SEO
HTTP vs HTTPS: How Both Can Effect Your SEO
Did you know that every year, one in three Americans will face a hacker attack on the World Wide Web? That’s one hacker attack every 39 seconds.
In order to prevent these attacks, it important to make sure your website is as secure as possible. But how do you ensure site security?
If you want a more secure site, you need to understand the difference between HTTP vs HTTPS websites. Knowing the difference, and knowing when to make the switch, can ensure that you are protecting your site visitors. You’ll also be improving your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts in the process.
So, let’s break it down.
HTTP vs HTTPS: What’s the Difference?
In the early days of the Internet, there wasn’t an “https vs http” issue as almost every website used HTTP to transmit information from the server to your browser. However, more and more websites are switching to HTTPS. In fact, back in 2014, Google started offering minor rating bumps to any website that made the switch.
But why? What’s so special about HTTPS?
Well, in order to understand the increasing popularity of HTTPS, it’s important to understand what exactly each one is. And, perhaps more importantly, what they can offer your site.
What is HTTP?
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It’s been used since the dawn of the World Wide Web to transfer data from web servers to browsers. This allows any user to view web pages.
Basically, HTTP enables different systems to communicate with one another. Pretty much every early website used HTTP. Many still use it to this day.
The main problem with HTTP is that there is very little privacy. This means virtually anyone can see the information that is being transmitted through HTTP. This also means that it’s much easier to alter the content that is visible on a site or gain access.
What is HTTPS?
HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. Essentially, it does the same thing as HTTP, but with an added layer of security. This means that unlike HTTP, HTTPS encrypts the information that is flowing between the server and the browser.
This extra layer of encryption makes it harder for hackers to steal visitor information. Originally, prior to 2014, mostly e-commerce websites used HTTPS to protect payment information. But, as websites and the information that flows between them becomes more complex more sites are making the switch to HTTPS.
HTTPS secures information by using an SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate. This forms a secure encrypted connection between the server and the browser. As potentially sensitive information flows between the two, this protects it from being stolen.
What’s the Difference?
Both HTTP and HTTPS are used to send information from the webserver to the browser. The important distinction between the two is HTTPS’s use of an SSL certificate. This is especially important for websites collecting credit card information or other types of sensitive information such as social security numbers or passwords.
An SSL works by taking the information and encrypting it. Encryption translates information into a secure code. This means that even if the information is stolen, it’s unlikely the hackers will be able to understand it thanks to the secret code.
In addition to this extra secure layer, HTTPS is also secured by a TLS (transport layer security) protocol. TLS protocol provides additional data integrity. This means that the corruption, possible watering hole attacks or modification of data transfers is prevented.
Another advantage of TLS is it’s added site authentication. This proves to users that they are communicating with the correct, intended website. Site authentication lets site visitors know that their information is going where it is supposed to.
Which is Better?
Obviously, HTTPS has a major security advantage over HTTP. But, HTTPS is most useful for e-commerce sites, or those sites that accept otherwise sensitive information. If you’re not one of these sites, switching to HTTPS can come with some serious hassles.
Still, in most cases, switching to HTTPS can be in your best interest. In addition to added security, HTTPS can give you a boost in your SEO efforts. That’s welcome news for any company trying to leave a serious technological footprint.
HTTPS and Your SEO Efforts
If you’re trying to give a boost to your SEO efforts (different than PPC), there are several reasons to switch over to HTTPS. Each of them will help you keep your visitors, and even score new ones. The SEO boosters offered by switching to HTTPS include:
Increases Your Website Ranking
As previously mentioned, Google offers a slight ratings boost to any website that makes the switch from HTTP to HTTPS. But, that’s not the only way that the HTTPS switch increases your long-term Google rankings.
Switching to HTTPS can lead to long-term website growth because your guests are more likely to stick around a secure website. More frequently, website visitors look for the lock symbol in their browser. This lets them know they’re on a secure site.
This lock symbol only appears for HTTPS sites. It’s Google’s way of letting them know they’re safe and their information is secure. Switching to HTTPS can make visitors more comfortable, which means they’re much more likely to stick around.
