Online security is one of the most important topics today. This is not just to protect your business but also to protect customer data. A breach in security can result in a major crash of your business and potentially trigger lawsuits. On top of that, the lack of website security can impact your SEO. With that in mind, let us take a deeper look into this subject.
What is website security?
A general definition of website security says that this is a process of protecting the integrity of customer data, network, and computer systems and preventing theft of software and hardware. But what does website security include? What steps do you need to take to ensure your website is secure?
Purchase the SSL certificate
One of the characteristics of a successful business website is that it has to be safe to use. When you purchase an SSL certificate, your address will update to HTTPS. This is a security protocol that protects data online. Whenever there is a request between the website and the server, the data gets encrypted, sent to the other side, and decrypted. This is a standard but essential form of protecting the integrity of customer data.
When it comes to SEO, the SSL certificate sends a signal to Google that your website has an additional layer of security.
Keep in mind that this type of change is not something that will bring you results overnight. However, it is a crucial step towards building a safer environment for your customers, and Google appreciates that very much! While purchasing the certificate has positive benefits for SEO, its primary goal is to protect your customers.
Live Web Media is at your disposal if you have any additional questions regarding the SSL certificate. You can also purchase it from us and improve the security of your website immediately.
Unsafe websites will get blacklisted
If you use black hat SEO techniques, your website will get penalized and blacklisted. Once that happens, your Google rating will significantly drop until you fix the issue. Another more serious problem is that you will lose the respect of your clients.
Even after you fix the problem, the traffic may still be low due to this situation. With that in mind, it is best to avoid all black hat SEO techniques:
keyword stuffing;
adding hidden or small text on website pages;
intentionally publishing duplicate content;
cloaking;
purchasing and manipulating links;
using misleading redirects.
All of these strategies might be successful to an extent. However, the overall loss of customer trust and Google index is not worth the hassle.
Gain customers' trust
Once you create a safe environment for your clients, you will notice an increase in traffic. You developed a trustworthy relationship with people who visit your website.
Besides just enjoying the increase in traffic and sales, you will also notice that customers talk more about your business. If your website is getting mentioned on other websites, forums, social media, and so on, you are getting bonus points with Google.
Citations help with boosting the search rating, and additionally, they are one of the steps for branding your business.
Various types of hacker attacks that affect SEO
Let us spend a little time talking about potential threats when it comes to hacker attacks. These are situations when someone deliberately attacks your website, intending to affect SEO negatively.
Spam SEO on your website
A spam SEO attack is when someone introduces fake content to your website. This is a widespread hacker attack because it directly affects the niche of your website. One of the leading SEO rules is that you need to post content of value and within your niche. That is how you will get the audience interested in your product. However, if you start adding content that has no connection with your business, and no real value to your customers, that will negatively impact your SEO rating.
That is what the attack is doing. Per WP Full Care, the best way to protect against these types of attacks is to always have WordPress up to date.
The dangers of not updating software on your website
If you are using various plugins or 3rd party software on your website, it is imperative always to keep it updated to the latest version. Whenever a piece of software is released, hackers look for ways to break it. The idea is to find a bug or a glitch in the system that will allow them to break through the software and cause harm to its user.
New updates of the software are explicitly released to fix those issues. With that in mind, whenever you see a new software update pending, install it immediately.
If you fail to do so, you are risking a lot. Remember that your customers use the company website, so every breach puts the safety of their data at risk.
SEO improves customer experience, but if your website is constantly getting hacked, the customer experience will drop.
Crawling attacks
Another common way hackers attack a website is through a crawling attack. This causes the "Error 404 - Content not found." If you remember, this error usually happens when there is a problem with a link on your website. If the link structure is not properly made, that will also affect SEO and your website's rating.
This attack may seriously affect your website's SEO by messing up the link structure. You lose a lot of valuable content, which will hurt your rating. Furthermore, you will have to fix the issues with links, which will cause downtime on your website's server. That is another thing that Google does not like.
Battling hacker attacks is always a struggle. That's why constantly improving your website's internal SEO is essential. This proactive strategy may mitigate the consequences of potential hacker attacks.
How website security can impact your SEO - Explained
In conclusion, it is vital to do website maintenance regularly. Website security can impact your SEO, and these checkups will discover potential problems before they cause much harm. Best of luck in protecting your business's and your customers' safety!