An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that enables encrypted, secure connections between a website and its visitors, required for a site to use HTTPS instead of the older, unencrypted HTTP protocol.
Beyond the confirmed, if modest, direct SEO ranking benefit, a valid SSL certificate is essential for user trust, since modern browsers actively flag sites without one as “Not Secure,” which can significantly deter visitors, particularly on forms or checkout pages.
SSL certificates require periodic renewal, and an expired certificate can cause serious, immediate trust and functionality issues, making automated renewal monitoring an important ongoing technical maintenance task.
SSL certificate health is checked as part of our Technical SEO service.