Builds Visitor Trust
In addition to the comfort of the lock symbol, HTTPS sites offer guests lots of added security. Sites protected with HTTPS encryption not only protect visitors’ sensitive information but their browsing history, as well. Privacy while browsing means that anything your guests download, purchase, or sign up for won’t put them at risk. This gives them an added peace of mind, thus building their trust in your site. Trust in your site often leads to added trust in your organization at large.
Additionally, HTTPS protects sites from added security breaches that could put guests at risk. Security breaches can damage your reputation as an organization. In some cases, they can even cost you extra money and valuable time.
Eligibility for AMP
It is becoming increasingly important for sites to be able to create AMP (Accelerated Mobile Page) pages. As more and more people browse from their smartphones, you’ll want a site that is quick and easy to access on mobile. But, if you want an AMP page, you’ll need an HTTPS site.
AMP is basically a stripped-down version of HTML. This means faster loading for mobile and a fit-to-screen view of your webpage. However, it is impossible to generate an AMP page without an HTTPS protected site.
If you want a better experience for mobile users, you’ll need to make the switch to HTTPS. It’s more important now than ever before to have a mobile-friendly site, especially for your SEO rankings.
Mobile search rankings and local SEO matter for your website rankings. This is a major reason to make the switch to HTTPS if you want to boost your SEO efforts.
SEO Concerns When Switching From HTTP
It’s not always easy to make the switch from HTTP to HTTPS. In fact, in some cases, making the switch can negatively impact your SEO efforts. If you want to avoid these pitfalls, keep these tips in mind:
Inform Google Your Site Has Made the Switch
Google won’t automatically be notified that you’ve switched to HTTPS. They won’t be aware of it until the next time they crawl your site. That can take quite a while, with your SEO dropping every day.
If you want to avoid this lengthy process, inform them of your switch right away. This way, they can give you your ratings boost and your site can be on its way to long-term rating boosts.
Make Sure Your Certificates Are in Order
There are a few other certificates to be aware of other than SSL. These include:
- Single Domain: Issued for one domain or subdomain
- Multiple Domain (aka Unified Communications Certificate): Secures a primary domain and upwards of 99 additional subject alternative names
- Wildcard SSL: Secures website URL and unlimited subdomains
Make sure that you have the right certificates for your domain needs. This will keep your SEO boosts from being slowed down by technical errors.
Don’t Prevent Google From Crawling Your HTTPS Site
If Google can’t access your robots.txt, they can’t get clear crawling instructions. This could prevent you from improving your SEO. If Google can’t crawl your site, it could negatively impact your potential search rankings.
Usually, this happens right after you’ve made the switch to HTTPS. Don’t forget to update your test server to allow bots. This will eliminate hang-ups.
Allow Search Engines to Index Your Page
Not allowing search engines to index your page could have a negative impact on your SEO. This could wipe out your rankings. Getting your rankings back can take a really long time, so you’ll want to get this in order.
Track Your HTTP to HTTPS Shift
Use Google WebMaster tools or any other analytics software to track your progress. This ensures everything goes smoothly. It will also catch any issues that arise as soon as possible, ensuring they don’t hurt your SEO.
Ready to Make the Switch?
Now that you understand HTTPS vs HTTP, and how they can impact your SEO, you’ll know if your company needs to make the switch. In almost every case, moving to HTTPS is in your best interest. From increasing your visitors’ trust to improving your website rankings, HTTPS can bring tons of benefits to your site.
If you’re ready to make the switch to make your site more secure, unlike the complexity of JSX in web development, this switch is less complex which you can do this in-house or outsource it the task. They can help you make the switch effortlessly, and ensure the best outcome for your SEO efforts.
Author: Randy Soderman
SEO
HARO Has Been Dead for a While
I know nothing about the new tool. I haven’t tried it. But after trying to use HARO recently, I can’t say I’m surprised or saddened by its death. It’s been a walking corpse for a while.
I used HARO way back in the day to build links. It worked. But a couple of months ago, I experienced the platform from the other side when I decided to try to source some “expert” insights for our posts.
