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Facebook Looking to Reduce ‘Overly Promotional Posts’

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Facebook looking to reduce promotional postsAs a business owner you’re undoubtedly using Facebook as one of your main digital marketing mediums, but if you’re not, why not!? After all, it’s a fantastic place to engage with your customers and prospects and get a really personal feel for everything that people expect from you as a brand.

However, an announcement that appeared on the social network’s newsroom blog last Friday may have an impact on the amount of exposure your business page gets going forward.

Now Facebook algorithm updates are nothing new and are something we’ve come to expect. But this recent one looks set to have a greater effect on companies who have previously been using their brand pages for promotional purposes.

As part of their ongoing user experience improvement programme, Facebook are striving to make people’s newsfeeds full of more stuff they want to see and less stuff they don’t want to see. Some of the feedback they’ve apparently received from the Facebook community is that people don’t like posts from pages they’ve liked which come across as ‘overly promotional’.

The devil’s advocate in me though is slightly bemused by this revelation. Surely when a person likes a page, be it a business, celebrity or whatever, they are signing up to receive all future updates from that page, including ones that are promotional in nature.

Reading between the lines, rightly or wrongly, leads me to believe that Facebook may have an ulterior motive behind this change of scope. It figures that if ‘overly promotional’ posts will lose exposure, businesses will need to conduct paid advertising campaigns to continue their reach.

The social network, however, says that as a result of the change there will not be an increase in the amount of ads that people see. This begs the question as to what will fill the gaps that are left by the reduced number of liked page posts.

So what constitutes an ‘overly promotional’ post? Well according to Facebook its posts that coerce people into buying a product or installing an app; posts that push people to enter a competition with no real context; and posts that mimic paid ads on the site.

Posts like this:

Tiger therapy

Even though the change isn’t due to take effect until January 2015, it’s definitely food for thought for businesses that utilize Facebook to engage with their followers.

So what should you do going forward?

Well one area that still proves to perform well on Facebook is native video. In fact, native videos get some 1 billion views a day! When we say ‘native video’ we’re referring to videos that have been created solely for and published directly to Facebook, and not simply links to stuff on YouTube.

Therefore, if you’re concerned about the impending promotional page decline, but not sure if you want to embark on a paid advertising campaign, why not experiment with native video? Of course, there’s no guarantee that it won’t also be subject to an algorithm change in the future, but at least for now it’s a pretty safe bet.

How to Achieve a Better Work-Life Balance

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How to acheive a better work-life balanceToday, we’re more connected than we’ve ever been. What with laptops, smartphones and tablets padding our bags, there’s never been a better time to be a remote worker. Add to this the profusion of tools and applications, like Dropbox, Gmail and Skype – all of which put our vital files and messages within arm’s reach wherever we are – and you can see why the lines between work and life are more blurred than ever.

As a mother, wife and professional virtual assistant, I often find myself working when I perhaps shouldn’t be. Not because I can’t manage my time – I can do that standing on my head – but instead because I’m always attentive to my clients’ needs. For example, if I get an email in the evening from one of my clients asking me for some out of hour’s assistance, I’ll more often than not oblige.

An article I recently read on the Huffington Post really got me thinking about work-life balance and was ultimately the inspiration for this post.

So how can you start achieving a better work-life balance today? Here are my top tips:

Hire a Virtual Assistant

Oh come on, don’t look so surprised – it was always going to be on this list. Not because it’s my livelihood, but rather that I genuinely believe in the real value that most Virtual Assistants afford for their clients.

Hiring a virtual assistant is something you should absolutely consider if you find yourself spending too much time on the mundane tasks and not enough time enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Virtual Assistants like myself can help people like you get back to doing what you do best – growing your business.

Scrutinize your workload

Time is our most valuable commodity and we can’t simply buy more of it. That’s why you need to ensure that you are using every minute of yours in the most productive way possible.

Scrutinize every task you carry out and decide if they all add real value. The ones that don’t should be offloaded to someone else, either internally or externally.

Learn to switch off

What I’m referring to here is your multitude of devices. The gadgets that make you constantly contactable both day and night are the things that make you super-efficient, yet inevitably destroy a small part of your balance.

Simple things like turning your smartphone off during dinner or if you’re on holiday, leaving your tablet in the hotel room and not taking it to the swimming pool. Out of sight really is out of mind, right?

