In modern times it is highly unlikely that your business can thrive without a digital marketing strategy. There are numerous possibilities online, with clients that come from a wide variety of niches. It is safe to say that the list of the benefits of going digital when trying to reach new clients is nearly inexhaustible. However, there is one thing to carefully consider if you want to attract and maintain your clients, no matter the niche. That is the user security. Luckily, your website could also be secured in a couple of easy steps. Here is an overview of why getting an SSL certificate is an essential element of your digital marketing and user experience.

It is reassuring for your clients

People are engaging with more and more digital content on a daily basis, almost everything we do today is done online in one way or another, that is why there is a rising concern and emphasis put on staying secure while online. This is also a crucial thing for your business as it directly concerns your clients. For instance, you could have an amazing product or a digital service but your website doesn’t meet the security standards, this can be quite off putting for many potential or current clients, since they want to be able to trust your brand as much as possible. It is also an essential part of improving the overall user experience, since it is obvious to users whether your website is secure or not. This will guide their decisions on your webpage, such as registering, leaving personal information etc. Luckily, you can solve this problem by getting an SSL certificate, with several different options to choose from depending on the type of marketing strategy that you’re going for. Doing this will change your address from a HTTP to a HTTPS, which is a clear indicator and speaks volumes about your brand’s safety. Now your visitor’s can browse your webpage worry-free.

Better SEO ranking

Google is major tech giant which is constantly changing and refining the way we browse the internet. And although it is free to browse and use, you still have to adhere to the rules which get constantly updated by the world-famous company. There is always a new change with regards to how your website can rank on the world wide web. In 2014, Google changed its policy and made HTTPS one of the primary factors for ranking your web page. The difference between HTTPS and HTTP is that the latter is not certified and thus not secured. So, by investing in an SSL certification not only are you creating your webpage a safer place for you and your clients but it also helps you gain more traffic and rank better.  

Avoid legal issues

Having a dedicated SSL certificate also allows you to avoid any legal consequences that may arise. Nowadays it is far too common that we see big data breaches. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a law regarding data privacy that has been an integral part of cybersecurity in the European Union. This regulation mandates that any sharing of personal information such as phone numbers, credit card and bank details, names, photos, e-mails and even IP addresses is strictly prohibited. This is especially the case when you are running a page which involves some kind of microtransactions or a web store. Your users are likely to be prompted to input their credit card details. This process should be maximally secured, because if your client’s personal data is breached you are likely to find yourself facing several lawsuits. That is why a secure page symbolizes much more than we initially think. 

Avoid getting blocked 

In 2018. Google has made a crucial decision to flag websites which are not SLL certified. The web browser can easily recognize that your webpage doesn’t have a certificate installed and then it notifies the user that they are entering a website that is not safe. This could likely mean that in the future Google could decide to permanently block websites without any security certifications. The internet is constantly changing and so are the demands, that is why it is essential to keep track of modern digital marketing trends, and getting SSL certified is definitely one of them. 

Build a better brand image

Trust is what retains current clients and attracts new ones. The secure socket layer (SSL) does technically provide authentication and encryption, but not everybody looks into it from a technical point of view, however, that is not to say that people don’t care about their data staying private and the potential risk that visiting your webpage brings with it. That is why it is your responsibility to make it a secure place. This is a guaranteed way to leave a positive impression on the first-time visitors as well attract new customers by presenting your brand in the best way possible. Ultimately, it symbolizes that a business is run in a responsible manner with the user experience in mind.  

Running a modern-day business is no trivial matter, partly because in order to thrive and grow you have to be digitally present and rely on creating a solid digital marketing strategy with user experience in mind. Apart from building a nice-looking functional webpage, it is also important to make it secure as this yields many amazing additional benefits such as reassuring your clients since their private information is on the line, ranking better according to the ever-changing SEO principles, avoiding any legal consequences such as lawsuits which can arise from leaking private data, avoiding potential blocks and bans if your website is flagged, and lastly, it helps to leave a strong impression of a reliable, trustworthy and user friendly brand.