HTTPS, also known as HTTP over TLS, or Transport Layer Security, is the latest ranking factor to be considered by Google when it delivers search results to users to a given query. Basically, what Google says is that sites using strong HTTPS encryption are more reliable than those serving content over the traditional Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
Several months ago, Google launched an initiative called HTTPS everywhere. Based on the idea that data “transfered over an unencrypted channel is insecure, untrustworthy, and trivially intercepted,” Google decided to encourage webmasters to make their websites HTTPS secure by default. For the purpose, the company created a special resource area in its HELP center, which shows why webmasters should consider securing their sites with the HTTPS protocol; how to migrate from HTTP to HTTPS; which are the best practices when setting up HTTPS; and so on.
While many sites may not need HTTPS, hotel websites definitely should consider the switch, and here is why:
The SEO Carrot
If Google truly consider HTTPS among their ranking factors, and there are many reasons to believe that they will, given the HTTPS everywhere initiative the company wants to enforce, switching to HTTPS will give early adopters a competitive advantage in the industry, probably helping their sites rank higher than those of competitors who didn’t make the switch.
Collection of Private Data
This is, in fact, the first thing that needs to be considered by hoteliers, as HTTPS protects the integrity and confidentiality of users’ data. In other words, all sites using forms that collect private user data will eventually need HTTPS. Considering the booking engines used by hoteliers to collect more than names and addresses (for example credit card details, and other financial information), all hotel websites should already be using HTTPS.
A Matter of Trust
Some hotel sites currently only use HTTPS for their booking engine URLs, which used to suffice. However, as users become more aware that Google regards HTTPS sites as safer, and ranks them higher in search, they will start looking for HTTPS signals from the landing page. If they don’t land on a HTTPS secured page, they might leave the site without ever filling in data to book a room. This results in loss of direct bookings, lowered user trust, and so on.
Because Google’s attempt to enforce HTTPS everywhere is new, lack of information, and dissemination of rumors, may cause some site owners to postpone the switch. For example, many people believe that HTTPS makes websites slower. False. With proper optimization, and correct deployment, HTTPS can be as fast as traditional HTTP. See TLS fast for details, and further information.
Another general misconception is that SSL certificates (HTTPS) are very expensive, however, many hosting companies offer them at affordable prices, as part of a business hosting package. An SSL certificate in the UK, for example, is priced as low as £48.99/yr by GoDaddy.
To make a long story short, even when hoteliers decide to ignore Google’s HTTPS everywhere campaign, switching to HTTPS is still crucial, for its positive impact on website visitors, who will book with confidence, knowing that their passwords/personal data/ credit card numbers are secure.