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Stop churning out content for the sake of it. Here's how to create content that can increase your website traffic.
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Thursday 31 May 2018
How to Explode Traffic with the Right Content by @seo_travel
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Wednesday 30 May 2018
How to Increase Clicks by Mastering Your Headlines
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What draws people to your content?
In the past, I’ve explained how to write introductions that make the rest of your post irresistible. But before readers can even have a chance to read your intros, they’ll need to click on your headline.
Headlines go way beyond just blog posts. This is something you need to focus on for every piece of content you produce.
Whether it’s a new video on your website or a breaking news story you’re sharing via social media, it all starts with a captivating headline.
Obviously, you want people to consume the content you’re producing. But the reality is they probably won’t. According to research from HubSpot, 43% of readers just skim through posts.
But if your goal is to get clicks and drive traffic to a landing page, all you need to do is focus on the title.
That’s because 80% of people will read a headline. So there’s a good chance your headlines will be seen by most of your audience. Now, it’s just up to you to make sure it’s appealing enough to get clicks.
Include a number
Numbers are a great way to draw attention to your post and increase clicks. That’s because readers know what to expect when they see a number in the title.
I use them when I’m writing my blog posts all the time. Here’s a recent headline I used for an article about how to monitor your competition.
When someone stumbles upon this headline, they know exactly what the post will entail. Basically, it’s going to be a list of 10 different tools.
As I mentioned, readers like to skim through content. Lists are appealing because they make it easy to bounce from one point to another.
The reader doesn’t have to read every single word to scan through this list. As a result, they are more likely to click on it.
But what numbers should you use? According to research-based 2017 Facebook engagement data, these are the top ten performing numbers:
- 10
- 5
- 15
- 7
- 20
- 6
- 8
- 12
- 9
- 3
Numbers that are increments of five make up four of the top five results on this list.
But that doesn’t mean you should include numbers like 50 or 100. As you can see, none of the top ten results include numbers higher than 20.
That’s because people don’t want to spend all day reading your content. They know it will take only a few minutes or so to skim through a list of 10. But anything upward of 20 is much less appealing and won’t produce as many clicks.
Don’t overlook the length
Don’t ramble. Your headline shouldn’t be as long as an introduction. But it shouldn’t be only a few words either.
One sentence or fragment of a sentence should put you in a good spot to get clicks. That’s because it provides your audience with enough information to grab their attention.
Research shows that headlines between 16 and 18 words produce the most engagement:
Analyze your current headlines.
If they are fewer than ten words, it could be the main reason why you’re getting an unsatisfactory number of clicks. On the flip side, if your headlines have a word count that’s pushing 30, it’s still not optimized for the highest engagement.
Don’t get carried away here. Your headline needs to make sense and read well.
Adding or removing a couple of words just to fit within the 16 to 18 range isn’t going to help you if the title doesn’t make any sense.
In addition to your word count, you should also consider the number of characters in your headline.
Take a look at the data analysis in this article from Contently:
As you can see from the graph, headlines with the highest click-through rates have between 90 and 99 characters.
Interestingly enough, the title of this post is,
According to a study, There’s a Good Chance You’ll Click This Headline Because It’s 97 Characters.
The character count falls within the recommendations of the research.
Have you noticed anything else about this title? I’m sure you’re not in the habit of counting words. Truthfully, I’m not either. But for the sake of this post, I’ve been paying more attention to this.
The article from Contently has 16 words in the title. This aligns with the research on word count and its relationship to engagement I talked about earlier.
It hits the mark for both categories.
Basically, if you can write headlines that are between 16 to 18 words and have 90 to 99 characters, you’ll be putting yourself in the best position to get the most possible clicks.
Shock your audience
Come up with a headline that is too intriguing for readers to pass up on.
Make your audience ask themselves “huh?” or “is this even possible?”
Shocking headlines are sometimes referred to as click-bait. It’s okay to do it as long as you are not letting your readers down with your content.
Here’s what I mean by this. If you are going to use a shocking headline, the content had better deliver as promised.
Take a look at this old blog post I wrote about how I made $1 million with a Ferrari:
What a throwback picture! I almost don’t recognize myself with all that hair.
But this is the type of article that generates clicks because the headline is so shocking. It draws the attention of readers for several reasons.
First of all, a Ferrari is a well-known sports car recognized internationally. They are expensive and turn heads whenever they are seen on the road.
Second, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t be interested in how to make a million bucks. And there’s a way to make money with a sports car? The title is too intriguing to ignore.
It makes the user question if that’s actually possible.
You can come up with headlines like this as well. Think of something exciting you’ve accomplished. Put it into your headline.
