Whenever Google (News - Alert) changes the rules for its search engine algorithms, it always makes big waves in the Web developer community. Though the company is not ready to officially announce any changes to its globally popular search platform, private conversations with Google search liaison Matt Cutts seem to imply that the company is interested in giving a boost to websites using encryption to protect the data of users and visitors. This move would help create a barrier between anyone trying to view the site user's Internet activity, which could be used to direct targeted ads or worse, to steal information.
The biggest impact that this potential algorithm change would have on the Internet at large is not that popular websites would be drowned out just because they aren't encrypted. Instead, these websites would be encouraged to encrypt their users' data in order to retain their prominence within Google search results. Google's changes have always had far-reaching impacts on the ways that websites label their information, such as the increasing use of meta-data that informs search engines what is on a page and what it links to.
SEO optimization will change as a result to include data encryption, which will protect Internet users in a very broad and generalized manner. “Rewarding sites for [encrypting pages] in the algorithm would be a huge step,” says Danny Sullivan, the editor of Search Engine Land, and who was also present for some of Cutts’ private implications that Google would reward encryption.
However, he continues to note that “it also possibly causes an immediate change by all the wrong sites,” referencing the fact that many sites simply attempt to game Google results without seeking to improve their content. Simply adding encryption to these sites would boost their results under these rules, without necessitating that the sites actually provide relevant content. Google's goal with all of their algorithm changes is to provide users with more accurate results that provide the desired content. Prevention of this sort of gaming could explain why Google has yet to make any official statements on the matter.
Edited by Alisen Downey
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