If you’re an Orange County business and you reach out to an SEO company because you want to increase sales, you might be surprised by some of the things they recommend as part of a campaign or website redesign. One of their first recommendations, for instance, may be that you switch over to HTTPS. There can be no doubt that HTTPS hosting is more secure. Google also announced that they were going to start using it as a ranking signal in 2014. Some companies might have taken it for granted that they would see the “not secure” notification in the URL bar when they pulled up the desktop or mobile site. For new site users, though, that seemingly small detail can send a loud warning signal that they should be doing their shopping elsewhere.

The Final Warning From Google Chrome

If you haven’t been convinced yet to switch over to HTTPS for SEO purposes, Orange County businesses, there’s one more thing you should consider. It wasn’t too long ago that Google Chrome issued an ominous sounding “final warning” about it. They informed the public that starting in October of this year, they would display a prominent red sign in the browser bar telling users of your site that it is not secure if you haven’t made that switch-over.

There can be no doubt that users are going to see that, and most people know that red means stop. It’s pounded into our heads from the time that we are very young. Red warning signs and the message that credit card info or other personal data could be at risk on your site will almost surely lose you some business. With fewer conversions and higher bounce rates the most likely results, there’s no reason not to take this critical step for SEO.

SEO can be about paying attention to details sometimes, and this small one can loom large when it starts costing you sales. Orange County businesses, take heed. Switch over to HTTPS yourselves, or have your SEO company do it. The change will undoubtedly have a positive impact on your bottom line.