Set a benchmark
Another way to get people to click on your headlines is to use a benchmark.
Show them how they can achieve something by clicking on your post and reading more information. For example, let’s say your company sells dietary supplements.
A benchmark headline could say,
How you can lose 30 pounds in the next 30 days.
This strategy combines the benchmark method with the previous tactic of using a shock factor. Losing 30 pounds is extreme on its own. But doing it in 30 days? That’s something that even people who aren’t trying to lose weight would be interested in reading.
Just make sure your headlines are realistic. You want to set a benchmark that’s attainable.
Check out this example from my blog where I discuss how to get more Twitter followers:
The benchmark here is 10,000.
It’s a high number, but it’s still realistic. If the title said, “How to get 10 million Twitter followers,” it would be much less believable.
For most people, reaching 10 million followers on social media is unrealistic. I know my blog audience. I’m speaking to entrepreneurs and business owners, not celebrities.
I set this benchmark at a number I think they can reach.
Discuss relevant topics
Your headlines need to be relevant to a few different things.
First of all, they need to be appropriate for your brand and voice. If your business is in the music industry, you shouldn’t be writing headlines about how to survive an earthquake.
Yes, that example may be a bit drastic, but I’m sure you understand what I’m talking about.
Second, your headlines must be relevant in terms of their timing. If you’re reporting a news story that happened two weeks ago, you’re too late. That headline is meaningless now.
Here’s a great example of a relevant headline from Harper’s BAZAAR:
As a magazine that specializes in fashion trends, pop culture, and beauty advice, it uses a headline on topic for the brand. It hits the mark for our first component of relevance.
This article discusses fashion trends for the spring and summer of 2018.
But notice when it was published. The article was released on February 22, 2018. So the timing is perfect as well.
If it came out in the spring or summer, it would be too late. Readers aren’t going to click on something that’s old news. The time to buy their spring and summer clothing is before the season starts.
Teach your readers “how to” do something
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m a big fan of creating informative guides teaching you how to do certain things.
If you are an expert in a particular field or industry, use your extensive knowledge to your advantage. Create step-by-step guides for your readers.
In addition to being informative, such posts are also a great way to get lots of clicks.
Here’s something else you need to take into consideration. Sure, you’ll be sharing your content on all your distribution channels. But that’s not the only way your content will be seen.
You’ll also need to write headlines based on organic traffic. Your organic traffic comes from unpaid search engine results.
If someone needs help accomplishing something, what do you think they’ll type into Google? There’s a good chance they’ll type the words “how to,” so it’s in your best interest to include these words in your headlines for SEO purposes.
Take a look at this article from BuildFire:
First of all, the content of this article is relevant to the brand—a topic I discussed above.
But based on this headline, it’s clear the post will show people how to do something.
BuildFire specializes in everything related to mobile applications. More specifically, they handle custom app development.
So they recognized the search terms someone would put into Google. Here’s a look at what I’m referring to:
Aside from a paid advertisement, this post from BuildFire is the top search result based on its headline.
If you can master your SEO skills, you’ll get plenty of clicks just by occupying the top position on Google. In fact, in 2017 the top position received 20.5% of all Google clicks.
Those click-through rates drop down to 13% for the second and third positions, which is still good but a significant drop from the top spot’s rate.
As you’ve seen from a few of my examples in this guide, I practice what I preach. Look again at the title of the post you’re reading right now. I’m teaching you “how to” do something, and my headline reflects that.
Conclusion
If you want people to read your content, you need to entice them to click on your headline before you can do anything else.
If you are just trying to drive more traffic to specific pages, writing an engaging headline is the best way to do this.
Writing a headline shouldn’t be taken lightly. There is science behind it.
Add a number. Readers love to scan content, so a numbered list with fewer than 20 topics is one of my favorite ways to generate clicks.
As you can see from the research I discussed, the length of your headlines is important as well. You need to consider both the word and character count to make your title as efficient as possible.
Use a shocking headline to wow your audience and generate clicks. Set an attainable benchmark. Just make sure all your content is relevant and released at appropriate times based on titles.
“How to” articles also produce lots of clicks. Your SEO skills should be applied to every headline you write to increase your organic traffic.
If you follow this guide, you’ll see a significant surge in your click-through rates based on your new and improved headlines.
What types of headlines do you write that encourage readers to click on your content?
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Tuesday 29 May 2018
SEO-Friendly Hosting: 5 Things to Look For in a Hosting Company by @amelioratethis
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Good, reliable web hosting matters. Here are the five key features that define an SEO-friendly hosting company.
how I went to number one on Google for a competitive term by just getting people to click my page
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4 Key Areas You Should Measure for SEO by @jennyhalasz
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Measuring your SEO performance is essential. Find out which metrics you should be tracking to understand what's working.