Respect your self-imposed boundaries

You’ll never realise a better work-life balance if you cannot learn to respect your own boundaries. As with any change it will seem slightly alien in the beginning but you will learn to embrace going forward.

Routines are a great way to teach yourself, to adopt different ways of working. You almost want your boundaries to become habits. Unwritten rules that you don’t even need to think about because they come so naturally.

If you don’t respect your own boundaries then other people definitely won’t…

Pinterest & Snapchat Offer two Fresh Advertising Platforms for your Brand

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We all know that having an active social media presence serves to promote your business and allows you to engage with your customers and prospects. But while Facebook and Twitter are often the two social networks that get the most attention from brands, Pinterest and Snapchat have introduced paid advertising offerings that provide different angles for your business to leverage.

Pinterest & Snapchat Offer two Fresh Advertising Platforms for your Brand

Introducing Pinterest promoted pins

Pinterest is rather unique in that it’s a highly visual social network which allows users to create stunning visual collections (boards). However, Pinterest is often overlooked by brands but why? After all, at the last count Pinterest boasts more than 70 million users. Furthermore, the majority of its user base are women – some 80% in fact.

Therefore, if your business/brand uses a lot of visual content and your target audience are predominantly women, Pinterest could represent a great opportunity for you. Plus, with the announcement of promoted pins, there has never been a better time to get interested in Pinterest or Pinterested! (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

Promoted pins are Pinterest’s paid advertising offering and operate on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis. They allow you to promote specific pins based on set criteria that you stipulate. For example, you can choose to target certain demographics, specific locations and even different types of devices.

The best part is that you only pay when somebody actually clicks through to your website from your promoted pin. There’s also no need to worry about spiraling advertising costs as you are able to set daily budgets and duration for every campaign.

There are, of course, a number of rules that advertisers must follow, but these are run-of-the-mill and to be expected.

Promoted pins are still in beta and currently only available to select US-based businesses. However, it’s inevitable that they’ll be rolled out across the board in the future and will present another advertising platform for your business utilize.

Snapchat Advertising is upon us

Ephemeral messaging application Snapchat may not seem like a lucrative platform to focus your marketing efforts on, but don’t dismiss it just yet. Especially as, the start-up – which has been valued at $10 billion has now opened up its gates to advertisers.

With some 100 million active monthly users – 71% of who are under 25 – Snapchat presents quite an opportunity for brands who want to get their marketing in front of millenials (that’s generation Y for those of you who aren’t familiar with the term).

The announcement that Snapchat would start rolling out paid ads was made on its blog last week. The company said that US-based users would see an advertisement over the weekend and judging by the online buzz that definitely was the case.

Snapchat wanted to emphasis that its ad offering would not detract from the user experience that people have come to love using its app. Ads will only appear in the Recent Updates section and never in personal communications (chats).

Snapchat’s decision to roll out paid ads shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, they need to justify their huge price tag and the company’s own blog post states that their reason is simply to make money.

However, they further added: “We want to see if we can deliver an experience that’s fun and informative, the way ads used to be, before they got creepy and targeted”. A statement that’s quite ironic considering that the first ad to be displayed was for Ouija – a horror movie by Universal Pictures.

Pinterest’s promoted pins and Snapchat’s paid advertising may not yet be available to UK businesses but they almost certainly will be. Will you be utilizing them?

Introducing WEST by Box, Facebook and Pinterest

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Introducing WEST

Last week, the Facebook Newsroom announced a new initiative that the social network has launched in conjunction with Box and Pinterest. WEST, as its known, stands for Women Entering and Staying in Tech and, in my mind, is a fantastic program.

When it comes to Computer Science, there has long been a gender gap in the industry, both in workforce’s across the globe and in the educational pipelines where tomorrow’s generation of Computer Scientists will emerge.

In fact, the United States Census Bureau has reported that technical roles in the country will continue to increase and are expected to reach 1.4 million by 2020. However, the number of women filling these positions has been steadily declining since the 1990s.

That’s why Facebook, Pinterest and Box have teamed up to create WEST, a one-on-one mentorship program that is designed to help more women adopt and ultimately flourish in these types of technical role.

The aim is to bring together highly experienced women from the top technology companies across the industry to help build and maintain a focussed mentorship program. It will be driven by the day-to-day work that these individuals do and geared towards the exciting technical opportunities that are becoming available.

Opening in 2015, WEST will be looking to attract female mentees in their early to middle career stages. It will feature a series of 1:1 and group interactions face-to-face, as well as online sessions over the course of a year.

