Is your site or online store secure? Effective July 2018, Google’s Chrome browser will start marking non-HTTPS sites in New Zealand as ‘not secure’ in its organic search results pages. After years of pushing for ‘secure by default’ web sites, Google will identify insecure sites in the Chrome browser. The clock is ticking, it’s time to upgrade your site from HTTP to HTTPS, or you can expect less click throughs from the New Zealand search results.
Google has been actively trying to push this messaging for quite a while but until now, HTTPS has been more of a suggestion without any tangible benefits.
What is HTTP / HTTPS?
HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol (not secure) means your website is not encrypted and is vulnerable to attacks, which can let attackers gain access to website accounts and sensitive information, and modify webpages to inject malware or advertisements. HTTPS, or Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is designed to withstand such attacks and is considered secure against them.
As well as securing your site and your users information, Google has also suggested that this simple change could have some positive outcomes for your sites’ NZ SEO rankings.
Become HTTPS compliant
Come July 2018, if you haven’t secured your site, your users may see the above notification next to your URL in Google’s SEO NZ results pages.
The good news is, whether your site is on WordPress WooCommerce, Shopify®, Magento etc, we can help and the fix should not take too long. If you already have an SSL Certificate for your site, then you are covered!
Interesting HTTPS Facts
- Over 68% of Chrome traffic on both Android and Windows is now protected.
- Over 78% of Chrome traffic on both Chrome OS and Mac is now protected.
- 81 of the top 100 sites on the web use HTTPS by default.
Please contact us if you are unsure by calling one of our friendly search engine optimisation (SEO) experts on 021 344 050, or email [email protected].
FAQs
What are the benefits of switching to HTTPS?
The benefits of switching to HTTPS include increased security and protection against attacks, improved trust and credibility for your website, better rankings in search engine results, and ensured user data privacy during transmission.
What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?
The main difference between HTTP and HTTPS is that HTTP is not secure and transfers data in plain text. At the same time, HTTPS encrypts data using SSL/TLS protocols, providing a secure and encrypted connection between the user’s browser and the website.