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Friday 25 May 2018
Why SEO Pros Should Care About Branding by @tonynwright
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Here's why you should care about branding, support branding efforts, and understand their objectives.
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Thursday 24 May 2018
How to Use B2B SEO to Generate High-Quality Leads by @alexanderkesler
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Discover an effective SEO framework that you can employ to generate high-quality B2B leads.
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Wednesday 23 May 2018
10 Facts You Think You Know About SEO That Are Actually Myths by @sam_marsden
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Here are 10 common misunderstandings about Google and SEO and why they’re wrong.
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Top-Level Domain & Other Restrictions for International SEO by @motokohunt
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Here are the things you need to consider when choosing a TLD for international SEO.
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Tuesday 22 May 2018
10 Awesome WordPress SEO Plugins to Optimize Your Site by @jonleeclark
Here are 10 awesome WordPress SEO plugins that will help you quickly optimize your site.
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Will Skipping H2 Tags Affect Your SEO? by @jennyhalasz
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Are there any implications to SEO for webpages that skip H2s and go directly from an H1 to an H3?
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Friday 18 May 2018
The Top 21 Best Practices for Running a Successful Ecommerce Website
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If your business sells tangible products, you need to have a strong online presence.
But with so much competition in the ecommerce space, it can be tough for you to establish your ground. Not only are you competing with local and regional brands, but you also have to deal with international giants such as Amazon and Walmart.
That’s why it’s important for you to focus on every detail of your ecommerce website.
Learn how to design a homepage that converts.
This guide is useful to everyone. Whether you are a brick and mortar retailer expanding into online business, a company that operates strictly through the Internet, or something in between, you’ll benefit from these tips.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re building a new website or making changes to your existing one.
Following these 21 best practices will help you increase conversions for your ecommerce store. You’ll also be able to generate more leads and add additional sales revenue to your bottom line.
1. Avoid clutter
Ecommerce websites with simple designs have higher conversion rates. Take a look at your homepage right now.
What’s the first thing a visitor sees?
There should be a clear point of focus. The visitor’s eyes should be drawn straight to a CTA button or products you sell.
But too much clutter makes it difficult to identify your CTA.
As you can see, 53% of websites have CTAs that take visitors more than three seconds to locate. You should be aiming for a time much quicker than that.
What actions do you want consumers to take when they visit your website? Obviously, you want them to make a purchase.
Make this as easy as possible for them. Don’t distract people with clutter. It’s overwhelming and confusing.
2. Simplify your menus
Menus are a great way to stay organized and group what you’re selling. But as just mentioned, you don’t want to overcomplicate things.
Too many menu categories will confuse the consumer, preventing them from finding what they’re looking for.
Your menu shouldn’t be super specific. Instead, use broad terms to categorize your products.
For example, let’s say your ecommerce brand sells clothing with items such as:
- t-shirts
- long sleeve shirts
- sweaters
- tank tops
- vests
Rather than having five different menu options for each of these choices, you can group them into one category: “tops.”
3. Add a search bar
Let’s continue talking about simplicity.
Now that you’ve removed some clutter and simplified your menu options, you’ll still need to make additional changes. Since visitors will have fewer menu selections, they’ll see more products when they click on each category.
I know some of you may not have a ton of products for sale, but other ecommerce sites could have hundreds or potentially thousands of options to choose from.
Forcing users to scroll through these choices randomly won’t drive sales and conversions. That’s why implementing a search bar is the best solution.
Check out this example from the Nike website:
The company sells thousands of sneakers on its website. A search bar makes it easy for its customers to find what they’re looking for.
Take a look at what the search for “running sneakers” yielded in the example above. As you can see, there are 155 products that fit this description. That’s still an overwhelming number of items to scroll through.
But Nike has additional filters and search results on the left column of its search feature.
This helps customers narrow the options based on parameters such as gender or sport.
If you use this strategy, make sure all your products are clearly tagged with the appropriate labels. Then the search results will be accurately displayed for each shopper’s query.
4. Buy a premium web hosting service
Speed is one of the most important elements of a successful ecommerce website. Each page needs to load fast to yield high conversions.
But if you buy a budget web hosting plan, it’ll cost you in the long run.
Research shows a one second delay in page loading time can lead to a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction and a 7% loss in conversions. If your site has a two or three second delay, you’re in big trouble.
Even worse than a slow loading time is site crashes, glitches, or error reports.
