How To Give Your Website An Additional SEO Boost
Whilst there are a great variety of factors taken into account by Google when it comes to determining their website rankings, online security is playing a far bigger role than ever before.
Google has even gone as far as to issue the following statement:
“You should always protect all of your websites with HTTPS, even if they don’t handle sensitive communications. Aside from providing critical security and data integrity for both your websites and your users’ personal information, HTTPS is a requirement for many new browser features, particularly those required for progressive web apps.”
What Are the Benefits of HTTPS?
We’re all used to seeing ‘HTTP’ at the beginning of a URL but was about extra ‘S’? Essentially the S stands for “SSL”, which in turn stands for Secure Sockets Layer.
This extremely useful technology helps to encrypt the connection to a website, providing that extra layer of security making it more difficult for hackers to intercept important data. This can include passwords and payment details.
What does HTTPS actually do though?
- HTTPS protects the integrity of your website – HTTPS helps prevent intruders from tampering with the communications between your websites and your users’ browsers. Intruders include intentionally malicious attackers, and legitimate but intrusive companies, such as ISPs or hotels that inject ads into pages.
- HTTPS protects the privacy and security of your users – HTTPS prevents intruders from being able to passively listen to communications between your websites and your users.
If that isn’t enough, below are 2 additional reasons why increasing the security of the site could benefit your business.
Does HTTPS Offer A Generic SEO Boost?
When two similar sites have similar SEO values, the inclusion of an SSL certificate could be enough to nudge your website above your competitor.
Whilst no-one knows precisely what Google’s algorithms look for, it is widely believe that it is Google’s goal to offer the best possible user experience. Increased online safety would certainly fall under this umbrella and therefore having a secure site (HTTPS) can help you rank higher on Google.
Mobile Search Boosts
Are you serious about being found online? You can no longer ignore mobile search optimisation. Because many modern browsers and phone applications require HTTPS in order to perform correctly, failure to add this to your website could leave you lagging behind your rivals.
Contact Us
If you would like to speak to someone about increasing the security of your website, please contact Footprint Web Design on Tel. No. 01883 372488 today.
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Facebook Data Breaches – Do You Need To Be Concerned?
The old adage “all publicity is good publicity”, is one that is frequently put to the test. Whilst not always through choice, there can be little doubt that Facebook often makes headline news and the recent privacy row engulfing Facebook and Cambridge Analytica offers the perfect example of how headline news is not always good news.
Recent Revelations
The revelation that 50,000,000 people had their Facebook profiles harvested so Cambridge Analytica received the ability to specifically target them with political ads has caused outrage across the globe. With questions already in place about Facebook’s approach to data protection and disclosure, this is a storm that FB could well have done without.
As arguments rage about the semantics of what actually constitutes a “breach”, one thing is crystal clear: personal data has been extracted from Facebook and used for purposes to which had not been consented.
A Complicated Track Record on Privacy
With a complicated track record on privacy and a business model founded on gathering data, Facebook knows the key information about huge percentage of its users. Your real name, your friends details, your likes and interests, places you have visited, websites of interest, even what you look like are all key snippets of information that can be used to ensure advertising is more targeted than ever before.
It uses all that data to make it super easy for its customers – advertisers – to target you.
For more on this story, please visit – https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/18/data-scandal-is-huge-blow-for-facebook-and-efforts-to-study-its-impact-on-society
Should You Be Concerned?
Figures released in June 2017 indicated that Facebook has over 2 billion individual users each and every month*.
Image Source – https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/27/facebook-2-billion-users/
Therefore, unless you are very much in the minority and have not been using Facebook for a significant period of time, it is certain that you are already living in a world of highly targeted advertising and this is unlikely to change any time soon.
Contact Us
If you would like any further information regarding Pinterest and how it can be perfect to help support your business, Footprint Web Design have been at the forefront of web design and Social Media development for nearly 20 years. If you are looking for a website that truly represents your business, or advice on how to make your site stand out, then contact us today on 01883 372 488, or via email at info@footprint.co.uk.
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*Source – https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/27/facebook-2-billion-users/
How To Set Up a Pinterest Account?
If you love the visual side of Social Media, Pinterest could be just for you. Offering the perfect platform to discover new ideas and find inspiration to do the things they love, Pinterest has never been more popular and is showing no signs of slowing down.
If you would like Footprint Web Design to create a Pinterest account for you today, give us a call on Tel. No. 01883 372 488.
How Does Pinterest Work?
Pins are ideas that help you get creative or try something new, whether you’re planning a new holiday or collecting home improvement tips.
Pins are saved to boards, keeping your ideas organised and easy to find. Follow other people or boards that are saving ideas you’re interested in, so you can do even more of what you love.
Easy Organisation
- Boards – Save Pins to boards to easily organise your ideas. The Pins you save live in the boards you create. Name your boards whatever you want and arrange them in any order you like. Oh! Did we mention that you can add other people to your boards? Friends who save Pins together, stay together!
- Board Sections – Sections are boards within boards and they make your ideas even easier to find and organise. If you have a furniture board imagine creating sections that organise your ideas to different colour, size, or occasion—there are no rules, so get inspired to create!
- Secret Boards – We won’t tell if you won’t! Secret boards are perfect for planning surprises or collecting gift ideas. Only you (and anyone you add to the secret board) can see the Pins saved.
How To Set Up a Personal Profile
To start, go to Pinterest.co.uk.
You have three choices to sign up — with your Facebook account information, your Twitter account information, or by providing an email address and creating a new Pinterest account.
However you sign up, you’ll want a username. Your Pinterest username must be unique but you can change it later. If you create a new account rather than using Twitter or Facebook, Pinterest will ask you to confirm your email address.
Next, go to your email inbox and look for the confirmation message that Pinterest will have sent you. It should contain a confirmation link that you must click on to go back to Pinterest.com and finish signing up.
How To Set Up A Business Profile
Whether you’re an established brand, a non-profit organization, or a blogger, you can join Pinterest for free as a business. You can make a new business profile or convert your current one.
We have two sets of terms—one for people and one for businesses. If you’re using Pinterest for business purposes or as part of how you make a living, you should sign up for a business profile and agree to their Business Terms of Service.
Right now, business and personal profiles have similar features, but business profiles have access to Pinterest Analytics. If you sign up as a business, you will get updates on future products and services we build for businesses as well.
- If you have a personal profile, log out of it
- Go to Pinterest for Business and click Join as a Business
- Fill out details about your business and the person who’ll manage the profile
- Read and accept our Business Terms of Service and click Create Account
Contact Us
If you would like any further information regarding Pinterest and how it can be perfect to help support your business, Footprint Web Design have been at the forefront of web design and Social Media development for nearly 20 years. If you are looking for a website that truly represents your business, or advice on how to make your site stand out, then contact us today on 01883 372 488, or via email at info@footprint.co.uk.
