Should you consider using SSL on your website ?

We have been getting many questions from WebClicks affiliates, regarding HTTPS (SSL Certificates) and whether or not they should consider it for their website. So our CTO have prepared a quick explanation about SSL, what it might mean for your SEO and if it makes sense for you to use.

HTTPS (SSL Certificates)

Summer 2014 Google announced that they would start using HTTPS as a ranking signal
The reason behind this is to make the internet more secure and safe for users.

So should you setup SSL on your website?

There are a few things to consider when deciding on making the switch from HTTP to HTTPS;

– You will need a certificate, these vary in prices anything from around $10 and up, each having different features, like supporting multiple subdomain, wildcard subdomain or even multiple domains. The mozilla foundation has started letsencrypt.org, which promises free certificates for all.

– Your website must use a unique IP address. There are options to share multiple domains on the same IP, by either using a multi domain certificate or by using SNI.

– Load time for your website will increase, since now the client will have to negotiate the secure session, validate the certificate against the known certificate authorities

– CPU load on your webserver, since data is encrypted on the fly, more CPU cycles is needed to encrypt the data before sending it to the browser.

Since the world is running out of IPv4 addresses hosting providers are slowly increasing the price for unique IPs for your website.
If your website handles personal data or is using a login system where username and password is sent to the server, it’s advisable to implement HTTPS, so no-one can intercept the data sent between the browser and the server. If however you run a small website with public information, it may not be worth it to implement HTTPS.

With the SEO in mind the HTTPS signal is just one out more than 100, so unless you have perfected your SEO in every other way and are looking for a little extra boost. It is probably not an important enough signal to justify the expense.

WebClicks can help you implement HTTPS banner zones for all offers, if you want to make your site 100% HTTPS compliant.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.