That’s why you’re better off spending the money on a premium web hosting plan now as opposed to dealing with these headaches later. Trust me, it’s worth the investment.
5. Eliminate steps in your checkout process
Once a website visitor decides to buy something, they should find it easy to complete the purchase. It’s your job to make it so.
Each additional step in the checkout process will increase the chances of them abandoning the transaction. In fact, 28% of consumers said they abandoned a shopping cart during checkout because the process was too long and complicated.
The key here is to get only essential information from the buyer.
There’s no reason to ask for their mother’s maiden name, the first concert they attended, or their favorite vacation spot.
Get their billing information and shipping address. That’s all you need to process a transaction.
6. Don’t force shoppers to create a profile (but encourage it)
As I just said, you want your buyers to go through the checkout process as quickly as possible.
That’s why you need to offer a guest checkout option instead of forcing visitors to create a profile. That said, you can still encourage them to create a profile.
Check out this example from Lululemon to see what I’m talking about:
Once items are added to a shopping cart, users can finalize their transaction through the guest checkout option.
But that doesn’t mean Lululemon is done trying to encourage people to create a profile.
When the order is being reviewed, guests can see an express checkout button, but they can’t use it.
This option is reserved for customers who set up profiles.
They can go through the checkout process even faster since all their information is saved in their accounts. Subtle features like this encourage profile sign ups without being annoying or putting too much pressure on the customer.
7. Send shopping cart abandonment emails
Once a user sets up their profile, you can tell when they add something to their shopping cart without buying it. Don’t ignore this.
You’re missing out on money.
Often times, they were just a click or two away from completing the transaction. Clearly, they were interested in the product enough to add it to their cart.
Sending an email reminding the shopper about the item can be just enough to finalize the sale.
8. Prioritize SEO
Not everyone who wants what you’re selling will navigate straight to your website.
In fact, research shows that 46% of consumers start the buying process through a search engine, such as Google.
If your ecommerce site isn’t one of the top results, they’ll buy from one of your competitors instead. That’s why it’s so important for you to focus your efforts on search engine optimization.
Do everything in your power to reach the top of Google rankings based on searches related to whatever your brand is selling.
9. Write blog posts on a regular basis
How often will the same person visit your ecommerce website?
Chances are, they’re not buying something every day. They probably won’t buy something even once a week. Only your top customers might shop once per month.
If people aren’t on your website, they obviously can’t spend any money.
But running a blog in addition to your ecommerce site is a great way to build a strong following. Now people have a reason to check out your site on a daily or weekly basis.
Once they’re on the site, they’ll be more likely to buy something.
10. Build an email subscriber list
To have a successful ecommerce site, you need to have lots of visitors ready to buy. But how are you planning on driving traffic to your site?
Building an ecommerce email list is one of your best options. Once you have a subscriber’s email address, you can contact them with special offers and promotions to entice sales.
A great way to add subscribers is to collect email addresses during the checkout process. Here’s an example of this from SAXX:
By default, this box is already checked off. Shoppers will have to deselect this option if they don’t want to be added to the subscriber list.
Once people are added to your list, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to send them personalized offers to drive traffic to your website and increase sales.
You can even offer an incentive for shoppers to sign up for emails, such as a discount off their next purchase.
11. Accept as many payment options as possible
You can’t assume everyone has a Visa or MasterCard.
Even if they do, that doesn’t mean it’s their preferred payment option. One of those cards may be maxed out, or they could have better membership benefits on another card.
Even if other credit card companies charge higher merchant transaction fees, you still need to take other cards like Discover and American Express.
Your ecommerce site also needs to accept alternative payment options such as PayPal and Apple Pay.
12. Write informative product descriptions
You can’t sell something with just a name. Each product on your website needs to have an informative description.
But make sure you avoid large blocks of text. Keep these descriptions short and to the point.
Explain how the product works by highlighting the key benefits. You don’t need to explain the entire history of the product or how it was made. That won’t drive sales.
You can even use bullet points to make it easy for consumers to scan through the text and read the description.
13. Get rid of ads
Some of you may be using your ecommerce site as a platform to sell advertisement space to other brands. Don’t do it. You’re making a big mistake if you do.
Sure, you may get some additional income. But it’s not worth turning away your own customers.
Sidebar ads and popups can look like spam. A visitor may be afraid to click through your site for the fear that they’ll be redirected somewhere else that’s untrustworthy.
Take a look at how consumers throughout the world feel about advertisements on websites:
As you can see, 82% of consumers in the United States say that online ads are disruptive to their shopping experience.
