SSL Certificate: Security and SEO for Your Website

An SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) is no longer optional — it is essential for every modern website. Ever since Google announced HTTPS as a ranking factor in 2014, and especially since 2018, when browsers began flagging sites without SSL as “not secure”, SSL has become a standard requirement for everyone.

What an SSL certificate is, and how it works

An SSL/TLS certificate is a digital certificate that encrypts the communication between a visitor’s browser and your web server. It means nobody can intercept sensitive data such as:

• Credit card details
• Passwords and login credentials
• Personal data (names, addresses, email)
• Form submissions

How to recognise a secure connection

A site with SSL enabled shows:

✅ https:// in the address (not http://)
✅ A padlock icon next to the URL
✅ A green bar (for Extended Validation SSL)
✅ The company name in the address bar (EV SSL)

Without SSL: ❌ a “Not secure” warning in Chrome/Firefox
❌ A red symbol in the URL bar
❌ A warning before entering the site

Why you need SSL: 5 critical reasons

1. It is a Google ranking factor

Google prefers HTTPS sites in its search results:

• Better ranking than comparable HTTP sites
• Mobile-first indexing requires HTTPS
• Core Web Vitals scoring improves
• The Chrome “Not Secure” warning affects clicks

The data: HTTPS sites see roughly 5% better CTR on average.

2. Protection of customer data

For e-commerce and any site with forms:

• PCI DSS compliance (mandatory for payments)
• Encryption of personal data
• GDPR compliance (which requires secure transmission)
• Protection against man-in-the-middle attacks

Without SSL: you risk GDPR fines of up to €20M or 4% of turnover.

3. Trust and credibility

93% of users would not trust a site without HTTPS:

• A “Not secure” warning → 70% abandonment rate
• An SSL badge at checkout → 15–30% increase in conversions
• Brand protection against phishing sites

4. Browser compatibility

Modern browsers restrict functionality on HTTP sites:

• The Geolocation API does not work
• Web notifications are disabled
• Service workers (for PWAs) only run over HTTPS
• HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 require SSL

5. Referral data

When visitors arrive from an HTTPS site onto an HTTP one:

• Referral data is lost in Google Analytics
• It shows up as “direct traffic”
• Marketing attribution becomes difficult

With HTTPS: complete analytics data and attribution.

Types of SSL certificate

1. Domain Validated (DV SSL) – basic protection

The most affordable and fastest SSL:

Validation:

• Verification of domain ownership only
• Automatic issuance within minutes
• Email or DNS verification

Features:

• Basic encryption (256-bit)
• Padlock in the browser
• Does not display a company name

Cost: €0–30/year (or free with Let’s Encrypt)

Ideal for: blogs, portfolio sites, small informational sites

2. Organization Validated (OV SSL) – business level

Validation:

• Domain ownership plus company verification
• Checks of official documents (registration, phone number)
• 3–5 days to issue

Features:

• Displays the company name in the certificate
• Higher trust
• A professional image

Cost: €50–200/year

Ideal for: corporate sites, B2B platforms

3. Extended Validation (EV SSL) – maximum trust

The highest level of validation:

Validation:

• Extensive legal and financial verification
• A phone call with the company
• Checks of bank accounts
• 7–10 days to issue

Features:

• A green bar with the company name (in some browsers)
• Maximum trust
• A higher conversion rate (+40% vs DV)

Cost: €150–500/year

Ideal for: e-commerce, banks, pharmacies, high-value transactions

4. Wildcard SSL – multiple subdomains

Protects all your subdomains:

Coverage:

• *.yourdomain.gr → covers:
  • www.yourdomain.gr
  • shop.yourdomain.gr
  • blog.yourdomain.gr
  • mail.yourdomain.gr

Cost: €80–300/year

Ideal for: sites with multiple subdomains

5. Multi-domain SSL (SAN/UCC)

One certificate for several domains:

Coverage:

• yourdomain.gr
• yourdomain.com
• anotherdomain.gr
• Up to 100+ domains

Cost: €100–400/year

Ideal for: agencies managing many sites, multi-brand companies

Let’s Encrypt: free SSL for everyone

Let’s Encrypt is a non-profit Certificate Authority offering:

✅ Free SSL certificates (DV level)
✅ Automatic renewal every 90 days
✅ Trusted by every browser
✅ Easy installation with Certbot

Limitations:

• DV validation only (no OV/EV)
• 90-day expiry (vs one year for paid certificates)
• Does not display a company name

Ideal for: startups, personal sites, non-profit organisations

Most hosting providers offer free Let’s Encrypt SSL with one-click installation.

