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How to Get a FREE SSL Certificate for Your Website

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How to Get a FREE SSL Certificate for Your Website

Google is encouraging everyone to make the internet a more secure place. Enabling HTTPS on your website creates a secure user experience for your viewers. This is accomplished by installing a secure certificate on your website. Although Google is not penalizing websites for failing add SSL, it does is a minor ranking signal and therefore a good idea to add SSL.

Secure certificates cost anywhere from $30 per year to several hundred dollars. What many website owners don’t realize is that you can obtain a quality certificate for free. Although a free certificate is not for ecommerce websites, it is good for information websites.

Get a FREE SSL Certificate

Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate from non-profit Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).
Users with shell access can use the Certbot ACME client (or other ACME client) to install the certificate. Those without shell access can still use LetsEncrpyt, but need to work with their hosting providers to install it. The SSL certificate is free forever. The organization does accept donations to help defray costs.

FreeSSL by Symantec – Sign up for the wait list to get this free SSL option from Symantec. If your organization is a nonprofit, then its available immediately. Symantec also offers a 30-day trial of their SSL/TLS products including GeoTrust, Symantec, and RapdiSSL. A Thawte certificate is available free for 21-days.

Why HTTPS Matters to Your Business Website

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If you are current on your search engine optimization skills then you may be considering converting you non-secure website to one with HTTPS. Google.com is encouraging website admins to change their non-secure websites to a secured version by adding a secure certificate.

HTTPS (hyper text transfer protocol) is a term to describe the technology used to connect with a server. Another example is FTP (file transfer protocol). The current protocol user to secure a website is Transport Layer Security (TLS.) The older protocol was Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). In conversation, you’ll hear admins use the three acronyms interchangeably. SSL seems to be the most common termed used when referring to a secure website, even though it the only one of the three terms not in use!

If you operate an eCommerce website, then SSL is required. You need it to secure your shopper’s account information, credit card data. Your merchant account provider will require a secure certificate too. They may even specify which issuer the SSL certificate must be purchased from.

If your website is an informational website, then you may be questioning if you need SSL running on your website. Because Google is using SSL as a lightweight ranking factor, the answer is “yes.” Consider adding SSL to your website. If you are just starting up a new website, then it’s easy to purchase a secure certificate. Your website hosting provider probably sells them, although they can be purchased elsewhere, and probably for less money. For non-eCommerce websites, there are free versions of SSL certificates.

SSL can also protect the privacy of your users – what they look at on your website it kept private. SSL protects the admin section of your website – for example, the dashboard login to your WordPress site.
Google.com wants us to convert to HTTPS because they want to make the internet more secure. An HTTPS website guarantees three things:

  • Encryption
  • Data integrity /li>
  • Authentication /li>

Encryption means that the data transferred to and from the website is secured and cannot be intercepted by hackers.

Data integrity means that the contents of your website are as you intended them to be. The links and texts are accurate. They are not redirects to a malicious website because the website data was compromised while it was in flight.

Authentication means that the server contacted is actually your server and not a redirect. IT makes sure you are talking to the right server and that they are who they say they are.
Google.com is now using HTTPS as a lightweight ranking factor. Your site won’t be penalized for not having SSL but is does affect rank for about 1% of queries.

Google is still not penalizing websites for not having SSL, but that is not expected to last.

What is the Goal of Your Website?

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What is the Goal of Your Website?

I have been a very successful affiliate marketer. I also serve as a consultant to other businesses, helping them with their online marketing strategies. A large part of my time is spent on studying the differences between social channels and how to maximize each. Whether you are just starting a new business, adding an online strategy to an already established business, or looking to improve an already digital marketing strategy, it is important to establish expectations and goals. I have done talks about return on investment (ROI) and goal setting with respect to online marketing, and I am always amazed to see that many agree but then embark on a campaign that has no hard-set goals.

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What is the goal of your website? Have you thought about it? Your website’s purpose in life is tied to what genre of website it is – informational, ecommerce, blog, directory, etc…

Example website goals include:

  • Share knowledge (public transportation route information)
  • Educate the consumer (car dealer websites)
  • Book appointments (home service businesses)
  • Sell products online (clothing retailer)

    Whatever your goal is, it is important that your website echo your purpose. As your business grows, your goals will change and so will your website. Work on an online presence that suits you today with prospective growth in mind. Come up with a solution that is reasonable for today’s budget, yet scalable for tomorrow’s successes!

