They lack SSL certificates
Many home care websites today are insecure and thus suffer from several marketing handicaps.
No, this is not the time to put your website on the psychiatrist’s couch. You may use the term “nonsecure” if you prefer.
In a recent informal study, we found that 55% of medium-sized home care agencies in Illinois had websites that did not have SSL technology. They are therefore insecure.
What does this mean?
When it comes to search, Google now penalizes websites that do not have the secure socket layer (SSL) technology. For years they have pushed for the SSL technology, which adds a layer of security that protects users from hackers. In July 2018, Google began dinging websites in its search engine algorithm. In other words, they will rank them lower in search results. As a home care agency looking for prospects, you want to have good search engine optimization.
(Three home care websites that are insecure. The top two are on a Chrome browser, and the bottom one is on Firefox.)
An SSL certificate adds protection for websites that takes text inputs in the form of login panels, contact forms, search bars, etc. The status of security is also marked by the website address prefix “s” in “https”, such as https://savvyseniormarketing.com. You can see this if you copy and paste the website address from your browser into a Word document or notepad.
Read more about why Google is forcing you to have SSL certificates on your websites.
The home care prospect’s uneasy feeling
Another disadvantage is that in the Chrome browser, made by Google, the troublesome-looking “Not Secure” words appear on the browser, next to the website address window. In Firefox, another popular browser, an alarming exclamation point occurs, and when clicked, the words “Connection not secure” pop up along with a longer explanation. These warnings certainly plant doubts and misgivings in the minds of your clients and prospects. You don’t want them to have an uneasy feeling about your home care service, do you?
All hosting platforms today offer SSL certificates. Some are free, such as those offered by Hostgator, and some charge an annual fee, such as GoDaddy.
Is your website insecure? Do you want to make it secure as well as gain the advantage of a better search ranking, and user experience? This might be a good time for a website redesign, especially if your website is not mobile-friendly. We here at Savvy Senior Marketing will be happy to help you get a SSL certificate for your website and redesign your website if it’s needed. Read more about our home care website design service.
