Google Favors Encryption in Ranking, But Not for ‘Trusted Stores’

Google wants websites to use encryption, to protect themselves and users from hackers. Unless they are e-commerce sites, in which case Google doesnt want them to use encryption too widely.

The dissonance arises from the requirements of Googles Trusted Stores program, an effort by the search giant to show users where they can shop online with confidence.

Heres the rub: According to emails Google sent one merchant, the Trusted Stores program doesnt play nice with encryption.

Googles explanation could have come straight from Catch-22. The Trusted Stores badge is designed to be suppressed and not show up on secure pages, Google wrote to Christopher Heitman, co-owner of Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies in New Berlin, Wisc.

That means, Google continued, There will not be a badge that shows up on every page of the site. However, per the program guidelines, it is required that the badge must be displayed on all pages of your site.

Not surprisingly, the explanation left Heitman scratching his head. I would think that protecting their users privacy by using encryption would be a valuable part of providing the best user experience, he says.

Google gave Web encryption a big boost earlier this month when it said encrypted sites would gain points in its search rankings. Encryption can defend against certain types of cyberattacks.

The Trusted Stores program does require that checkout pages be encrypted, to protect personal information such as home addresses and credit-card numbers.

But Google told Heitman that for non-sensitive pages such as a sites home page or product listings, the Trusted Stores program is not compatible with the common encryption protocol that Google said it would favor in its search rankings.

A Google spokesman said as a priority, were working on a solution to display the badge for stores who are moving their entire sites to be encrypted.

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Google Favors Encryption in Ranking, But Not for ‘Trusted Stores’