Why you need HTTPS security on your real estate website

We've found many real estate service providers still not offering this critical website feature. Here is why it is important to your estate agency.

 Almost 6 years ago Google indicated HTTPS is a ranking signal for SEO. This prompted service providers like Entegral to offer this as standard feature on it's latest generation Flex real estate websites, and optional on older websites.

In 2018 Google made more 'visual' changes and started showing a 'Not Secure' in its Chrome browser (most popular browser out there) as shown below:




Now this doesn't look particularly good if you are a buyer visiting your agency website right? 
There are various drawbacks for not having an SSL certificate on your agency website:
  • Any information captured by your user (e.g. their contact details on an enquiry form) are transmitted insecurely to your service provider's servers. This data can easily be intercepted and stolen on public WiFi networks.
  • It's a Google Ranking factor as we've indicated, you are doing your website and all your marketing efforts a disservice. With SEO, every little bit helps to your overall page ranking.
  • It affects your website's credibility with users and ultimately search engine rankings, as users favour secure sites. As estate agent, there is nothing more important than building trust.

If your service provider installed an SSL certificate your visitors will notice a 'Connection is secure' message with HTTPS in front of your domain (and not just HTTP):



In 2018 Entegral took this a step further and offered CloudFront technology as standard feature for all new websites. This essentially replicates your website over 100 locations worldwide for faster access and better failover.  In fact, since 2018 we had no downtime on the Flex platform.

Google is rolling out more HTTPS/SSL updates so make sure your real estate website has the basics in place, or check out our Flex websites for your agency and make a switch. 

Google has many ranking factors (with responsive websites another great ranking indicator) and our task at Entegral is to make sure that we continuously optimize for this and keep your agency on the latest technology. 




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