After just a few minutes of work, I got hundreds of pitches:
So, I grabbed a cup of coffee and began to work through them. It didn’t take long before I lost the will to live. Every other pitch seemed like nothing more than lazy AI-generated nonsense from someone who definitely wasn’t an expert.
Here’s one of them:
Seriously. Who writes like that? I’m a self-confessed dullard (any fellow Dull Men’s Club members here?), and even I’m not that dull…
I don’t think I looked through more than 30-40 of the responses. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It felt like having a conversation with ChatGPT… and not a very good one!
Despite only reviewing a few dozen of the many pitches I received, one stood out to me:
Believe it or not, this response came from a past client of mine who runs an SEO agency in the UK. Given how knowledgeable and experienced he is (he actually taught me a lot about SEO back in the day when I used to hassle him with questions on Skype), this pitch rang alarm bells for two reasons:
- I truly doubt he spends his time replying to HARO queries
- I know for a fact he’s no fan of Neil Patel (sorry, Neil, but I’m sure you’re aware of your reputation at this point!)
So… I decided to confront him 😉
Here’s what he said:
Shocker.
I pressed him for more details:
I’m getting a really good deal and paying per link rather than the typical £xxxx per month for X number of pitches. […] The responses as you’ve seen are not ideal but that’s a risk I’m prepared to take as realistically I dont have the time to do it myself. He’s not native english, but I have had to have a word with him a few times about clearly using AI. On the low cost ones I don’t care but on authority sites it needs to be more refined.
I think this pretty much sums up the state of HARO before its death. Most “pitches” were just AI answers from SEOs trying to build links for their clients.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not throwing shade here. I know that good links are hard to come by, so you have to do what works. And the reality is that HARO did work. Just look at the example below. You can tell from the anchor and surrounding text in Ahrefs that these links were almost certainly built with HARO:
But this was the problem. HARO worked so well back in the day that it was only a matter of time before spammers and the #scale crew ruined it for everyone. That’s what happened, and now HARO is no more. So…
If you’re a link builder, I think it’s time to admit that HARO link building is dead and move on.
No tactic works well forever. It’s the law of sh**ty clickthroughs. This is why you don’t see SEOs having huge success with tactics like broken link building anymore. They’ve moved on to more innovative tactics or, dare I say it, are just buying links.
Sidenote. Talking of buying links, here’s something to ponder: if Connectively charges for pitches, are links built through those pitches technically paid? If so, do they violate Google’s spam policies? It’s a murky old world this SEO lark, eh?
If you’re a journalist, Connectively might be worth a shot. But with experts being charged for pitches, you probably won’t get as many responses. That might be a good thing. You might get less spam. Or you might just get spammed by SEOs with deep pockets. The jury’s out for now.
My advice? Look for alternative methods like finding and reaching out to experts directly. You can easily use tools like Content Explorer to find folks who’ve written lots of content about the topic and are likely to be experts.
For example, if you look for content with “backlinks” in the title and go to the Authors tab, you might see a familiar name. 😉
I don’t know if I’d call myself an expert, but I’d be happy to give you a quote if you reached out on social media or emailed me (here’s how to find my email address).
Alternatively, you can bait your audience into giving you their insights on social media. I did this recently with a poll on X and included many of the responses in my guide to toxic backlinks.
Either of these options is quicker than using HARO because you don’t have to sift through hundreds of responses looking for a needle in a haystack. If you disagree with me and still love HARO, feel free to tell me why on X 😉
SEO
Google Clarifies Vacation Rental Structured Data
Google’s structured data documentation for vacation rentals was recently updated to require more specific data in a change that is more of a clarification than it is a change in requirements. This change was made without any formal announcement or notation in the developer pages changelog.
Vacation Rentals Structured Data
These specific structured data types makes vacation rental information eligible for rich results that are specific to these kinds of rentals. However it’s not available to all websites. Vacation rental owners are required to be connected to a Google Technical Account Manager and have access to the Google Hotel Center platform.
