I know that the majority of therapists out there pay very little attention to what is going on with search engine optimisation and Google updates. In general hypnotherapists ask someone to create a website for them, they add their content and then forget about it. This strategy isn’t something I would recommend as without tweaking your website regularly you are going to get left behind. In some instances you will be able to get away with it but in July a big change is coming and it is going to impact visitors to your website big time!
SSL Certificates and Google Chrome
If you have never heard about SSL certificates then pay attention as in a months time not having one is going to cause you a whole world of trouble!
An SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) is basically an additional layer of security on your website. When you have an SSL certificate you have a file which means that sensitive information is encrypted. This means that if a customer puts in their credit card information on your website nobody else can read that information as it moves across the internet. When you have an SSL certificate your web address changes from http:// to https:// to show that your site has the relevant encryption.
Ok, so I know some of you are thinking so what? I don’t sell products on my website. Ah but here comes the problem. Google has been pushing for people to update to secure websites for a long time and they have now decided that July 2018 is the date when enough is enough. From now on if somebody looks at your website on Google Chrome and you don’t have a certificate they are going to get a warning sign to say that your website isn’t secure.
The Power of Google Chrome
Currently, Google Chrome has over a 50% share of the internet browser market. Think about it over 50% of the people who search and find your website find it through Chrome. Now imagine that half of your customers who come across your website see a message saying that your site isn’t secure.
Your customers certainly have no idea about SSL certificates, https or in fact anything related to encryption on the net. They do however know that when they see a big red non-secure message when they come across your website that they quickly backpedal and get rid of your site from their screen as fast as they can. Now you can see the importance of making sure that your site complies over the next month or you are going to wave goodbye to a ton of customers.
What to do Next
As most of you will probably have web developers or designers I suggest that you contact them as soon as possible and get them to help you to address the problem. Yes, it will cost you but not as much as losing a bunch of customers over the next few months. For those of you that understand coding head on over to YouTube where there are a ton of videos showing you how to purchase a certificate and make the required modifications to your website.