Initially, the program will be open to women in the Bay Area in the U.S. but if it proves successful then we can hope to see an expansion going forward. I for one, hope that UK women will be able to take advantage of this great initiative in the future.

Mentorship is something that is very powerful and can help shape an individual’s life including their career choices, lifestyle outcomes and overall success.

Influential individuals, like Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, have long voiced their opinions about the need for more women in technical roles. The Facebook COO famously said in an interview with 60 Minutes that, “A man and a man at a bar at a hotel during a work trip – that looks like mentoring. A man and a woman at a bar at a hotel on a work trip, that doesn’t look like mentoring to anyone.”

It speaks volumes that three huge companies, like Facebook, Box and Pinterest, have decided to undertake this venture. They obviously want to tackle a problem that has been developing for some time. Hopefully, their lead will make other businesses take note and perhaps even offer similar programs.

When industry giants make a decision to create a bespoke mentoring program for women from the ground up, it can only lead to more diversity in the technical industry as a whole going forward.

You can find out a little more about WEST here. There’s even an application form but unless you live in the Bay Area in the United States it’s obsolete at present.

What’s your view on WEST? Should women be given a helping hand with mentorship programs like this or will doing so ultimately put men at a disadvantage?

I’d love to hear your thoughts below…

Fake “Likes” are now on Facebook’s radar

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Fake Likes are now on FB radar

Facebook recently announced on their business blog that they are now taking a much firmer stance against fake activity; especially fake likes. Therefore, if your business has ever bought likes or is thinking of buying some, my advice is – absolutely don’t.

To understand the issue with fake likes, we need to first look at the purpose of genuine likes and the value they bring. When someone likes your business page it creates a connection between them and your brand. Any future updates you post are likely to appear in that user’s news feed, giving you a channel through which to communicate.

Over time, you can build relationships with your followers by providing them with useful and informative posts. If these posts strike the right chord, there is a strong chance your followers will in turn re-share them, thus boosting your brand’s reach even further.

With established relationships in place and engaged followers, your brand is in the best possible position to pitch potential sales via social media channels. You cannot do this if all the likes your page has are fake.

But if fake likes serve no purpose, why do people buy them?

The simple answer is to make their business appear more popular than it actually is and the businesses who tend to do this are just starting out on their social media journeys.

Fake likes can also prevent genuine followers from seeing your updates, which is disastrous for your online marketing efforts.

The reality is that the only people who benefit from fake likes are the ones who sell them. It’s no wonder then that Facebook are now taking a much tougher stance on this practice – which is essentially spam.

Using their sophisticated rules and machine learning, the social networking giant are constantly looking to identify suspicious behaviour. When they do, they undertake all means necessary to eliminate it. This may involve blocking associated accounts and removing all fake likes instantly.

Therefore, if you’ve paid for fake likes, they are very likely to be removed in the future without warning. Imagine how it will look when your business page’s followers take an overnight nosedive.

It’s not just technical measures, however, that Facebook use to combat spam on their platform. According to their blog post, the social network “have obtained nearly $2 billion in legal judgments against spammers” – something that might make people who sell likes think twice about in the future.

Furthermore, Facebook now also limit the amount of likes that accounts can give and sometimes ask for additional verification, limiting the spammers’ overall effectiveness.

When you first start building your online presence it can be tempting to try and boost your perceived popularity. However, this will not benefit you in the long-run and may even come back to bite you.

Remember that the purpose of your social media marketing campaigns is to build relationships with your customers and nurture them through to fruition. Fake likes may make you seem like a successful business but you’re only kidding yourselves.

Create content that is fresh and resonates with your audience. Genuine likes and shares will soon follow and your business will benefit from a much more responsive follower base.

Announcing three new Facebook improvements

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Announcing 3 new Facebook improvementsIt seems that Facebook have been doing some listening recently. That in itself is nothing new, as social networks are always striving to improve the user experience. However, Facebook haven’t just listened. They’ve actually acted too.

In fact, over the past few weeks the Facebook News Room have announced three important changes that are designed to improve the social networking experience for their users going forward.

Each change could have warranted a write up of its own, but I actually thought it better to bundle them into one post that serves as a single point of reference.

The changes are also outlined in the order that they appeared on the Facebook News Room and I’ve included a link to each original story for further reference purposes.

Click-bait articles now being suppressed

You may or may not be familiar with the term ‘click-bait’ but once I explain what it is you will undoubtedly recall seeing it on your internet travels.