VacationRental Structured Data Type Definitions
The primary changes were made to the structured data property type definitions where Google defines what the required and recommended property types are.
The changes to the documentation is in the section governing the Recommended properties and represents a clarification of the recommendations rather than a change in what Google requires.
The primary changes were made to the structured data type definitions where Google defines what the required and recommended property types are.
The changes to the documentation is in the section governing the Recommended properties and represents a clarification of the recommendations rather than a change in what Google requires.
Address Schema.org property
This is a subtle change but it’s important because it now represents a recommendation that requires more precise data.
This is what was recommended before:
“streetAddress”: “1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy.”
This is what it now recommends:
“streetAddress”: “1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Unit 6E”
Address Property Change Description
The most substantial change is to the description of what the “address” property is, becoming more descriptive and precise about what is recommended.
The description before the change:
PostalAddress
Information about the street address of the listing. Include all properties that apply to your country.
The description after the change:
PostalAddress
The full, physical location of the vacation rental.
Provide the street address, city, state or region, and postal code for the vacation rental. If applicable, provide the unit or apartment number.
Note that P.O. boxes or other mailing-only addresses are not considered full, physical addresses.
This is repeated in the section for address.streetAddress property
This is what it recommended before:
address.streetAddress Text
The full street address of your vacation listing.
And this is what it recommends now:
address.streetAddress Text
The full street address of your vacation listing, including the unit or apartment number if applicable.
Clarification And Not A Change
Although these updates don’t represent a change in Google’s guidance they are nonetheless important because they offer clearer guidance with less ambiguity as to what is recommended.
Read the updated structured data guidance:
Vacation rental (VacationRental) structured data
Featured Image by Shutterstock/New Africa
SEO
Google On Hyphens In Domain Names
Google’s John Mueller answered a question on Reddit about why people don’t use hyphens with domains and if there was something to be concerned about that they were missing.
Domain Names With Hyphens For SEO
I’ve been working online for 25 years and I remember when using hyphens in domains was something that affiliates did for SEO when Google was still influenced by keywords in the domain, URL, and basically keywords anywhere on the webpage. It wasn’t something that everyone did, it was mainly something that was popular with some affiliate marketers.
Another reason for choosing domain names with keywords in them was that site visitors tended to convert at a higher rate because the keywords essentially prequalified the site visitor. I know from experience how useful two-keyword domains (and one word domain names) are for conversions, as long as they didn’t have hyphens in them.
A consideration that caused hyphenated domain names to fall out of favor is that they have an untrustworthy appearance and that can work against conversion rates because trustworthiness is an important factor for conversions.
Lastly, hyphenated domain names look tacky. Why go with tacky when a brandable domain is easier for building trust and conversions?
Domain Name Question Asked On Reddit
This is the question asked on Reddit:
“Why don’t people use a lot of domains with hyphens? Is there something concerning about it? I understand when you tell it out loud people make miss hyphen in search.”
And this is Mueller’s response:
“It used to be that domain names with a lot of hyphens were considered (by users? or by SEOs assuming users would? it’s been a while) to be less serious – since they could imply that you weren’t able to get the domain name with fewer hyphens. Nowadays there are a lot of top-level-domains so it’s less of a thing.
My main recommendation is to pick something for the long run (assuming that’s what you’re aiming for), and not to be overly keyword focused (because life is too short to box yourself into a corner – make good things, course-correct over time, don’t let a domain-name limit what you do online). The web is full of awkward, keyword-focused short-lived low-effort takes made for SEO — make something truly awesome that people will ask for by name. If that takes a hyphen in the name – go for it.”
Pick A Domain Name That Can Grow
Mueller is right about picking a domain name that won’t lock your site into one topic. When a site grows in popularity the natural growth path is to expand the range of topics the site coves. But that’s hard to do when the domain is locked into one rigid keyword phrase. That’s one of the downsides of picking a “Best + keyword + reviews” domain, too. Those domains can’t grow bigger and look tacky, too.
That’s why I’ve always recommended brandable domains that are memorable and encourage trust in some way.
Read the post on Reddit:
Read Mueller’s response here.
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Benny Marty
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