Laptop with a padlock on it

"Google Penalties"

Google’s popularity with searchers, which they achieved on merit of a great search service, has led to a situation where brands have no choice but to play by Google’s rules if they want to not only survive online but excel. Businesses that trade solely online are increasingly finding themselves at the mercy of Google’s whims.

Marketing methods that were suitable one or two years ago are no longer acceptable to Google, meaning that some of the businesses revenue generating rankings drop from search due to “Google penalties”.

 

Improve your search rankings by following these new developments

Mobile friendly sites

Responsive Web Design is to be expected of most modern websites these days – the layout of the single website adapts to suit the device rather than separate mobile versions.

We are seeing around 50% of web traffic coming from mobile or tablet devices to our managed websites and this trend will continue. The website can fulfil the need without a mobile application in most cases.

Google will be giving increased prominence to sites that are responsive and you don't want to be left out.

 

Secure Website Connection

The second thread from Google is to give higher ranked results to sites that are secure – specifically those carrying a valid and correctly configured SSL certificate (the padlock symbol).

"Surely having an SSL implies that your website is trustworthy and you transfer any submitted data securely."

Not necessarily. Some fraudulent sites are using a padlock symbol as a favicon to fool the unwary, whilst others may not have implemented the SSL certificate correctly. However,  it doesn't stop there. Some sites are still open to hacks even though they have an SSL.

Test your own site on www.ssllabs.com/ssltest. If you are not getting an A or B result – contact us and we can help.

 

Securing Personal Data

You put your trust in many websites to look after your personal data. But you read about losses of data or breaches every week. And many of these breaches are attributed to well-known names. So you need to take much more care with your client’s information and be really focussed on your responsibilities.

The responsibility for information security is yours in the end and not you website suppliers or hosting company. But having a supplier who works in close partnership covering those areas for you will help you sleep better at night. 

 

If you have any questions or queries, do not hesitate to get in touch with one of the team here at Free Rein. 

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