Since Google's August 2014 announcement that HTTPS is a ranking signal and the launch of the HTTPS Is Everywhere campaign, we at SEJ have transitioned our website from HTTP to HTTPS. While security and privacy give our users a sense of relief, HTTPS is much more than an online haven from hackers. HTTPS builds trust and further develops our traffic data from referral sources to help improve our overall SEO strategy and website structure. As your business grows and Google updates its algorithms, it's essential to polish your site and SEO just as you would your products or services.
If your products or services are the heart of your business, your website is the vein that determines how quickly you can get blood to other parts of your body. A lack of trust, security, and data can lead to high bounce rates, lower remove background from image conversions, confusion about where traffic is coming from, and misaligned goals. So how can small businesses gain Google's trust, security, and accurate data? Let's start with HTTPS. Advertising Continue reading below Google will take the reins of this HTTPS transition with its Chrome team. Google's Chrome team has hinted that they might start shaming websites that don't use HTTPS with a big red "X" over the lock icon in the URL bar for Chrome users.
Parisa Tabriz, director of engineering at Google who also works on security and Chrome, tweeted that Google's intention behind the red "X" is to "call" HTTP for what it is: "UNSAFE" . HTTP, we are ready to call you for what you are: UNSAFE! https://t.co/KuA6ARoH6n#enigma2016 https://t.co/Vs69HDZc2J — Parisa Tabriz (@laparisa) January 26, 2016 However, not everyone experienced the red “X” mark on the sites. As you can see from Chrome itself, they don't mention the red "X" mark. However, this feature is not set by default. To see the red “X”, visit “chrome://flags/” using your Chrome browser. Scroll down to "Mark insecure origins as insecure" and click on "Mark insecure origins as insecure". Google Chrome Mark As Non-Secure