Click-bait articles are those stories you see with a really eye-catching headline that is designed to stir your suspicious nature and make you click. But while these headlines are alluring, they tend to not give much away in terms of the article’s actual content.

This is click-bait and Facebook don’t like it one bit:

Click bait

Going forward, Facebook are going to weed out this type of low-quality, spam-style story so that more pertinent updates from friends and liked pages appear in people’s news feeds.

Facebook will reduce the number of click-bait articles that appear on their site in two ways.

First, they will track the amount of time a user spends reading an article before bouncing back to Facebook. Their thinking is that low-quality articles will have a faster bounce rate than higher quality pieces.

Second, Facebook will analyse the ratio of people clicking VS the number of shares or likes an article gets. If something attracts a lot of clicks but few shares/likes, then it’s likely to be click-bait.

Original story: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/08/news-feed-fyi-click-baiting/

A better ad experience

Advertising on Facebook is huge business and when someone is presented with an ad that appeals to them, it makes for a better experience all-round. Likewise, marketers who manage to get their ads in front of people who they appeal to, will see their efforts reap greater rewards.

Previously, hiding an irrelevant ad on Facebook was a simple one-click affair:

Irrelevant ad on Facebook example

Going forward, however, Facebook are going to start asking people why they chose to hide a particular ad.

For example, if someone hides an ad and states their reason for doing so as being ‘offensive’ then there’s a strong chance that that ad will be found offensive by other people too and so shouldn’t be shown.

As well as collecting the reason, Facebook are going to also start paying more attention to those people who rarely hide ads. This is because Facebook deem the signal sent from these infrequent hiders to be much stronger and therefore carry more weight across the ad network.

Original story: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/09/news-feed-fyi-listening-to-peoples-feedback-to-show-better-ads/

More timely stories to surface

Facebook have come to realise that sometimes posts from friends and liked pages are more significant at certain times and less so at others. For example, during a live sports game or latest episode of a TV series, relevant updates need to appear in a timely manner. Once the event is over, however, those posts inevitably lose a lot of their significance.

FB Trending topics

It appears that trending topics are going to play a larger role in the future and Facebook will look to promote posts that relate to trending stories, so that they appear higher in people’s news feeds. This will ensure that any updates about a current hot topic are more likely to find their way to the top of news feeds.

Also, Facebook will look at the comments and likes that a post gets, paying specific attention to when these occur. They believe that a post which is fervently liked and shared soon after it has been displayed but then drops off a bit later, is more likely to be relevant when it was posted.

Posts like this will appear high up in news feeds to start with before gradually falling away as their relevance decreases.

Original story: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/09/news-feed-fyi-showing-more-timely-stories-from-friends-and-pages/

 

Analyse the numbers behind your tweets with Twitter Analytics

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Twitter analytics

 

Twitter will undoubtedly be part of your social media arsenal but if it’s not, why not? After all, Twitter has evolved into a highly effective audience engagement tool and any brand that’s serious about its image should have a lively Twitter following.

Since its foundation in 2006, Twitter has undergone an evolution which has seen more and more features added to the social network over the years. And now it’s time for Twitter Analytics to enter the public spotlight and be rolled out to everyone.

Actually, it’s been quite a month for social media analytics what with Pinterest’s new analytical platform now available to users who have a business account and now Twitter Analytics getting the green light for widespread usage.

But what is Twitter Analytics and will it benefit you as a Twitter user?

Twitter Analytics is a tool that advertisers and some verified users have been using for a few months now. Anyone who uses Google Analytics will embrace Twitter’s platform with open arms. The two function very similarly, with Twitter Analytics offering everything you could want in a tool for analysing your tweets.

First, there’s the ability to see how many impressions your tweets have received; in other words, how many times users have seen your tweet on Twitter. You can also discover how many people have marked your post as one of the favourites; the amount of times people have clicked on your profile; the number of replies and retweets and so on.

Additionally, there is the functionality to actually see how many people directly engaged with one of your tweets and you can also gain an insight into what their engagement was – great for content marketers wanting to see what’s hitting the spot with their audiences.

Twitter let everyone know that their analytics platform was now available to all in the most apt way – via a tweet!

