Starting July 2018, with the release of Chrome 68 version, the browser will mark all HTTP websites as “non secure“. Aiming to move the web towards a secure environment by default, this step will probably intimidate users trying to access non-secure websites, which will cause a drop in traffic and conversions for some websites.
HTTPS is a secure protocol of transferring data between web browser and web server. While it’s important for websites taking transactions or collecting personal information, it’s usually unnecessary for purely informational websites.
HTTPS encryption has been a Google ranking factor since 2014, when is was officially announced as a means to make the web safer. While many webmasters and site owners rushed to upgrade their servers to HTTPS in fear of losing ranking, it turned out to be a very minor ranking factor, as the majority of non-secure HTTP websites were not affected by this update. With this new Chrome update, most non-secure websites will probably upgrade to HTTPS.