Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
How Do SSL Certificates Affect On SEO?
-
Does really a SSL certificate affect on SEO? How? Why?
According to my hosting provider (ganje.host), "https" improves SEO!
As I know, It decreases speed. So how does it improve SEO when my speed is slower than before?
-
SSL certificates improve the website's trustworthiness. Users can tell that a website is safe when they see the padlock icon and the prefix "https://" in the URL.
Click-through rates rise when users feel more confident due to the presence of visible SSL signs.
SSL encryption improves user experience overall and establishes a secure environment for data flow.
-
SSL certificates are the unsung heroes of SEO!
Ensuring a secure connection between your website and its visitors, SSL not only builds trust but also gives your site a ranking boost in search engines. It's like a virtual padlock for your data, making Google and other search engines happy. 
️
So, invest in that little 's' in 'https' – it's not just about security, it's about soaring up the SEO ladder! 
-
@MirzaeeMustafa SSL helps to build trust for your website and offer another layer of security for it , with this google can trust your website and rank it better, in my agency Peetranet SEO we make sure its a priority because you cant rank on google if you dont sort out security and SSL as it will affect user experience, moreover most browsers flag sites with no SSL as insecure
-
SSL certificates play a significant role in influencing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for your website. Here's how they impact search rankings:
-
Security and Trustworthiness:
SSL certificates encrypt data exchanged between the user's browser and your website, ensuring a secure connection. Google and other search engines prioritize user security. A secure website enhances trust among users and search engines, positively affecting your SEO. -
Google's Ranking Algorithm:
Google considers HTTPS as a ranking factor. Websites with SSL certificates tend to rank higher in search results compared to non-secure sites. This emphasis on security reflects Google's commitment to providing users with safe browsing experiences. -
Improved User Experience:
When users see the padlock icon in the address bar, indicating a secure connection, they are more likely to trust and engage with your site. A positive user experience, including a secure environment, can lead to lower bounce rates and longer dwell times, both of which are favorable for SEO. -
SEO Penalties for Non-Secure Sites:
Google has implemented measures to encourage website owners to adopt HTTPS. Since 2018, Google Chrome has marked non-secure websites with a "Not Secure" warning. This can deter users from visiting your site and may result in SEO penalties. -
Data Integrity and Authentication:
SSL certificates not only encrypt data but also ensure its integrity during transmission. Additionally, they authenticate your website's identity. These factors contribute to a more reliable online presence, signaling to search engines that your site is legitimate and trustworthy. -
Mobile SEO Considerations:
With the increasing use of mobile devices for online browsing, Google places importance on mobile-friendly websites. SSL is crucial for mobile SEO, and Google's mobile-first indexing favors secure sites when determining search rankings for mobile searches.
In summary, SSL certificates have a positive impact on SEO by enhancing security, trustworthiness, and user experience. As search engines prioritize secure connections, investing in an SSL certificate is a valuable step towards improving your website's search rankings and overall online visibility.
-
-
I don't think so its Effect on SEO
SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates play a role in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and can impact your website's search rankings. -
SSL certificates affect SEO positively by providing a secure connection between a user's browser and the website they're visiting. This security is indicated by the padlock icon and "https://" in the URL. Search engines like Google consider website security important and may give a slight ranking boost to websites with SSL certificates. Additionally, SSL certificates help build trust with visitors, as they know their data is encrypted and protected from hackers. This trust can lead to higher engagement and better user experience, both of which are important factors for SEO rankings.
-
SSL certificates affect SEO positively by providing a secure connection between a user's browser and the website they're visiting. This security is indicated by the padlock icon and "https://" in the URL. Search engines like Google consider website security important and may give a slight ranking boost to websites with SSL certificates. Additionally, SSL certificates help build trust with visitors, as they know their data is encrypted and protected from hackers. This trust can lead to higher engagement and better user experience, both of which are important factors for SEO rankings.
-
SSL provides data encryption between web servers and users. Especially for any eCommerce sector security is the main aspect to look out for as users provide their confidential data as debit/credit data or any payment details.
