When guests provide personal or financial details online, they expect their data to be encrypted for security. Visible SSL indicators like the padlock icon help build trust and credibility with guests.
Google has initiated an initiative that names and shames websites without SSL certificates on the World Wide Web, to protect user data. Without encryption, data could easily fall into the wrong hands when travelling over its long journey across this vast Internet network. As a result, they’ve begun labelling those without one as noncompliant websites.
1. Improved Security
SSL certificates are data files designed to secure the connection between web servers and website visitors using public key cryptography, protecting both information exchanged between server and browser from being intercepted by hackers, while also helping hotel SEO by giving websites a visual indicator of site security such as a grey padlock in their browser’s address bar.
There are various kinds of SSL certificates, each offering different levels of validation and trustworthiness. Domain Validated (DV) certificates offer basic encryption with simple domain ownership verification; Organization Validated (OV) certificates take this a step further by validating both identity as well as various factors behind a website, while Extended Validation (EV) offers the highest level of security by conducting extensive physical and operational checks on businesses behind websites.
SSL encryption protects online visitor data as well as providing protection from man-in-the-middle attacks, which are an increasingly prevalent threat in hospitality industries, malware, and malicious code. Google has taken notice, and recently has given HTTPS websites a slight ranking boost in organic search results.
Once you’ve secured an SSL certificate, it’s vital to keep it current. Your SSL service or CA will send regular renewal notices; to stay ahead of the game it’s advisable to create a distribution list so everyone knows when they should renew it. Furthermore, update any external links such as travel blogs, local attractions and events listings, third party booking engines and Yelp/TripAdvisor listings so they point towards your newly HTTPS version of your website.
2. Better Search Engine Rankings
Hotel SEO is one of the key components to successfully marketing a hotel online. By employing strategies such as keyword research, content optimization and backlink acquisition you can increase visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and ultimately drive more organic traffic and direct bookings.
Although your hotel can expand its online presence through various platforms such as social media, travel agencies, and event and attraction websites – such as search engines are still the go-to method of navigation for most Internet users and travelers – so hotels should prioritize SEO strategies if they wish to gain an edge and capture guests during planning and booking stages of travel cycles.
One effective strategy to bolster your hotel’s SEO is incorporating SSL certificates. Google uses security as a ranking factor, so this measure gives your competitors a significant edge compared to non-secure competitors. But remember, just installing an SSL certificate is only the first step: focus also on other aspects of your hotel website to make sure SEO efforts pay off!
Also, your hotel should focus on using location-specific keywords throughout its content to rank higher in search engine results pages for travelers searching in your locality. Include city names, neighborhoods and attractions when writing content related to local tourism. Create captivating meta descriptions that encourage potential guests to click through to your website so they can be provided with all of the pertinent details about its amenities and offerings.
3. Higher Conversion Rates
SSL certificates ensure a safe connection between your hotel website and guests’ browsers, preventing sensitive information like passwords and credit card numbers from being intercepted by hackers or other malicious users.
SSL security is not only essential to online bookings but can also help increase revenue potential. Research has revealed that visitors to websites secured with SSL are more likely to convert into bookings than visitors browsing unprotected websites.
Purchase of an SSL certificate will cause your website’s address bar to display a padlock icon to show customers that their site is secured, creating trust among customers that forms one of the key tenets of SEO – in fact Google has stated this publicly as being one of their ranking signals!
SSL can also help your website deliver a better user experience, as it is increasingly seen as essential for providing safe and secure internet browsing experiences. Browsers are now warning visitors against engaging with sites without SSL security protection – discouraging visitors from engaging with them altogether.
SSL Certificates are an essential asset for hoteliers seeking to boost the visibility of their website in search engine results pages (SERPs). But SSLs alone cannot ensure optimal SEO results: to truly boost it you should take additional measures like keyword research and backlink building into account as well. At JEMSU’s experienced development team can assist with these processes to give your hotel website the boost it needs in this digital era – please reach out today and learn more!
4. Better User Experience
As hotel industry businesses transition towards digital marketing strategies, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has become an indispensable element of business practices online. SEO involves optimizing various elements of a website in order to increase its presence within search engine results such as Google or Bing.
One way to optimize your hotel website for SEO is to include local keywords throughout its content – from page titles and headers, blog posts and social media updates, all the way down to blog comments and social media updates. Furthermore, speed of page load time should also be taken into consideration as most search engine users won’t scour multiple pages before finding what they need.
SSL certificates help ensure that the website loading speed is optimized, which can play an essential part in providing users with a better user experience. In addition, they add another level of security by encrypting data being transmitted between guests’ computers and your server and preventing hackers from gaining access to sensitive information like credit card numbers and personal details that is transmitted between guests’ computers and your server.
Protecting customer data in today’s environment of cybercrime is an absolute necessity, and an SSL certificate on your website can give your customers peace of mind while building trust between yourself and them.
SSLs ensure all sensitive information is safely transmitted between your ecommerce platform and customer payment platforms, especially if accepting payments online as the customer provides personal details that could put them at risk of identity theft and other threats. They also add professionalism and trustworthiness, essential elements for building customer trust in any successful ecommerce business.
5. Higher Revenue Potential
SSL certificates establish a secure link between a website and browsers, preventing hackers from intercepting communications and helping hoteliers build customer trust by making their website appear secure for customers to share information on. They also make booking rooms directly through hotel websites more likely than through third-party OTAs which saves hotels money in commission fees.
Search engines also reward websites that load faster and increase user engagement, so SSL certificates can help hotel websites rank higher in search engine results pages when used alongside other SEO techniques such as keyword research & link building.
If your hotel website doesn’t currently utilize an SSL certificate, now may be the time to acquire one. To get started, seek out a reputable provider with affordable options tailored towards small- to mid-sized businesses, then install both certificates and keys onto the server via CMS, FTP or hosting provider (this may even come included with their purchase of SSL).
SSL Certificates’ Importance in Hotel SEO may be hard for non-technical individuals to comprehend, but their basic purpose is simple: They increase security while giving potential guests a more positive experience while visiting your website, increasing occupancy rates and ultimately leading to additional revenues for your hotel business. Don’t wait any longer: invest in an SSL certificate today for your hotel business!