Google is getting smarter every day, and their main focus is to deliver the best possible content to their users in the shortest amount of time. If any aspect of your website hinders the user’s experience, Google will penalize your rankings, resulting in a loss of traffic and as a consequence, a reduction in lead generation.

With that being said, it’s crucial to do everything in your power to optimize your web page to please Google and, more importantly, provide the best overall experience to your users. Google wants to ensure their users are maintaining a secure connection to the web at all times, and they’ll penalize any website that doesn’t have an SSL certificate.

Worse still, many modern browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox display check marks next to secure sites in the SERP, whereas sites without a secure SSL connection is accompanied by a big fat red X, not to mention demoted in the SERP

The vast majority of the people that come across this message will quickly click the back button to find another website – one that is secure – instead of viewing your page, resulting in a higher bounce rate and a reduction in rankings.

Think about it: if you were buying a brand new laptop, but upon visiting the laptop website, you were greeted with the message “your connection is not secure,” would you continue to buy the laptop?

Probably not, and neither would most people on the internet. Nowadays, people are privy to high profile hacks and data breaches, and they’re demanding heightened security for their sensitive information.

What’s the bottom line here?

It’s incredibly important to establish an SSL certificate, as they help to establish trust between you and your users, which also encourages them to go through with your call to action. Luckily, it’s also incredibly easy to set up an SSL.

SSL certificates are especially useful for sites that must handle sensitive information such as account and payment information. Nevertheless, all websites – including blogs and affiliate sites – should receive an SSL certificate.

It’s the best and only way to show your traffic that their information is safe with you.

Even though most people don’t even know what an SSL certificate is if they’re told a site is not secure by their browser of choice odds are they won’t proceed to your content, despite being exemplary.

Furthermore, Google will automatically penalize a website’s rankings if they have not provided an SSL certificate and established a secure connection with the server. By simply establishing a secure connection, you’ll significantly decrease bounce rate, increase dwell times, and maintain a high ranking in Google’s SERP.