In Affiliate Marketing on
Google’s Chromeland Security is at it again. And it’s once more the user they’re protecting! As always with Google, they never sit idle – especially not in their labs, where strategies against bad guys are being forged at max speed and with optimum efficiency.
But what is all the fuss about their new, strict ruling in regards to HTTPS encryption? Are our noble heroes using their modern cyber defenses to safeguard us from an unknown threat?
One thing is sure – HTTPS protocols will be a necessity for all domain owners who are serious about their business on the World Wide Web.
Doesn’t look inviting. And by clicking on the info icon, the additional info looks even worse.
Whoo-oo-oo-oo 👻
Scary, right? One would get the opinion that the website owner doesn’t care much about how we feel when we browse through the Internet.
But then again, there’s the protagonist of our story – HTTPS-enabled encryption. When users visit websites with URL compositions like this, they’ll get a green lock icon with the word Secure. If you ask anyone from Coinis they’d say that “encryption is definitely something that should be expected and delivered by default”. Which is the reason for our good practice to have all links, whether direct or in rotation, with HTTPS enabled.
If you’re not convinced on the importance of HTTPS being part of your links’ routine, be advised that analyses are showing a 4x better conversion rate on links with HTTPS. But the whole campaign flow must be SSL encrypted:
If affiliates neglect any of these steps in their funnel, risks arise that some might leave mid-funnel due to messages that imply how the user won’t be secure on the provided connection. Not very promising in terms of CR, and definitely not something any of us want with their campaigns to happen.
To those uninformed out there, HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol and the additional S within is a suffix that labels the certificate Secure. Websites that have this certificate activated encrypt in real-time communications that are going down between a visitor’s browser and the website he or she is connected to, which means that the information the user submits is much harder to intercept and understand.
The launch of Chrome 68 announced an update that would publicly label sites with unencrypted connections as “Not secure” in the address bar – public humiliation, so to say.
The easiest way is to contact your hosting providers and ask them to activate SSL certificates for the domains you want them for. You could either pay for HTTPS encryption or use free provides that many hosts support, an example would be Let’s Encrypt. The setup is easy to do yourself, but hosts are mostly willing to assist if you’re not game enough to dirty your hands with technical stuff.
Installing an SSL certificate and getting that HTTPS extension to your URL will keep you safe from Google’s wrath.
But if you’re not prepared to invest time nor money in such activities, or if you’re just not that tech savvy to DIY, feel free to get in touch with someone from our support team. We will do our best to help you out!
