Search engine optimization unites different sub-disciplines with a common goal: to drive up the ranking of your own website. Web design, link building, content, and blog outreach are mentioned by every SEO off the cuff when it comes to breaking down the complex of different measures. However, why cybersecurity is also an essential field of work within optimization, we clarify in the following.
Impeccable security as the basic framework of search engine optimization
Internet security becomes all the more important the more areas of our everyday lives take place online. We learn online, shop online, and do our own banking in the vastness of the Internet. While intuitive menu navigation and an appealing design accommodate the user, a website can only be truly user-friendly if it offers him security. The search engines also see it this way: Websites that perform poorly in their cybersecurity can experience disadvantages in the ranking. The reasons for this are numerous – that’s why it can be worthwhile to rely on a professional SEO agency.
While measures such as search engine-friendly texts can also be implemented yourself with a little know-how, the security of the website usually belongs in the hands of a specialist. Semtrix, an experienced SEO agency from Düsseldorf, can only confirm this statement: There are many customers who deal with their search engine optimization themselves. But when it comes to the security of your website, only very few know their way around. The following sections give you an overview of some security vulnerabilities that affect your ranking.
The SSL certificate: The basis of a secure website
SSL encryption has been officially a ranking factor since 2014 – not least because unencrypted websites are provided with a warning by Google’s own web browser Chrome. The fact that a page has SSL is already presented to users by the URL. An additional “s” after the well-known “http://” indicates that this is a secure website. For pages that record personal data of the user, SSL encryption has even been mandatory since 2018. But although for these reasons it is difficult to find a page today that does not have an SSL certificate, it is worthwhile to pay attention to its validity with regard to search engine optimization. After all, this is not only a protective measure for your visitors but also a criterion that is included in the evaluation of your website.
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Blacklisted by a hacking attack?
Google’s blacklist is the nightmare of all search engine optimizers. Because whoever ends up here, whether in debt or not, receives no traffic at all. Of course, this circumstance is particularly dramatic for those who have been victims of a hacking attack. The bad news here is that the majority of hackers attack websites for fraudulent purposes. Possible consequences are:
- Data theft
- Spam
- Error crawling webpage
A small proportion of hacked websites are blacklisted – for example, due to malware or spam placed on the site. The sanctions of search engines are particularly severe if spam attacks are not detected. After all, user experience has long been at the center of Google’s efforts – a potentially dangerous side is unlikely to be played by the search engine to its users. But even if Google does not immediately bring up the heavy guns: A hacked website will also have a hard time ranking due to failures and errors when visiting crawlers. Even if the attack is just a finger exercise of a teenager – as soon as your site indicates abuse, it will be quickly left by users. Of course, your position in the search engine ranking also falls. But how can you protect yourself from hacker attacks?
It is particularly important to stay attentive at all times and to keep your own site technically up-to-date – this also means with regard to installed plug-ins and the versions of the web applications. Equally important is backing up contact forms and system files and using complicated passwords and usernames.