The internet is a virtual place to run an online business because it makes it easy for your customers to find you. In today’s world, search engines such as Google can bring businesses closer to anyone, to the point where we may feel like they’re near. The problem is they’re not the only ones interested in your online activities, business or otherwise.
There are criminals who want your data to make a quick buck, putting your business and finances at risk. They can do this by intercepting communications between your website and your customers, committing what’s known as a man-in-the-middle attack.
These attacks have become increasingly common in recent years, leading to an explosive rise in cybercrime. How much growth are we talking about? Statista reveals that 2022 saw a big increase in data breaches, rising from 1,108 in 2020 to 1,802 in 2022; that represents a rise of over 50% in just one year! The stats are likely to grow in the future.
Fortunately, there’s a solution that is both easy to implement and works like a charm: SSL encryption.
In this blog, we’ll explain the most effective method of securing your website while giving yourself some bonus benefits like having your website appear in more search results.
What Is an SSL Certificate?
SSL, or Secure Socket Layer, is an encryption protocol that takes the session information between clients and servers and makes it indecipherable to anyone trying to eavesdrop or intercept it.
This makes it impossible for external parties to read any meaningful information from intercepted traffic and creates an all-around safer browsing experience for you and your clients.
The Importance of SSL Certificates
How many of us have actually taken the time to understand what SSL certificates are and what they do? If you’re like most people, you probably aren’t concerned with all of those details.
DigiCert, a global supplier of SSL certificates, says that SSL is “one of the most important components of online business,” and they’re right. Many businesses, especially those that handle payments and process large amounts of user data, find it really helpful to have an extra layer of security.
You could have lost out on another customer if that was your website. These messages and prompts have the potential to reduce traffic to your website just by having an additional step to access your content, which will end up costing money in the end.
Worse still is that not having an SSL certificate means your website will also suffer in the Google rankings department. Why? Because websites that begin with insecure “HTTP” prefixes are automatically ranked lower than SSL-equipped sites, which all start with “HTTPS.”
Google does this to ensure the most secure search results appear higher up in the list than non-secure websites that get pushed down or omitted entirely.
You’ll need SSL certificates installed if you have a mail server or any other internet-facing service with confidential data. This will prevent your sensitive data from being intercepted or tampered with, giving you peace of mind and added security.