SSL provides strong encryption, protects personal data, and PCI Compliance. And apart from this how does SSL boost Google's ranking you can check out this - https://www.ssl2buy.com/ssl-certificate-google-rankings
In this advanced technology era, security is the one of primary concerns to prevent any fraud, data loss, phishing, and so on.
-
Two things to think about with SSL.
-
Google looks at is a trust signal. It shows you are actively trying to protect the users that come to the site. Google had an article on this in 2014. https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2014/08/https-as-ranking-signal.html
-
How users perceive the site. I personally take less advice from sites with no SSL. Mostly because, to me, it's a sign they aren't up to date. But also, it can deter certain people from making purchases and subscribing to your list without it.
There is "technically" a slowing down of the site with SSL, but with proper installation and configuration it's not much. There is encrypting/decrypting overhead when the site uses SSL. The word "slower" doesn't mean snails pace. It is usually a few milliseconds difference if configured correctly.
Simply adding an SSL cert isn't enough. It is technically a site change and you'll need to do some things to inform Google that the site has change. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND doing the upgrade to HTTPS during a time the site doesn't have much traffic. It can take a few weeks to implement correctly in the SERPs. You can read more about it here. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6033049?hl=en
-
-
Mirzaee,
For some years now, enabled https has been included as one of google's ranking factors. On some sites, it is probably more of a factor than on other sites. And, yes, site speed is also included as a ranking factor. There are some things you can do to speed up a slow https site. Here's an optimization checklist from right here on Moz: https://moz.com/blog/enabling-https-without-sacrificing-web-performance.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Do Blog Tags affect SEO at all anymore?
We're trying to standardize the use of tags on our site amongst writers/editors, and I'm trying to come up a list of tags they can choose from to tag posts with - and telling them to use no more than 10 (absolute maximum) per post. We are also in the process of migrating to a new CMS, and have 8 defined categories that will all have their own landing page within our "News" section. TLDR: Do blog tags have any impact on SEO anymore? Are they solely meant to help users find articles related on popular topics, or does creating a tag for a popular topic help to improve organic visibility? Full Question: With the tag standardization, I want to make sure we're creating the most useful and effective tags; and the UX/SEO sides of my brain are conflicted. To my understanding, creating a tag about a high volume topic in an industry helps establish the website's relevance to Google/other search engines about that topic and improves overall relevance; but the tag feed page (ex: http://freshome.com/tag/home-protection/) isn't really meant for organic search visibility. So my other question is, is it worth it to noindex the tag pages in the robots.txt? Will that affect any benefit to increased relevance for Google (if there is any)? I'm interested to hear others' thoughts and suggestions. Thanks in advance!
On-Page Optimization | | davidkaralisjr0 -
Getting the Titles and Headings Right on Product Pages. Userbility vs SEO
Hey Mozzers, I am optimising a chaotic section of the site including many similar products. Writing unique content etc. The titles and urls were all over the place so my first job was to tidy them up so I could make some sense of the situation, especially as sometimes they didn't even match! I should point out were on Magento, so product name = Both the Heading and Title of the page, the meta title can be set separately. When i refer to title I mean both <title>and <h1></strong><br /><br />Before they existed as such<br />URL: domain.com/200-x-0-5-g-rs-232-balance.html<br />TItle: PC-1234 200 x 0.5g x 0.3 RS-232 Balance<br /><br />This format was (Product Code, Capacities, Resolutions, Accuracy, Product Title)<br /><br />The issue was all 60 products in a page followed this format. Navigating through the page was a nightmare and was just a jumble of numbers and highly confusing even to me who learnt what they all mean, especially when you had 8 products from the same range you got presented with<br /><br />APC-1234 200 x 0.5g x 0.3 RS-232 Balance<br />APC-1235 500 x 1g x 0.3 RS-232 Balance<br />APC-1236 1000 x 2g x 0.3 RS-232 Balance<br />APC-1238 5000 x 10g x 0.3 RS-232 Balance<br />APC-1239 10000 x 15g x 0.3 RS-232 Balance<br />APC-1210 20000 x 25g x 0.3 RS-232 Balance<br />APC-1211 50000 x 50g x 0.3 RS-232 Balance</p> <p>I changed them to something more user friendly.