In a move designed to protect consumers privacy and security, Google has announced it will soon start encrypting all AdWords ads.
Google started encrypting search results in 2011, and from launch Gmail has used HTTPS by default. In December all YouTube ads were moved to HTTPS, and now most of the company’s mobile, video and desktop ads are to be encrypted by July.
Google’s announcement follows revelations earlier this year by website security firm Sucuri that at least two large Google AdWords advertising campaigns were redirecting consumers to fraudulent websites.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has been a strong advocate for the industry’s adoption of HTTPS, and Google is not alone in its plans. Last week Yahoo also announced it had moved Yahoo Mail to HTTPS and has similar plans for its display advertising platform.
Why should you care?
The move to HTTPS means that consumers will automatically have an encrypted connection with ad servers, making them less vulnerable to security threats. While the move will benefit consumers, advertisers also stand to gain with a likely reduction in bot traffic and other types of ad fraud.
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Jeremy and Mark are two of the partners behind SureFire Search. Despite their deceptively youthful appearances, both have worked in search marketing for many years. To put that in context, Google didn't even exist when Jeremy started.