Remove any ads you have, and leave it as blank space. This will help you eliminate the clutter in your design—the point I discussed earlier.
14. Provide easily accessible customer service
Not all of the transactions on your ecommerce site will go smoothly.
Customers will have questions and problems. This is inevitable.
When people are experiencing an issue, such as finding a product or troubleshooting an item they have previously purchased, you want to make sure they can get help as soon as possible.
That’s why you need to have readily available customer service support through various options such as:
- phone
- live chat
Now customers can contact your brand based on their preferred method of communication. In addition to your customer service being easily accessible, it also needs to be friendly.
Don’t keep customers on hold. Make sure your staff are trained to resolve issues quickly and efficiently.
15. Run tests and analyze the results
How do you know if your ecommerce site is set up for the highest possible conversions?
You don’t.
But if you run A/B tests on a regular basis, you’ll have a much better understanding.
Now you can adjust the CTA placement, its phrasing, or button color. Determine which landing pages are driving the most sales.
Based on the results of your tests, you can make the necessary adjustments, increasing the chances of your success.
16. Go mobile
Your ecommerce site needs to be optimized for mobile devices.
That’s because in the last six months, 62% of people who owned a smartphone used their devices to complete online purchases.
You can’t afford to exclude mobile shoppers. If you want to take your mobile strategy to the next level, you may even want to consider building an app for your ecommerce business.
This is the ultimate way to personalize the consumer shopping experience. Plus, you can save user information on file, such as their payment options and shipping address.
Now they can check out and complete each purchase in just a few clicks as opposed to having to enter their credit card for every transaction.
17. Offer free shipping
It’s simple: don’t charge your customers for shipping.
That’s because unexpected costs are the top reason for shopping cart abandonment.
Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer.
They see a price listed on one page of your website, but at checkout, they see additional charges. Sure, they can expect to pay taxes, but shipping too?
These added costs are driving people away. Increase the prices of your products to cover any shipping costs incurred by you as opposed to charging for shipping separately.
18. Partner with brand influencers
Establishing credibility is one of the best ways to drive sales and have a successful ecommerce website.
Having a celebrity or someone with a strong social following endorse your site will make you seem more legitimate. This marketing tactic won’t be free, but it can definitely yield a high ROI.
Just make sure you’re working with someone related to your industry.
If you’re selling skateboards and related products, having an influencer who has never skateboarded won’t have much of an impact on your sales.
19. Display high quality product images
Having an ecommerce shop means customers don’t get to touch and feel the products the same way they can in a physical store.
They rely on pictures to give them a sense of what they’re buying.
That’s why you need to take multiple pictures from every angle of each product you’re selling. I know this may seem tedious, but it’s necessary.
Zoom in and highlight all the top features and benefits.
20. Give video demonstrations
Sometimes, images aren’t enough.
If you’re selling something requiring a demonstration, add a video.
According to Forbes, 90% of consumers say videos help them make a decision about purchasing a product.
That must be why Thule implemented this strategy on its website:
In addition to its high quality photos and product descriptions, the site also has video demonstrations for the majority of items they sell.
This added information makes it easy for prospective customers to learn how each product works.
21. Feature customer reviews and testimonials
Testimonials and reviews are another way to add credibility to your products and brand.
It’s important that you include these on your ecommerce site.
After a customer buys something, send them a follow-up email asking them to review the item they bought. Just make sure you give them enough time to use it before you ask for their feedback.
I realize this can be scary for some of you. Not everyone will be happy with your products, and the idea of negative comments being publically displayed can be frightening to some brands.
But that’s OK. Don’t let a few bad reviews discourage you. Look on the bright side of it.
This will show shoppers the reviews and testimonials on your site are legitimate and trustworthy. A couple of negative remarks can make your positive reviews appear that much more powerful.
Conclusion
Running a successful ecommerce website is not an easy task.
Fortunately, you can do many things to improve your chances of driving sales and keeping your customers coming back for more.
Don’t let this list of best practices intimidate you. I don’t expect you to implement all 21 of these overnight.
That said, you should start to identify changes that need to be made and prioritize the ones you think are the most important.
What elements of your ecommerce website need to be adjusted to improve your conversions rates and drive more sales?
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SEO Fundamentals: Your Guide to SEO Success Factors in 2018 by @MrDannyGoodwin
As you approach SEO, especially in terms of content, make sure your strategy takes these three areas into account.
how I went to number one on Google for a competitive term by just getting people to click my page
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Thursday 17 May 2018
What is an SSL Certificate and How It Can Help Your Website
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You might be wondering: “Why is my website showing up as an unsecured site in Google Chrome?”
