November

Week 1 – HTTP Secure

Did you know in 2017 Google announced their plan to make the internet more secure by using HTTPS? HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is the protocol controlling all data transfer between your browser and the website that you are visiting. HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) is the secure version of HTTP. It means all data transfer between your browser and the website are encrypted or protected. It encrypts the connection between your browser and the website so that others can’t hack or intercept the connection when you are, for example, using a public WiFi.

You can check if you are using HTTPS, by going to your website address and see if there is a lock symbol. If you don’t have it, you need a SSL certificate for your website. The SSL certificate makes it possible to identify your website as secure, like a passport. All big web hotels/hosting should already give you SSL certificate for free. If not, ask them and the price shouldn’t be more than 500-700 SEK per year.

HTTPS is encouraged by Google and rewards websites using it with better SEO ranking.

Week 2 – Website Content

Did you know that you should not only care about keywords, but also the content, format and length?

Google care about if your website has information that is relevant for the visitors. It shouldn’t contain useless information and you need to update your information regularly. Otherwise, Google will think your website is dead. Formatting is also important. Your text should have headings, subheadings and short paragraphs. Without formatting, visitors would leave immediately. The text length is also important, your text can’t be too short or too long. Google may like longer texts, but the visitors don’t. So the recommended amount is around 300-600 words.