Google recently announced that they will be flagging insecure sites starting in January 2017. At first blush, it sounds terrible for anyone without a secure (https) website. If you dig a little deeper however, it’s not so bad.
What most people have failed to point out is that Google will only flag websites that have a password or credit card field. If your website is not an ecommerce site, then chances are you aren’t asking for this information.
Don’t get us wrong, there’s nothing wrong with having an SSL certificate for your website, but it adds an order of magnitude of expense and complexity to your website hosting.
This is one of the reasons we don’t recommend having “Quote” forms that ask for personal information. If you have forms that ask for personal information then you should make sure your forms are secure (have a URL in https: format). Otherwise, you should consider removing those questions (or not having the form at all, but that’s a discussion for another article…)
One last thought, for a couple years now, Google has given a very slight search engine ranking to secure sites. Secure sites are definitely something we’re keeping an eye on. We have the capability to add SSL certificates to our client sites and if we need to, we have solutions.
About AgencyEvolved
AgencyEvolved provides personalized marketing and consulting services for independent insurance agencies, brokers, wholesalers, and other insurance organizations.
Founded by an insurance industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience, AgencyEvolved combines practical insurance knowledge with thoughtful marketing strategy. We help clients strengthen their brands, communicate what makes them different, and build lasting relationships with the customers and communities they serve.
We work with a limited number of clients, providing hands-on attention and customized solutions rather than standardized marketing packages.
Our services include website design and management, content creation, social media, email marketing, digital advertising, branding, and strategic marketing consulting.
Marketing built around your business. Not the other way around.