The answer is because you don’t have an SSL certificate that converts your pages into secure, encrypted HTTPS pages.
Some people may think that there’s no need for an SSL certificate if your website isn’t used to store or process sensitive information, or that an HTTP protocol is enough.
That may have been the case a decade ago, but it simply doesn’t hold true today.
When visitors see the “Not secure” tag that comes along with the lack of an SSL certificate, they’ll be less likely to stay on your site or interact with your company.
Or buy anything from you at all.
In this post, we’re going to cover what an SSL certificate is and how it can be used to help your website.
So what does SSL stand for, anyway?
What is an SSL Certificate?
SSL certificates are data files that add a cryptographic key together with a company’s details. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer.
In layman’s terms, SSL certificates bind a domain name, server name, or hostname together with a company name and location.
When they’re installed on a web server, they activate a padlock that shows that a secure connection is present between a browser and the web server.
These padlocks, which are added to most of your favorite websites, look something like this:
They signify to site visitors that the owner of a website is encrypting connections on the page, which makes for a more secure experience.
Usually, SSLs can be used to secure transactions, logins, and data transfer. In today’s world, it has become commonplace for social media sites to have SSL certificates, too.
Twitter has one:
Facebook has one:
And even Reddit has one:
When you open an SSL certificate up, it usually looks something like this:
This particular certificate lists who it was issued to, who it was issued by, and the dates that it is valid from and to. This one is valid until 2019.
That way, site visitors won’t have to second guess if your web page is safe, secure, or legitimate.
The bottom line? If you want your site to be trustworthy, you’ll need an SSL certificate.
Here’s how an SSL certificate works.
How Does an SSL Work
When you access a website, the browser or server requests that your web server reveals it’s identity.
A web server with an SSL certificate sends the browser or server a copy of it for review.
Then, the browser or server will check to determine whether or not it trusts the certificate. If it does, it relays the message back to the web server.
Then, the web server sends back a digitally signed acknowledgment and an SSL encrypted session begins.
Encrypted, secured data is then shared between the browser or server and the web server.
The benefits to using SSL certificates are huge. For starters, SSL makes browsing safer for your customers, builds trust and boosts conversions, and protects both internal and customer data.
They also help you rank higher in Google since they’re made possible with HTTPS.
But what is HTTPS and why is it important?
Why HTTPS?
HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is an application layer protocol that was created to transfer and receive data over the internet.
In comparison to plain old Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, HTTPS encrypts all communication between a browser and a website.
HTTP does not. The added S in HTTPS is much more than a letter.
This means that data sent through an HTTPS connection is converted into a nearly impenetrable code to prevent unauthorized hackers from getting their hands on it.
And even if they do, they won’t be able to understand it or make sense of it. Encryption can take a simple message, like “hello” and turn it into an unidentifiable code, like “6EB6957008E03CE4.”
An application layer protocol doesn’t discriminate when it comes to how information is transferred between sources, so your site visitors will all be treated with equal security.
HTTPS is commonly used by e-commerce websites in order to ensure secure transactions for customers when purchasing products.
Let’s take a closer look at the importance and advantages of the HTTPS protocol that SSL certificates provide.
The Importance and Advantages of SSL
Google’s main goal is to provide users with secure browsing options. That’s why they’re encouraging site owners to make the switch over to HTTPS.
In fact, Google is now marking all non-HTTPS sites as unsecure.
And if you’re selling products or services from your site, an HTTPS seal of approval could help you sell even more.
Think about it: would you hesitate if you were ready to buy something and you saw a header like “Secure payment?” Probably not.
But if you saw something on a checkout page mentioning that things were “not secure,” you’d probably be gone faster than a toupee in a hurricane.
Once you have an SSL certificate and an HTTPS protocol, don’t be afraid to show it off to your customers and boast about it to help boost sales and transparency.
HTTPS can also help your SEO and conversions.
How SSL Can Help Your SEO And Conversions
Google rewards URLs with HTTPS protocols for being secure, which gives them a minor SEO boost in comparison to sites without them.
This means increased rankings and more referral data.
Referral data is preserved when it passes through HTTPS sites, which can also help to increase your search engine placements.
Rankings will continue to increase over time if your site operates on HTTPS since visitors can always rest assured that browsing on your site is secure.
But there are several different types of SSL certificates you should be aware of.
Types of SSL Certificates
When choosing an SSL certificate, you need to pick the one that works best for you and your site.
There are three main types of SSL certificates.
- Domain Validated (DV SSL) Certificates
- Organization Validated (OV SSL) Certificates
- Extended Validation (EV SSL) Certificates
DV SSL certificates are issued almost immediately, and no company paperwork is required to obtain one.