Twitter engineer Ian Chan tweeted: “Absolutely thrilled to open up access to analytics.twitter.com to EVERYONE. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

As with most things though, there are certain criteria that your account needs to meet before you can start using Twitter Analytics. First and foremost, your account must have been open for at least 14 days and not be protected, restricted or suspended. Furthermore, your posts need to primarily be written in English, Spanish, French or Japanese.

Twitter’s decision to open up their analytics platform to everyone is actually rather symbolic. Historically, the only way for non-advertisers to gain insights into the numbers behind their tweets was by using third-party applications. Twitter Analytics means that more people than ever can now monitor their tweets and keep track of what’s engaging their audiences.

Both brands and individuals alike can start understanding the metrics behind their Twitter accounts and realising true value. The ‘average’ Twitter user may be wondering what all the fuss is about and ultimately not take advantage of the platform, but this revelation is definitely something that I’m excited about.

Twitter have created a new Help Center page which explains more about Twitter Analytics and includes some FAQs among other things.

Once you’re ready to give it a shot for yourself you should head over to analytics.twitter.com and start checking out your own dashboard.

 

 

The German Answer to the Post-Holiday Email Nightmare

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The German Answer to the Post-Holiday Email Nightmare As many of you will know, I’m currently enjoying a family holiday in Canada.  And, whilst I’m trying to forget about work for the time being, I know that I still have to be available in case any of my clients need to contact me.

It’s not all bad though. By spending a few minutes each day online, I am keeping on top of anything urgent that needs addressing. However, I am fully aware that once I am back in the UK and working my regular hours again, I’m going to have a significant amount of emails to wade through.

Yes it’s all part of returning to work with a bump and an inevitable reality of taking a holiday. But that’s not the case if you work for one of the progressively forward thinking German companies such as Daimler or Volkswagen.

These two German car giants have realised something very important: take care of your employees and they will, in return, take care of you and, therefore, your business.

At Daimler, they have just implemented a new policy for when an employee goes on holiday. It’s called the Mail on Holiday initiative and basically sees any emails that are sent to an employee who is currently on holiday deleted. The sender is subsequently informed that their email has not been received and an alternative person to contact is given.

The result is that when the employee returns from their holiday they are not immediately swamped with hundreds of emails requiring their attention. But why have Daimler adopted this approach? Surely all employees understand that the email nightmare that awaits them following a holiday is just part of life.

Well, the Daimler Mail on Holiday program was introduced following a work/life balance research project that was conducted with the University of Heidelberg. It seems that while the Germans understand the importance of working hard, they also know that working smart is a must.

Daimler highlighted their thinking in a statement announcing the policy: “The aim of the project is to maintain the balance between the work and home life of Daimler employees.”

But Daimler isn’t the only German company to implement such cutting-edge initiatives. In 2011, Volkswagen made a decision to stop sending emails to their employees after the end of their shift.

Deutsche Telekom have a similar policy which sees no emails after hours and even Germany’s Labour Ministry have advised their ministers to not bother employees after hours unless it is an absolute emergency.

Work/lie initiatives such as this prove that modern businesses are waking up to the reality that the wellbeing of their employees is paramount to their overall success. Its part of a growing ‘data detox’ trend in European corporate life that is designed to reduce employee burnout.

Perhaps more British companies will adopt a similar approach in the future. After all, remaining competitive in the European marketplace is in the best interest of UK businesses.

Daimler’s Mail on Holiday policy is apparently optional. I doubt, however, that many people choose not to take advantage of it – do you?

 

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Top tips for when you’re working from home

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Top Tips for When You’re Working From HomeAs a virtual assistant, I can work from virtually anywhere in the world – providing I have a reliable internet connection. The flexibility that this affords is fantastic and one of the definite

perks of my line of work.

In fact, I am actually writing this post from Canada where I am currently enjoying some much needed time out with my family. But, just because I am almost 4,000 miles from London, doesn’t mean I can’t continue to service my clients albeit at a slightly  reduced schedule, but nevertheless I am still contactable.

Our holiday is focussed on the areas of Calgary, British Columbia and Toronto. Trips to the Rockies, Banff National Park and other places of interest are on our itinerary. Basically, a little bit of relaxation with tons of day trips and visits to places of interest.

So, as I am currently working remotely, and there’s a good chance that more people are going to start working from home going forward, I thought a post outlining my top tips for working from home would be suitably apt.

Follow a morning routine

Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow a morning routine. You wouldn’t head to the office without brushing your teeth, showering, getting dressed or eating breakfast etc. so don’t neglect these things when you’re working from home.

