In our last installment of our Minneapolis Web Design series, we discussed why every company should be using Responsive Web Design in their next website redesign. Responsive web design is favored by Google, is Device Agnostic, is built for now and the future and is much easier to manage than two separate websites. If you missed this post, click here to read Minneapolis Web Design: Why Responsive Design? 

In our sixth installment of our Minneapolis Web Design series, we will be discussing one of our easiest website SEO tips and tricks: how to improve Google ranking. Remember to join the conversation by commenting on the blog below. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our blog! 

how to improve google ranking

google is now giving a ranking boost to websites secured by ssl certificates

Google consistently changes their search algorithm to improve the way its search engine ranks websites. One of the biggest changes announced in the past few years is by adding a SSL 2048-bit key certificate on your website, it will give you a ranking boost. Although at this point Google has said that the ranking boost is minor, they have also stated that they most likely will strengthen the Google ranking boost as they want to encourage all website owners to switch from http to https to keep everyone safe on the web. 

Now that we know that Google is in fact giving a ranking boost to websites that are secured by an SSL certificate, here are a few things to consider during the process of securing your website: 

1. Decide the type of SSL certificate (single domain SSL Certificate, multi-domain SSL Certificate or Wildcard SSL Certificate) that best suits your business needs.
2. Be sure to use a extended validation certificate (EV), no matter what type you decide you need. EV certificates use the highest level of authentication and were specifically created to boost and maintain customer confidence in eCommerce through a rigorous verification process and specific, EV certificate-only browser cues like the green address bar.
3. Make sure you choose to implement 2048-bit key certificate.
4. Do not block the HTTPS protected site from being crawled using robots.txt. This will cause major SEO problems and will not allow Google's robots to crawl your website. 
5. Authorize the indexing of the web pages by the search engines wherever possible and in a best case scenario, every single page. 
6. Use relative URLs for resources that reside on the same secure domain.

So are there any seo concerns in switching to https? 

No! There really aren't any SEO concerns in switching to HTTPS. Google has made it quite clear to webmasters over the past 2 years that it is completely safe and it is now preferred. However, make sure to take the necessary steps to communicate to Google that you have changed from HTTP to HTTPS. Google has provided tips and recommendations when switching to HTTPS. In addition to Google's tips and recommendations, we highly recommend reading an intro to HTTP/HTTPS and some tips on changing over to SSL/HTTPS before getting started. We always recommend educating yourself before implementing to avoid mistakes/issues. 

The clear takeaway from this post is that switching your website over to HTTPS is a must and will help your website improve Google ranking. Aside from all of the SEO benefits, HTTPS is a far more secure system for your website to operate. Security for your site and your users is the most important aspect of making the switch from HTTP to HTTPS and can also help you increase conversions and gain the trust of your visitors. We highly recommend it to all businesses no matter what you use your website for. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post! In our seventh installment of our Minneapolis Web Design series, we will be discussing the importance of social media when it comes to SEO.  Looking for more SEO tips and tricks? Let our experts help you avoid costly SEO mistakes and be sure to download our guide "10 SEO Mistakes to Avoid in your Next Redesign" by clicking the button below.