No company identity is displayed on this type of SSL certificate other than encryption information, but it is enough to activate the “secure” padlock on your URL.
While there’s no questioning that your information will be encrypted when visiting a site with a DV SSL certificate, there’s no way for customers to verify who is on the other end of the data.
These certificates are the easiest and quickest to get, and they’re also the cheapest. But they’re the least secure of all SSL certificates.
If you just have a small personal website or forum that needs some added encryption, a DV SSL certificate is a solid choice.
OV SSL certificates are more secure than DV SSL certificates but less secure than EV SSL certificates. They’re also usually right in the middle of the two when it comes to cost, as well.
They are issued within a couple of days and require you to:
- Authenticate your organization
- Prove your right to request a certification
When you obtain an OV SSL certificate, the “secure” padlock will be added to your URL, as well as some kind of site seal, depending on where you purchase it from.
If you have a large, public-facing website that handles some non-sensitive transactional data on a regular basis, an OV SSL is a good certificate to go with.
EV SSL certificates, on the other hand, require several steps before they can be obtained. To get an EV SSL certificate, you must usually:
- Verify the legal existence of your company
- Verify that the identity of your company matches official records
- Verify that your company has the right to use the domain listed in the EV SSL certificate
- Verify that your company has authorized the issuance of the SSL certificate
EV SSL certificates are harder to get in comparison to other types, but they are more secure than DV SSL and OV SSL certificates.
You know exactly who is on the other end of the website with this kind of certificate.
These certificates are usually issued within several days and are the most expensive to obtain. The company name is displayed in the URL next to the “secure” padlock.
Your address bar may also turn green.
If you are an e-commerce site or you handle credit card payments and other sensitive data regularly, you need an EV SSL for maximum security.
How do you know what the best SSL certificate is for you?
What’s the Best SSL Certificate?
While all three different kinds of SSL certificates are better than no certificate, you have to pick the one that works the best for your budget and site needs.
Most sites that offer SSL certificates, like GoDaddy, Cloudflare, and Comodo, offer all three.
Let’s analyze GoDaddy first.
GoDaddy
All SSL certificates from GoDaddy include SHA-2 and 2048-bit encryption, which is about the strongest out there on the market today.
With a certificate from GoDaddy, you’ll be able to protect unlimited servers, reissue your certificate as many times as needed for free, and reach 24/7 security support.
You’ll also receive as much as $1 million in liability protection and a 30-day money back guarantee.
A DV SSL is $59.99 a year, an OV SSL is $103.99 per year, and an EV SSL is $99.99 per year.
With Cloudflare, you can get a base SSL for a more affordable price.
Cloudflare
With Cloudflare, you can get the base SSL service for free. There’s no hidden details or fine print.
For more advanced features or SSL certificates, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.
All that you need to implement Cloudflare’s SSL services is create an account and update your site’s DNS records.
Cloudflare’s HTTPS options provide additional services beyond regular HTTS that can help you boost page loading times and site speed.
Cloudflare serves your site visitors a cached version of your site to help make it faster for users.
However, SSL with Cloudflare only encrypts the connection between site visitors and the cached version of your site.
It doesn’t encrypt the connection that exists between your site and your server.
This means that your server connection could still be hacked.
If you want a full SSL certificate complete with encryption for your server, you might have to pay as much as $200 per month per domain for Cloudflare’s Business plan.
Other features included in the Business package include a web application firewall, prioritized email support, and guaranteed 100% uptime for your website.
Comodo SSL certificates are a bit more secure than Cloudflare.
Comodo
A DV SSL certificate from Comodo will set you back about $70.95 per year. A warranty level of $10,000 is included.
OV SSL certificates can cost anywhere from $88.95 to $427.95 per year, depending on the one you choose. Warranty levels are anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000 for this SSL.
An EV SSL is $199.50 per year and includes a warranty level of $1,750,000.
Every SSL certificate from Comodo features 128/256 bit encryption, 2048 bit root keys, unlimited reissuance and a 30-day money back guarantee,
Each certificate features HackerGuardian PCI scanning service, as well.
Once you decide on the SSL certificate that works best for you, get ready to install it.
How to Install an SSL Certificate
Installing an SSL certificate might sound intimidating, but it isn’t anything to be afraid of. Start off by purchasing the SSL certificate of your choice.
1) Purchase the SSL certificate
Be sure to only purchase an SSL certificate from a reputable source.
After all, you don’t want to compromise your company’s security, so don’t just purchase an SSL certificate from anywhere.
