Do I need a secure website?

Last year, Google announced that they will start indicating (on your browser) whether a website is secure or not. To secure a website, it requires obtaining and SSL Certificate. It is what changes a site from http to https. In the past, the only websites you would find that on, are sites that take your credit card information. But now, Google wants every website to be secure. They don’t admit that unsecured sites are getting dinged, but it is relatively safe to assume that a security warning on a website could lead to decreased the time consumers spend on your site, the bounce rate, and eventually, the click rate on the Search Engine Results. All of these factors would contribute to decreased search engine rankings, thereby boosting the SEO ranking of your competitors that do have a secured site. In the past, an SSL certificate would be $70-100 a year. But most web hosting providers are offering free SSL certificates. Talk to your hosting company or web developer about making your website secure. It may only cost you a phone call.