SSL installation: a step-by-step guide

Method 1: automatic installation (cPanel)

Step 1: log in to cPanel
Step 2: SSL/TLS Status
Step 3: Run AutoSSL
Step 4: wait 5–10 minutes

Result: automatic installation of a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate

Method 2: manual installation

Step 1: Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

Create it through cPanel or OpenSSL:
openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout domain.key -out domain.csr

Step 2: buy the SSL certificate

• Choose a provider (Sectigo, DigiCert, GeoTrust)
• Submit the CSR
• Complete the validation process (email/DNS/file)

Step 3: download the certificate files

• domain.crt (your certificate)
• ca-bundle.crt (intermediate certificates)
• private.key (your private key — NEVER share it)

Step 4: install on the server

• Upload the files through the cPanel SSL manager
• Or over SSH for command-line access

Step 5: verification

• Visit https://yourdomain.gr
• Check for the padlock
• Test with SSL Labs (ssllabs.com/ssltest)

Method 3: Certbot for Let’s Encrypt (Linux)

# Install Certbot
sudo apt-get install certbot python3-certbot-apache

# Obtain and install SSL
sudo certbot --apache -d yourdomain.gr -d www.yourdomain.gr

# Auto-renewal test
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Auto-renewal: Certbot sets up a cron job to renew automatically.

Post-SSL configuration: the critical steps

1. Force an HTTPS redirect

Every HTTP URL should redirect to HTTPS:

.htaccess (Apache):

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

nginx.conf:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.gr;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

2. Update internal links

• Change hardcoded HTTP links to HTTPS
• Update your canonical tags
• Fix mixed content warnings (HTTP resources on an HTTPS page)

Search & replace: use a plugin (Better Search Replace for WordPress).

3. Update Google Search Console

• Add https://yourdomain.gr as a new property
• Submit a new sitemap with HTTPS URLs
• Monitor for crawl errors

4. Update external services

• Google Analytics — change the default URL
• Facebook Pixel — update
• CDN settings (Cloudflare and so on)
• Payment gateways — update URLs

5. Enable HSTS

HTTP Strict Transport Security forces browsers to use HTTPS:

.htaccess:

Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

Result: protection against SSL stripping attacks.

6. Test everything

• WhyNoPadlock.com — checks for mixed content
• SSL Labs — aim for grade A+ for an optimal configuration
• Set up certificate expiry monitoring

Common SSL errors and their fixes

“Your connection is not private” (NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID)

Cause:

• A self-signed certificate
• An expired certificate
• An untrusted Certificate Authority

Fix: install a certificate from a trusted CA (Let’s Encrypt or a paid SSL).

Mixed content warnings

Cause: an HTTPS page loading HTTP resources (images, scripts, CSS).

How to find them: Developer Console (F12) → Security tab

Fix:

<!-- Change from: -->
<img src="https://yourdomain.gr/image.jpg">
<!-- To: -->
<img src="https://yourdomain.gr/image.jpg">
<!-- or to protocol-relative: -->
<img src="//yourdomain.gr/image.jpg">

SSL certificate expired

Cause: the certificate was not renewed.

Fix:

• Auto-renewal for Let’s Encrypt
• A calendar reminder for paid SSL
• A monitoring service (UptimeRobot, Pingdom)

Certificate name mismatch

Cause: the certificate was issued for www.domain.gr but you are visiting domain.gr.

Fix: a SAN certificate covering both, or a redirect.

SSL and SEO: best practice

1. Migrate the whole site

• Do not use selective HTTPS (checkout pages only, for instance)
• Put the entire site on HTTPS for better ranking

2. Use proper redirects

• Use 301 redirects (permanent)
• Not 302 (temporary) — you lose link equity

3. Update your sitemap

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://yourdomain.gr/</loc> <!-- HTTPS -->
    <lastmod>2026-02-12</lastmod>
  </url>
</urlset>

4. Canonical tags

<link rel="canonical" href="https://yourdomain.gr/page/" />

5. Monitor your rankings

Keep an eye on things for 2–4 weeks after the migration:

• A drop in traffic (temporary is normal)
• Crawl errors
• Ranking changes

SSL certificate pricing comparison

Conclusion

An SSL certificate is a must-have for every modern website. With free options such as Let’s Encrypt and easy installation through hosting control panels, there is no reason not to protect your site.

The benefits are clear:

• An SEO boost from Google
• Protection of customer data
• Greater trust and more conversions
• GDPR compliance
• Modern browser compatibility

Install SSL on your website today and enjoy a secure, trustworthy and SEO-friendly online presence.