Did you know that over one hundred and fifty million websites today have an SSL certificate? If you’re in the e-commerce business, you may already know what an SSL certificate is. Investing in secure websites is the lifeline for customers to conduct online transactions.
But if you’re unsure about SSL, this guide is for you. SSL-enabled sites, besides e-commerce, are essential to protect data and boost search engine results.
And hopefully, you’re not a victim of cyber crime. But unfortunately, inadequate data encryption or insecure websites opens the door to cyber warfare. So stay one step ahead of the game and secure your website and cash flow with an SSL-enabled site.
What Is SSL?
SSL is an acronym for security sockets layers. However, today’s secure websites use the modern SSL upgrade, TLS (Transport Layer Security). But both SSL and TLS provide data encryption.
This data encryption makes it difficult for hackers or MITM attacks (man-in-the-middle) to break or read sensitive data like online transactions. Here are some quick highlights of SSL-enabled sites:
- Authentication between devices
- Digital signatures
- Uses the HTTPS protocol
SSL and TSL require communicating servers and devices to prove authenticity before proceeding with online transactions. This process in the tech world is known as handshakes. The digital handshake produces sophisticated keys to encrypt data.
SSL to TSL
Netscape, the defunct internet browser, introduced SSL technology in the mid-90s. Before SSL, web browsers made online transactions without encryption. So, to thwart MITM attacks, websites became SSL-enabled.
However, vulnerabilities made SSL-enabled websites susceptible to MITM attacks. In 1999, TSL emerged as an upgrade from SSL 3.0. SSL 3.0 itself was an upgrade from the original SSL 2.0 technology.
But to maximize search engine results and from Google’s encouragement, today, secure websites turn to TSL over SSL 3.0. TSL offers these distinct advantages:
- Fixes SSL certificates weaknesses
- Provides enhanced features
- Is compatible with modern browsers
Major web browsers like Google Chrome switched over to TSL in 2014. So, it behooves your websites to have the latest TSL encryption because SSL is being phased out. However, you can enable both technologies to secure websites from MITM attacks.
SSL and SERPS
SERPS is short for search engine results. From on-page SEO to Local SEO, you want your site to rank high on search engines like Google and Bing. Having an SSL certificate or TSL is essential for search engine results.
Google, for example, prioritizes favorable search engine results for sites with SSL-enabled. Conversely, sites without an SSL certificate are flagged and penalized in search engine results. For optimum search engine results, check out our blog post for pointers.
More About What Is SSL
If you have further questions about what is SSL or what is an SSl certificate, apnTech is the solution for your company. Providing solutions for secure websites is our motto.
We specialize in custom digital strategies to help your websites rank in search engine results favorably. Also, we provide business listing services to help your brand connect with your target audience. And to take your local SEO to the next level, we offer state-of-the-art voice search services.
Contact apnTech today to begin getting your websites seen in the search engine results. We also offer web conferencing.