    If you website is established for the sake of customer support, then the goal is to reduce the amount of phone calls to customer service reps. If you want to sell a product, like men’s shirts, online then you have an ecommerce website. Your initial goal is to sell one short online. After that goal is achieved, it is increased. The next goal may be to sell one short online every day. After that, sell ten or one-hundred shirts. Identifying goals is important. Without a clear goal, it is difficult to set-up a website in a logical manner. It is impossible to measure the effectiveness of the website or an online marketing campaign without knowing what the purpose it.

    What is the Goal of Your Website

What Type of Website Do You Need?

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What Type of Website Do You Need?

The type of products or services you offer helps shape your website structure. How you wish to transact and communicate with your website customers also determines what type of website you need. Your business may need two or more websites to fit your growing needs and customer base. It is also determined b. For example, a company that sells jackets may sell exclusively online with no retail or wholesale locations. A company that sells new automobiles might show the cars online, but may not actually sell them online. The clothing retailer needs an eCommerce website with the ability to manage products in a database. The customer completes the entire transaction online. The auto dealer uses a company information website with contact information.

What Type of Website Do You Need

Blog or Personal Website

Blogs are personal websites where the writer shares information on a personal level. Blogs are written in first person. The writer can talk about absolutely anything but frequently they are giving their opinion on products, services, or simply sharing experiences. Many authors keep a personal blog site to give a more personal experience to their audience. Many writers, called bloggers, make money from their blogs through affiliate marketing programs. One of my websites, Pintalk.net website, is a blog site.

Portfolio Websites

Portfolio websites are image intensive versions of a blog. While blogs are generally mostly text with images to support their writing. Portfolio sites are mostly images, with photos, drawings or graphics. Artists use the portfolio sites and models to show off their work, get bookings, or find work.

Informational or Websites

Informational websites are like online business cards or brochures. Informational sites may be about a product, event, or any facts the owner wishes to convey. Although informational sites may only have one page, they usually have contact information. Informational websites are usually static pages.

Company Websites

Company websites provides information about your business identity and branding. It may also include description, information and photographs about your products and services. If you have physical locations, the company website includes hours of operation and locations. Large corporate websites provide Board of Directors biographical information. Publically traded corporation websites include financial data and stock prices.

Knowledgebase / Wiki Websites / Support websites

Knowledgebase websites provide additional pre or post sales information to customers. They include Wiki style sites. Corporate knowledgebase sites are called a customer support, or simply support sites. They may also be collections of data and information that educate the reader on any topic from do-it-yourself home improvement, to computer programming, to nutrition data. Knowledgebase websites exist to inform the reader and may or may not have anything to do with selling a product. Knowledgebase websites are frequently dynamic sites that are managed with an online database that organizes the information. Because they contain so many resources – blog posts, studies, surveys, images – these websites can be unwieldy to organize with static pages. Support websites can improve customer relations if they are resourceful and easy to use. A corporate support website provides online service, communications, information about product usage and installation, troubleshooting, updates, and news. Support websites answer questions and address service needs.

Directory Websites

Directory Websites seem similar to wiki sites, but directory sites are lists of data with not nearly as much explanation as a wiki site. Directory sites can include lists of local businesses, services, job boards, items for sale, or any other information that is best displayed in list form. Craigslist.com is a great example of a directly website.

eCommerce Websites

eCommerce websites sell goods online. Customers can view and buy products without ever speaking to a sales person. The eCommerce website marketing may or may not have a shopping cart (some websites sell only one thing, like a single book). Users can pay for orders with credit cards or apps like PayPal or Apple Pay. eCommerce websites are the most complicated and expensive to build since they require data security and services to handle inventory and monetary transactions.

Types of Websites

How to get more traffic from YouTube videos

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How to get more traffic from YouTube videos

Social video is one of the biggest trends for digital marketing in 2016. Social media strategies should include uploading videos to social channels like Facebook and metrony YouTube. All major social channels like Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, all allow native video except for Pinterest and LinkedIn. For the past two years, I have been encouraging businesses to use video as part of their search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. YouTube is far less competitive for keywords than google.com plus video is one of the best ways to engage your audience. TO use video for SEO, be sure to upload high def. videos that include our keywords or phrases.

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YouTube gives users the ability to send traffic from videos hosted on their site to websites, products, or encourage viewers to take an action, or watch more by setting up cards, annotations, and video descriptions. By encouraging users to take action, you can you can help boost your channel’s watch time and get more traffic to your website.

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