Living in the digital world, having a website that is protected against cyber-attacks is essential. What very few people know is that a poorly secured website doesn’t just put your client’s data in danger; it can affect your SEO as well.
Combining on-site SEO with guest blogging services can improve the traffic coming to your website, but you’ll have to look deeper. With thousands of cybersecurity attacks happening every day, protecting your website should not be an afterthought. In this article, you’ll find out why it’s important and how you can put things in motion.
How Cybersecurity Affects SEO
Cybersecurity has always been seen as something essential to improve your brand, but it can be just as important for your SEO ranking. Google changes its policies constantly, and with 38% of the population taking various online security actions, it’s understandable why website protection has become a factor. After all, if the website is not secure, people won’t want to risk giving you their data.
Things get even worse if push comes to shove and you’re hit by a cyber-attack. More often than not, this could cause the website to shut down, losing business during the time it takes to fix it. Going live again won’t solve the problem, because now people are afraid of using your website. Traffic will lower and users will bounce, causing the ranking to fall.
SEO Tactics to Boost Cybersecurity
Good cybersecurity can positively influence your SEO and keep your domain safe from attacks. Here are some tactics that you’ll want to implement.
1. Secure with HTTPS
Platform security is among the most important factors, and Google itself confirmed that it’s a factor they consider when ranking. This means you’ll have to put some focus on SSL certificates from trusted providers. Plus, Google won’t be the only one wary of ranking these websites; users will be just as skeptical. By securing and regularly renewing your certificates, you can discourage bounce rates while making you seem reliable. If you can’t do a major upgrade on the website, use 301 redirects to send traffic from HTTP to HTTPS.
2. Update Your Plugins
Outdated plugins, regardless of the domain that you use, make you vulnerable to attacks. With cyber threats getting more innovative every day, the plugins have to be up-to-date so they don’t become a security risk. Regularly audit your plugins to see what needs updating and what doesn’t, securing the existing ones for added protection. If you have any unused themes or plugins on your website, you’ll also want to remove them. Not only do they slow your website down, but they can open a door for hackers to break through your system.
3. Fix Your Links
Backlinks are found all over the internet, and 8% of the pages that existed in 2023 no longer exist today. In some cases, it happens because the owner closed the business, and therefore, their domain. Most of the time, however, it’s because a cyberattack damaged the site beyond repair. To make sure you are not directing your readers towards compromised websites, do regular audits on your on-page and off-page links. This closes the “gates” to attackers while also keeping Google from flagging you.
4. Back the Website Up
We may protect ourselves against assaults, but sometimes, a hacker can be just too good. Sometimes, it’s because of human risk; other times, it’s due to their technology being far more advanced than yours. By regularly backing your website data on a secured cloud platform, you can go back live much faster and not lose important data. This is particularly important if you are hit with a ransomware attack and they’re holding your website “hostage.”
5. Improve Your Website Speed
Slow websites are more likely to fall victim to a DDoS attack, as these websites are more likely to be overwhelmed with excessive traffic. These websites are most likely to crash, and hackers are always looking for opportunities to exploit them. If they find vulnerabilities in your website, they’ll use it to inject malware or even take control of the site, which endangers customer data. Hackers use bots to find neglected websites, so by adopting tactics such as minifying CCS or enabling browser caching, you can potentially fly under the radar.
The Bottom Line
Good SEO can bring visitors to your website, but what keeps them there is effective cybersecurity. Your security protocol should be strong and up-to-date, protecting your platform from unauthorized access. Plus, if your users feel safe on your website, search engines will catch on to that too. With time, this could help give your SEO efforts a boost.
