTP was mostly used to view the HTML pages and even the other resources could be exploited with access to HTTP.
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What is HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)?
HTTPS was formulated keeping in mind the authorizations and secure transactions. You need to prevent lots of unauthorized entries and keep your confidential information safe, which could be easily done with the help of HTTPS.
HTTPS could be comparable to HTTP since it obeys similar basic protocols. But the point that makes a difference is an extra ‘S’ or the ‘Security’.
In fact, Google mainly cares about a protocol known as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) which HTTPS works with. This is the element that transfers data safely and makes a major difference between HTTP and HTTPS.
Besides, the information sent using HTTPS is safeguarded by Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol which has three protective layers. These are as follows:
- Encryption: Encoding the data that is exchanged, to keep it safe.
- Data Integrity: While transferring the data, it cannot be corrupted or converted.
- Authentication: To prove that the intended users communicate with the website.
So this is what is HTTPS or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, which Google has made a minor mandatory aspect to deem the search engine rankings of the websites.
Therefore, whether you are the owner of an old website or planning to get a new one for you, HTTPS is what you should really care for if you consider getting the best search engine rankings.
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What are the Advantages of HTTPS?
When Google asks you for something, it definitely offers you hoards of advantages for the same.
And similar is with HTTPS. When you get your website converted from HTTP to HTTPS, you could receive heaps of rewards such as:
Enhanced Web Rankings
As already mentioned, switching from HTTP to HTTPS would help you increase your website rankings on the SERPs. And though minor, this could be a great difference against those who do not care for it.
Additionally, the value of switching would definitely get enhanced over time, offering you better advantages in the future.
Referrer Data
A safe referral information stands conserved when the traffic passes to an HTTPS site. However, this is truly the opposite of what happens when the traffic passes through the HTTP site.
Enhanced Privacy and Security
This is one of the major goals of SEO and ‘Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure’ and is helpful for the website’s security in several ways. Such as:
- It ensures the website is truly the one that talks to the server.
- HTTPS puts a bar on the third-party tampering.
- The website is made more secure for visitors.
- Each and every element of the data, including the URL, is encrypted, which helps to keep secure your personal details such as credit card number and browsing history, etc.
These are some of the ways in which ‘Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure’ benefits your website and its rankings. And no wonder, this is just the start of an era where HTTPs tends to make a difference. In the future, expect to find this one of the major ranking factors.
So, Is It Easy To Switch from HTTP To HTTPS?
If you consider this too hectic to be performed, rest assured. You could seek assistance from a reputed digital marketing organization to do it on your behalf.
These are the ones that could help you with the latest SEO tips to help your website gain the search engine rankings.
Also, if you think you could face some undue disadvantages with the process, rest assured in this too. It’s been quite a number of years since Google has been yelling on texts about the SEO benefits of switching.
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However, a bit of concern is with the traffic on your website. So while you switch from HTTP to HTTPS, use the following tips from Google to get the best results:
Things To Consider
- Select the kind of certificate you require. It could be single or multi-domain etc.
- Employ 2048-bit key certificates only.
- Make use of protocol-relative URLs for domains.
- Update all the robots.txt files.
- Make all web pages index-able by search engines. Do not facilitate the no-index robots meta tag.
- Do not abstain from the HTTPS site from crawling.
- Make use of 301 redirects to deviate all the HTTP URLs to HTTPS.
With all these boxes ticked, you could ensure the most fruitful results in terms of web traffic, when you are switching from HTTP to HTTPS.
And yes, turning to HTTPS is really an advantageous aspect- from the SEO point of view and for the security of your website.
If you still haven’t migrated towards the best, making haste is in the process is probably the best option you could have.
Author Bio
Vaibhav Srivastava is a content writer at Neo Search Logix which is one of the leading website development and digital marketing organization in Lucknow.
If you wish to get a proficient website or its digital marketing, you could consult Neo Search Logix to get it in a prompt and cost-effective manner.