<br /><br />URL: domain.com/200g-precision-balance.html<br />Title: 200g Precision Balance<br /><br />This has seen the following benefits<br />- URL is now clear and means something to the user<br />- Product titles are easy to navigate and the page is more pleasing to the eye<br />- The jumble of numbers in the title are now all labelled and shown below each product listing in bullet point so the user can see the basic spec of a product without having to decipher any titles<br /><br />Upon reflection I has a couple of concerns I was hoping you could discuss, I am wondering if I have made the titles too simple.<br />1) I have no product code in the title<br />We have our own products manufactured and sell existing brands with their own product codes. Some of these can be lengthy. Adding them makes them hard to the eye and the page looked cramped.<br /><br />The codes are listed beneath each product title on category pages and on a list on the actual product page, but no where in the titles. <br /><br />2)None of our products have a brand listed in the title<br />None of the products on the site had brand names in anything but the images when i started and as such it snuck under my radar. But should i pre-fix all titles with a brand name?<br /><br />Should </p> <p>URL: domain.com/200g-precision-balance.html<br />Title: 200g Precision Balance</p> <p>become</p> <p>URL: domain.com/BRAND1-200g-precision-balance.html<br />Title: BRAND1 200g Precision Balance<br /><br />My instinct tells me to change things to include brands as its useful to the customer and should have an SEO benefit, but to leave out product codes as they are accessible to the customer where they are now and dont make things messy and unreadable.<br /><br />As always, thanks for the input!</p></title>
On-Page Optimization | | ATP0 -
Less Tags better for SEO?
I am currently reviewing my strategy when it comes to categories and tags on my site. Having been no-indexed for some time, and having many tags with just one entry I am thinking that this is not optimal for SEO purposes. This is what I am planning: Categories - Change these to Index, but only after adding a hundred words or so by way of introduction (see this example - https://www.besthostnews.com/news/hosting/a-small-orange-news/). With the categories I am thinking of highlighting key articles as well to improve link juice distribution to older articles that are important. Tags - About half my tags have only 1 entry, with a few more just having 2 entries. I am thinking of deleting all tags with just one entry, and trying to merge those with just two or 3 entries where it makes sense to do so. I will keep these as no-index, but I think this will mean more optimal distribution of link juice within the site. I would appreciate your thoughts \ suggestions on the best practices here.
On-Page Optimization | | TheWebMastercom0 -
How Much Does Punctuation of a Word Effect SEO?
I have a page on a site that is targeted for "mens hair cut" and I have received a F for the grade. The content on the page uses "men's" throughout the content. (proper punctuation) When I re-graded the page with "men's hair cut" the page received a B grade. My question is, does mens v.s men's make a different for on-page SEO? Should my targeted keywords include "men's" rather than "mens"?
On-Page Optimization | | Kdruckenbrod0 -
Should I redirect mobile traffic to a different url? Will it hurt SEO?
I'm working on a site that has lots of great content and ranks well but essentially the money is generated by affiliate links. I don't have a mobile version of the site but the company I'm affiliated with does offer a mobile redirect to their domain. Will redirecting mobile traffic to a different url hurt my SEO? I think the user will get a better experience by landing on a mobile page but I don't know if google will see it like that. Any thoughts?
On-Page Optimization | | SamCUK0 -
Best SEO Extension/Plugin for NOPCommerce Site?
Hi I am working for a client who is using NOPCommerce. It doesn't look like they have a SEO Plugin in - although you can add meta descriptions to Products - which works fine, the Product categories have SEO components too but do not seem to work and all 'other' content /CMS pages have no SEO components whatsoever. Does anyone know of a plugin which would resolve this? (PS never used NOPCommerce before!)
On-Page Optimization | | AllieMc0 -
Getting access to clients websites for onsite seo
I understand on site seo fine, as I have tweeked up my own website a fair bit. But I am thinking about doing Onsite and Offsite SEO for clients, as I have had a few request now. So my question is what is the best way to get access to clients websites. So I can make the required adjustments. I have one client, who had a company create a website for him, but they have since closed down.
On-Page Optimization | | aussieseoguy0 -
What does the "base href" meta tag do? For SEO and webdesign?
I have encounter the "base href" on one of my sites. The tag is on every page and always points to the home URL.
On-Page Optimization | | jmansd0