If you run any kind of e-commerce site where people need to enter sensitive information on your website, like credit card numbers, social security numbers, or any other sensitive data, then it’s imperative that you have some kind of an SSL certificate installed on your website.
This way your customers can rest assured knowing that their information is safe in your hands.
Let’s say that you’re looking to purchase something from Amazon or Ebay.
Would you feel comfortable entering your credit card number and submitting it over an unsecured network?
I know I wouldn’t and I would more than likely leave the site and purchase this elsewhere.
If you’re like me, then you likely feel the same way and if you aren’t connected to a secure network then chances are your customers feel the same way.
This could be the deciding factor that decides whether your potential customers makes a purchase from your web store or your competition.
I’m sure you don’t want to lose any sales and have people buy from your competition over you do you?
If you aren’t exactly sure what SSL is and you’re interested in learning more about then I highly encourage you to continue reading as I’ll be covering everything you need to know about this in full detail.
I’ll also be showing you how to install this on your site by simply clicking a button and how to do so at no additional cost to you.
There are many benefits to having this installed on your website and in the following post, I’ll be sharing these with you guys today.
I’ll also be looking at this from an SEO point of view and listing all the SEO benefits that you stand to gain once you add this to your site.
Sound good to you?
Let’s get started!!
What Exactly Is An SSL Certificate?
This stands for Secure Socket Layer and what this basically means is that any data that your visitors enter on your site is encrypted over a 256-bit connection.
This makes it impossible for hackers to steal any personal information entered on your website once you activate this.
How many times have you purchased something from Amazon and had to enter your credit card details on their site?
Did you happen to look up in the address bar to see if they had the green lock in your browser?
To get an idea of what I’m talking about, take a look at the screenshot I’ve captured for you below!
You see the green lock?
This means that your website is safe and secured from hackers and anyone who would try to jack your information and steal your identity.
Whenever you see the green lock you can rest assured that any data you enter on their website is safe and all of your information will be encrypted making it virtually impossible for anyone to decrypt it.
Why SSL?
Other than the security aspect of having an SSL certificate, there are also a few SEO benefits that come with this as well.
Since the middle part of 2014 SSL has been a small ranking factor with Google.
Anyone who had 1 of these installed on their website would get extra brownie points with Google (If you will) and see a small boost in their rankings in the search engines.
With all the spammers, hackers, and many other online security threats in the online world today, it’s absolutely vital that you ensure things are running smoothly and that you have a safe and secure connection at all times.
As we continue moving forward in 2017, I think Google will be putting a whole lot more emphasis on sites that are secured with an SSL certificate over the ones that don’t have one.
Other benefits of SSL Include:
- Offers your customers piece of mind when entering personal details on your site
- Eliminates the possibility for hackers or spammers to attack your site
- Prevents third party sites from tampering with data transferred through your website
- You’ll also notice that once you activate SSL on your domain that your website URL will change from an HTTP over to an HTTPS.
This is nothing more than an advanced layer of security for your browser and this ensures your potential customers that any information they enter here is safe.
Understanding The Different Type Of SSL Certificates
Now that you have a brief understanding of the purpose of having a certificate issued to your website, it’s important that you also have a good understanding of the 3 levels of SSSL certificates.
- DV Certificates (Domain Validation)- This is the most common certificate and the ideal one to get if you are a small business that’s just getting started. This includes running your own e-commerce store, building an affiliate marketing site, or if you’re the typical blogger.
The certificate verification process relies solely on your domain name. Similar to other companies that require you to prove ownership, you’ll need to place a piece of code in the head of your website.
Your certificate will be issued shortly after you verify ownership of the domain you wish to protect.
- OV Certificates ( Organization Validation)- This is the next step up and these offer more security than a DV certificate. The verification process is slightly different here where instead of simply verifying your domain name you would need to verify your business.
This would also require you to provide the name of your organization along with a few other requirements before they validate your certificate.
You’ll receive a DV certificate immediately after applying and this will act as a placeholder until your OV certificate arrives. These are most popular if you are a huge corporation or a government looking for an extra level of security.
- EV Certificates (Extended Validation)- This is the maximum amount of security that you can have for 1 site and as you’ve probably wondered, this also requires quite a few steps in order to get this type of certificate fully validated.
Once you meet the requirements and become officially validated your company name will be displayed in the address bar of your browser.
There are other types of certificates but these are the 3 primary ones that are usually issued to webmasters and various corporations.
Costs Associated With SSL
Securing an SSL certificate can become quite expensive and you’ll find that in some cases you’ll need to pay multiple fees.
If you were to inquire about an SSL certificate from somewhere like Go Daddy you’ll likely pay a yearly fee of $100.
This doesn’t include any installation fees or setup fees that you would need to secure before placing your order.
Take a look at the screenshot that I’ve captured for you guys below for you to get a better idea of how much this will end up costing you from Godaddy
As you can see above, depending on how many websites you run will determine how much you’ll need to pay to get started.
There are a wide variety of places where you can acquire an SSL certificate!
These prices tend to fluctuate depending on the level of encryption you’re looking for and which package would suit your needs the best.
Take A Look Below At How Much Money You Could Put Back Into Your Pocket By Acquiring An SSL Certificate At Wealthy Affiliate
Price | 256 Bit Encryption | 1 Click Activation | |
---|---|---|---|
GoDaddy | Starting at $69/year | Yes | No |
Namecheap | Starting at $9/ year | Yes | No |
Wealthy Affiliate | Free With A Paid Membership | Yes | Yes |
Where’s The Best Place To Acquire Your SSL Certificate?
With my personal experience with this, I have found that this can tend to get pretty complex and I found myself quite overwhelmed when I first started learning about this type of website security.
From applying for the certificate to meeting the requirements and going through all the necessary steps it can be a pretty tedious process.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could leave the technical details to someone else and avoid the hassle of verifying your website, and instead have this activated by a click of your mouse?
What if I told you that there was a place where their support team handled all the technical details and did all the work setting this up for you and you could activate it with the click of your mouse?
Would this be something you would be interested learning more about?
Just a few weeks back Wealthy Affiliate has entered the SSL world and they are about to shake up the SSL world by offering this service at no extra cost to all of their premium members.
As you’ve seen above this service along can cost up to $300 a year depending on which package you decide to go with.
As A Premium Member, you’ll have the option of activating this for up to 25 domains that you own by simply flicking this to the ON position.
No technical knowledge required and if you can click a mouse then you’re all set.
Not only will you gain access to SSL certificates for your site but you’ll also be provided with step by step task based training will walk you through how to build a web-based business based on your hobbies or interests.
What other domain registrars out there do you know of that will not only provide you with website security for your site but also show you how to build your website from the ground up?
I’ll wait…….
If you have ever shown any kind of interest in building websites, getting them ranked, and ultimately learning how to make your first $1 online, then I think you should seriously check out everything WA has to offer.
They make it easy for you to get started by offering their free Starter Membership.
This way you’ll have the chance to experience everything that they have to offer you before investing in their more advanced tools and training modules.
I really hope this post has given you guys some insights into the many different levels of website security available to you and hopefully I’ve been able to emphasize the importance of having this installed on your site.
I would love to hear you guys thoughts on this and answer any lingering questions you may have in the comments below!