After all, you’ll inevitably have to do them all at some point throughout the day and so better to get them out the way at the start. Not only will this put you in the right frame of mind for optimum productivity but it’ll also mean you’re not taking time out later in the day.

Have a set schedule

Much like keeping a morning routine, having a set schedule is also very important. Often, people who work from home find themselves in a situation where they’re online extremely early and sign off very late.

This isn’t a good habit to get into, which is why you need a set schedule e.g. 9-5, even if you are working from home. The line between work and personal time can become blurred and it’s up to you not to let this happen. Of course, you can logon for the odd conference call or to deal with an important email but don’t let it become the norm.

Furthermore, it’s important to have regular breaks when you’re working from home – just like you would in the office. Give yourself a set lunch break and don’t look at your laptop again until it’s over – unless you use the time to conduct your personal internet browsing.

Create a dedicated workspace

It can be extremely tempting to work sat on your sofa with your laptop in front of you. But this is a setup that will ultimately lend itself to reduced productivity. This is because you need to be in the right frame of mind to be productive and if you’re lounging on your sofa with the TV on in the background, you are not going to be as productive as you would be sat at a desk

You don’t need to spend a small fortune creating a bespoke office but a dedicated work surface, like a desk, is a must. Try to create a small space that allows you to be as productive as you would be in an office environment.

Eliminate distractions

When you’re working from home it can be all too easy to be distracted by all manner of things. For example, you may have a pile of washing up that needs doing and it can be very tempting to take time out from your work to do it.

The trouble with this is that you’ll find yourself crossing off lots of small tasks from your household chores list, all of which are distracting you from your work.

Likewise, your favourite social media sites can also be big distractions when you’re working from home. You wouldn’t have your Facebook page or Twitter feed open in the background when you’re in the office (I guess?) so don’t do it when you’re at home. Use your dedicated breaks to catch up on your social media accounts and then close them before starting work again.

 

 

Image courtesy of BrianHolm / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

HTTPS Now a Google Ranking Signal

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HTTPS Now a google ranking signalDoes your website use HTTPS encryption? If not, maybe it’s time you made the switch; especially as Google have recently announced that they’ve started using HTTPS as a ranking signal.

That’s right, it now seems that Google are striving to make the internet a safer place for us all and, while the change to their search algorithm currently affects less than 1% of global queries, it’s likely to become much larger in the future.

In Google’s own words: “we’d like to encourage all website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS to keep everyone safe on the web.”

And what better way to cajole webmasters into adopting secure, encrypted connections on their sites than this! But what is HTTPS and how can it benefit you and your website visitors?

The next time you visit your favourite website(s) take a quick look at your browser’s address bar and you’ll likely see either ‘HTTP’ or ‘HTTPS’ – the latter being the secure connections that Google are talking about. Furthermore, your browser will often show a padlock symbol to highlight that you are communicating over secure connection.

Traditionally, online banking and e-commerce websites used HTTPS to increase the security of the connection between them and their customer. However, it’s now much more common to see social media and news websites using secure connections.

Standard HTTP websites use port 80 for communication and are liable to man-in-the-middle and eavesdropping attacks, which allow attackers to get hold of sensitive information and website accounts.

A nice analogy that I came across on the internet likened website security to sending your credit card information via post. Unencrypted sites are the same as posting your details in a clear plastic envelope for all to see. Encrypted websites, however, see your data sent in secure envelopes that protect it in transit.

Now you might be wondering why all websites don’t use HTTPS as standard and the answer is simple – because it costs money. Today, however, SSL certificates can be picked up for just a few pounds a year, yet the benefits they afford are numerous.

Also, there were many people who believed that encryption added an unnecessary burden to a website and reduced its performance but advances in technology have eliminated this issue.

So, there really are no excuses not to implement secure, encrypted connections for your website. Especially as we hear more and more about data security breaches happening on a seemingly more regular basis nowadays. These types of cyber-attack are not only embarrassing but inevitably cost your business financially.

At the end of the day, visitors to your website want to feel safe while they are browsing your pages and/or logging into their personal/business accounts. Implementing HTTPS is a great way to promote trust between you and your customers/potential customers.

The final benefit is, of course the potential boost in search ranking that your site will get from using HTTPS. This might even be reason enough for you to make the change. Your competitors may already be using HTTPS on their websites, so don’t fall any further behind them in the search rankings.

 

 

 

Image courtesy of hyena reality / FreeDigitalPhotos.net