The link between online security and website rankings may not be an obvious one. When search bots and algorithms operate behind the scenes, this link tends to pass unnoticed.
But if your website security suffers, your SEO performance can take a hit too. And a serious one at that. The problem is that you may not even be aware of these vulnerabilities. Platforms like WordPress make it look as if your website is safe out of the box. But as you will see, this is not the case.
Do you put a lot of work into making sure your website ranks high in the search results? Then you need to pay attention to your website’s online security. Let’s start with the basics.
HTTPS Certification
Look at your website address in your web browser search bar. Is your domain name preceded by HTTP or HTTPS? Having a valid SSL certificate enables an encrypted connection between web browsers and your website. That final “S” in HTTPS isn’t just an extra letter but a valuable bit of code added to your web server.
Using HTTPS has been for a while now an SEO ranking signal on Google. Search engines keep their algorithms secret, so we don’t know the exact weight of this factor. But it could give you an edge over competitors. In the future, it may carry even more weight than now. The bottom line is that an SSL certificate is the first checkpoint you want to mark on your website cybersecurity list.
The bottom line is that an SSL certificate is the first checkpoint you want to mark on your website cybersecurity list. If you have not installed an SSL certificate, it is time to install SSL on the server. You can easily find cheap SSL certificate or low-priced cert in the SSL industry.
Malware Attacks
Malware can get your website blacklisted by search engines. That means you could lose all your organic traffic overnight. Yes, you can clean up and clear a blacklisted site, but this process can take at least a few days. During this time, your organic traffic may drop to nothing. And the damage to your site reputation could take much longer to fix.
According to a GoDaddy report, Google doesn’t blacklist all infected sites. In other words, your site could be affected without Google realizing it.
When this happens, the attacks may damage your SEO without you being aware of it either. So, assuming Google will simply blacklist your site if malware makes its way on isn’t a good strategy. The solution here is simple—prevention.
Malicious Bots
Search engine web crawlers like the Googlebot work behind the scenes to understand what your website is about. They then send search engines the information they need to determine the search ranking of every page on your site. But not all internet bots are benevolent.
Bad bots make up more than a quarter of all internet traffic. That’s 10.4% more traffic than good bots. Bad bots can often be found on pirated sites and they’re one of the biggest online gaming risks for the youth. This can lead to a variety of cyberattacks that can compromise your computer.
Even when bad bots fail to penetrate your website’s defenses, they can use up bandwidth and server resources, especially if you don’t have DDoS protection. They can also prevent the Googlebot from doing its job. And the worst of it is that you don’t have to do anything to invite them. Bad bots can pick on your site for the simple reason that it’s out there on the internet.
Server-side caching can help you mitigate risks, but it doesn’t offer complete protection against bad bots.
Outdated Plugins and Extensions Can Lead Attackers In
Plugins and extensions make popular website platforms like WordPress more powerful and customizable. There’s no denying that. But hackers are constantly exploiting vulnerabilities in popular plugins and extensions. Consequences can be dire, like mass spam emails sent through your site’s SMTP services or malicious redirects. The short-term effects—apart from the stain on your online reputation—include a serious SEO hit.
Over the last few years, vulnerabilities have been found in major plugins like WP File Manager, Page Builder, and even GDPR Cookie Consent. Sticking to essential plugins and updating them as soon as updates are released can help reduce risks. Additionally, considering pentest as a service can provide proactive security measures, identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
Local Network Security
Other potential vulnerabilities lie closer to home. And by that, don’t think just unencrypted networks. Without several layers of security, even private home networks and work networks can be easy targets.
And let’s not forget the risks that stem from human error that can lead to compromised accounts, doxxing attacks and leaked passwords. Any malevolent access to your site or tampering with your pages can have long-term repercussions for your site’s SEO. Each week, so many websites are infected with malware. Local security vulnerabilities are responsible for many of these infections.
SEO Spamming
Is your website authoritative in your niche? That could make it a target for SEO spam. SEO Spam is behind over 51% of website hacks.
SEO hackers can sabotage a high-ranking website to reduce its traffic or hijack it for their own ends. It’s common for hackers to use SEO spam for malware spread or phishing. They may also use bots to duplicate content, which can also hurt your SEO. If your site is hit by SEO spam, Google may blacklist your site. Whether or not your site gets blacklisted, the impact on your SEO can be devastating.
The worst part is that visitors to your site may end up with the feeling that it’s your fault. They may say, “The website owner didn’t take security seriously.” Long-term, this can further deter organic traffic and reduce referrals after you’ve recovered from the attack.
More Than Protection
Before we get into how a Virtual Private Network can benefit your SEO, in addition to helping you tighten your website security, the right VPN for PC can have other benefits not related to work. An anonymous VPN can improve the streaming experience when you’re watching Netflix, Hulu, or sports streaming websites. It allows for streaming through other gadgets, too, including your mobile devices.
In the end, a website is a big investment of your time. Being aware of the dangers that cybersecurity vulnerabilities pose is the first step to safeguarding your investment. The next is to prevent risks rather than have to deal with them.
How VPN Can Benefit Your SEO Strategy
If you’ve been with us so far, the internet may start to feel like a scary place for a webmaster. With so many threats around, how can you protect your site and your SEO rankings?
Standard security best practices defined by the US Department of Homeland Security will get you a long way. But hackers are smart and creative, so you want to consider adding another security layer to your website. You may be familiar with a VPN as a way to increase your online privacy and access restricted websites.
But a VPN can also benefit your website ranking and SEO strategy in more ways than one. Find out how.
Make Your Connection Secure
By making your IP private and encrypting your connection, an anonymous VPN makes you a harder target for hackers. This means you can access your website backend without worrying that hackers may track your movements. Not even when you use public networks. By providing VPN services to every team member accessing the website, online business handles security excellently.
Today, when much of the workforce has moved from the office into the home, this kind of protection is valuable.
Make On-the-Go Access to Your Site Safer
Logging to your website on the go is now easier than ever. But this creates security risks as public networks are not safe. What’s more, many hacker attacks specifically target mobile devices. A VPN online can bring you peace of mind when using a mobile browser or app to manage your site. It allows you to manage your website on the go without the risks.
The selection of the right VPN is a mandatory option here. It will also ensure you that your website is completely out of any type of risk and you can manage your tasks efficiently.
Being able to manage and monitor your site on mobile has in itself security advantages. When you can closely monitor your website security, you can address alerts as soon as they happen. You’re not dependent on your computer. You can take action sooner and minimize the damage.
View Your Organic Rankings More Accurately
It can be hard for you and your team to see your search results as visitors see them. You can blame this on cookies, page trackers, and geo-restrictions that search engines have in place. And no, you can’t count on your browser’s incognito mode for this. Google keeps tracking you even as you use it.
By contrast, a VPN gives you a real picture of your SERP results. It enables you to see the numbers quickly. Also, it allows you to understand your rankings in different regions better.
Improve Google Ad Preview Accuracy
Using PPC advertising to direct traffic to your site? The Google Ad Preview combines paid and organic listings volume and rates across multiple locations. This could lead to you choosing less than optimal keywords for your region.
With a VPN turned on, you can see paid and organic keywords more accurately for your desired location. For this, you need a VPN service that lets you choose between server locations in different regions and countries.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that Google prefers secure websites and builds its algorithms around this factor to filter out websites that lack safety. If you want to outshine your competitors on Google rankings, make sure you take every security measure for your website. This includes getting an SSL certificate, using a fast VPN, and making on-the-go access to your site. With those precautions, you’ll definitely outrank most of the websites on Google rankings.