If you thought that internet security was all about protecting yourself from viruses then we’re here to update you. Internet security is about a lot more than just the risk of infection. Internet security is about protecting the identity of your business, your brand and the information shared by your customers.
Identity fraud is a growing challenge on the internet. Consumers want to be able to share their details on your website and know that you are who you say you are. Browsers (like Google) want to respond to search queries with websites that are trustworthy and safe.
The solution to both challenges is to get your website certified. An SSL certificate is a certificate that is issued by a trusted third party to confirm that your website is representing a real validated company. Effectively, you are letting your customers and browser manufacturers, like Google, know that you are who you say you are and that it is safe for users to interact with your website.
It is important to note that there are two types of SSL certification. These are Domain Validated and Full Authentication. Domain Validated SSL certificates are simply issued to a website based on a person having control or access to a domain name, as such, these type certificates do not provide any background information on the business who own or are running the website. Fully Authenticated SSL solutions ensure that any company running a website is fully vetted to ensure that they are who they say they are, that the company is in good stead and that they own the domain and website in question.
At Caddie we offer only Fully Authenticated SSL certificates to ensure that our customers are fully authenticated and are able to provide increased levels of trust to their customers in the online space.
THERE ARE AT LEAST 3 POSITIVE OUTPUTS OF SSL CERTIFICATION.
1: Positive Search Engine ranking
The first is that when browsers see that you have a valid certificate for your website, they proactively connect their customers with you. That means not just that you are recognised as a valid response when the customer enters a search query. It also means that you are boosted up the search rankings, having been recognised as a trusted and verified business online.
You can think of it like a digital passport. You want your website to reach your customers, and the browser functions like passport control. If your paperwork isn’t up to date or you don’t have the right certification, they’re not as keen to let you through. But with a SSL certificate the browser knows that you are who you say you are. So they give you a boost.
2: HTTPS The sign of a trusted site
The second positive outcome of certification is that customers can trust your website and so are willing to share their information on it. In fairness, they won’t necessarily know this because they’ve seen details of your certificate although we do recommend to our customers that they share them on their websites. The signal to customers that you can be trusted is in your HTTPS status.
Websites with SSL certificates are awarded HTTPS status. HTTPS is a signal to consumers that your website is secure. All they need to do is check the address bar and they can quickly be confident that you are who you say you are. If you expect customers to share any information with you then this is essential. From a consumer perspective interacting with a website is increasingly becoming dependent on HTTPS status.
3: Encrypted data in transit
The third positive benefit of SSL certification comes directly from the verified HTTPS status. HTTPS allows you to encrypt your customer’s data when it is in motion. This can easily be explained with an analogy. Would you ever post a letter without putting it in an envelope? Imagine all the touch-points on the journey of the letter from sender to receiver. It’s easy to imagine how quickly the information in the letter would be accessed and potentially shared once it was placed into the system.
That’s effectively what happens if you fail to encrypt your customer’s data when it’s in transit. HTTPS adds an enhanced layer of security to data sharing between customer and company. This not only allows customers to be happy to share their information with your website; it also protects your brand. No brand wants the risk of being exposed for leaking confidential customer information online.
THE CADDIE WAY
Browsers are getting more and more emphatic in their requirements to have certification, and preferred providers work closely with them to ensure that customers and brands are protected from fraud. At Caddie we choose DigiCert not just because it is a preferred and trusted provider, but also because it provides what we think is the best package of certification and security possible.
We like all of our clients to certify their websites because we recognise that this is the future of secure browsing and shopping for online consumers. With SSL certification and an HTTPS status our clients are able to protect both their brand and their customers. We’re always focused on search engine optimisation and the positive impact on rankings from achieving a HTTPS status is an important benefit.
Contact us today and we’ll be happy to share our expertise with you. We can take a look at your current website and let you know where your security may need some updating. We can also talk you through your options and let you know what it would take to protect your website and your customers with SSL certification and HTTPS status.