You will probably need to upload a copy of your Certificate Signing Request (CSR) when you order the SSL certificate of your choosing.
A finished CSR should look something like this:
You can find a list of all CSR creation instructions for nearly every platform and operating system here.
Once you’ve purchased your SSL certificate, you’re ready to activate it.
2) Activate it
The method used to activate your SSL certificate will depend on where you ultimately decide to purchase it from. Sometimes, your web host will activate your SSL for you.
For example, if you purchase an SSL from GoDaddy, you’ll have to log into your account, head to “SSL Certificates” and click “Set up.”
Once you refresh the page, you should see your new and ready to use certificate.
When you have activated your certificate, you should validate it.
3) Validate the certificate
Before you officially begin to use an SSL certificate, you need to diagnose any issues with it.
Use an SSL Checker tool like this one from SSL Shopper to validate your certificate.
Next, install the certificate on your hosting server if it hasn’t already been done by your web host.
4) Install the certificate on the hosting server
The process for installing your certificate on your hosting server will depend on where you’ve built your site.
For example, if you’ve used Duda to build your website, you can navigate over to “Site Settings” and click “Site SSL” to set up a certificate.
Then, click “Generate certificate.”
Note that your SSL certificate should never be removed unless you manually take it off of your site.
Once your SSL certificate is up and running, you need to set up 301 redirects and check your links.
5) Set up 301 redirects and check the links
If you have old google links or dated links to your pages on other sites, you need to set up a redirect so that HTTP requests can be changed to HTTPS ones.
You can do this by adding the following code to the top of your .htcaaccess file located in your root folder:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule (.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
Once you’ve added that code, double check that your site is still working well and that requests are being redirected to the new version of your URLs.
You can also use HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to force all connections to become HTTPS links all at once.
All you have to do is add the code to your site.
For example, if you have an Apache web server, you can add the following code to your .htaaccess file:
# Use HTTP Strict Transport Security to force client to use secure connections only Header always set Strict-Transport-Security “max-age=300; includeSubDomains; preload”
Here’s how to view SSL certificates in Chrome.
How to View SSL Certificates in Chrome
To view SSL certificates for any site (including your own) in Chrome, open Developer tools.
From there, head to the Security tab and click “View certificate.”
Then, the full certificate should appear for your viewing.
Finally, you need to test your HTTPS to make sure that all web elements are as secure as possible.
Testing your HTTPS
The easiest and fastest way to verify that your HTTPS is working is to head to your website and verify that you see HTTPS: before your site name.
If you want a more in-depth test, use an advanced SSL-Check tool like this one from JitBit.
This tool will crawl an entire HTTPS website (and even it’s internal links) to uncover unsecure images, scripts or CSS files that trigger unsecure warnings in browsers.
You can crawl 200 pages of your site for free using the tool if you tweet about it, which is a pretty small price to pay for zero cost HTTPS testing.
Conclusion
If your site is marked as unsecure, you’re losing valuable site visitors every minute.
An SSL certificate can help, since it verifies and encrypts your website, making your pages safe for both you and your customers.
If you think you can avoid getting an SSL certificate, you’re wrong. The HTTPS protocol that SSLs provide is vital if you want to build a trusted and reputable site.
HTTPS tags show up with a padlock and a “secure” tag in visitors’ browsers, notifying them that your site is legit.
And HTTPS can help your SEO and conversions, since HTTPs pages are proven to have higher rankings and more referral data.
There are three different types of SSL certificates to choose from.
These include Domain Validated (DV SSL) Certificates, Organization Validated (OV SSL) Certificates, and Extended Validation (EV SSL) Certificates.
DV SSLs offer the least amount of security, while OV SSLs are more secure. EV SSLs are the most secure form of SSL certificate.
Choose an SSL certificate that works best for you, your company, and your budget.
If you want a reasonably priced SSL with high encryption, try GoDaddy. With Cloudflare, you can get a free DV SSL extension, but it may not be as secure as other certificates out there.
Comodo offers a wider variety of certificates than GoDaddy with similar encryption. However, they’re a bit more expensive.
To install an SSL certificate, you’ll have to purchase one from a trusted source, first.
Then, activate it and validate it. Install the certificate on your hosting server and set up 301 redirects to your new HTTPS URLs. Don’t forget to check the links.
If you want to view SSL certificates in Chrome, you can open them up for any site you visit using Developer Tools.
Finally, to test your HTTPS, use an advanced SSL Checker like the one created by JitBit. Double check that your URLs have a secure padlock, too, just in case.
Which type of SSL certificate are you going to add to your website?
About the Author: Neil Patel is the cofounder of Neil Patel Digital.
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