In this article, learn tips and strategies for identifying and addressing common WordPress security issues to protect your website and search rankings from cyberattacks.
In September 2023 alone, over 17,000 WordPress websites fell victim to the Balada Injector malware.
The results were devastating for the companies that owned these websites.
In addition to paying high fees and fines, corporate websites compromised by cyberattacks must work extra hard to rebuild their reputation with existing customers and search engines.
Unfortunately, not all companies do this.
Important points
The undisputed relationship between website security and SEO
The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed consumer purchasing behavior.
Although people are slowly returning to pre-pandemic ways of shopping, the shopping habits they developed during the pandemic remain.
Consumers still begin their purchasing process online, and more than half of them prefer to use search engines to research the products and services they want to buy.
Survey responses to the question, “Where do you typically research items or products that you plan to purchase?”Source: PwC June 2023 Global Consumer Insights Survey
While in-store shopping is making a comeback, online shopping is still going strong. eMarketer predicts that the number of online shoppers in the US alone will increase to 230.6 million by 2026.
Source: eMarketer
In addition to these, rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and internet technology mean that brands are expected to offer the highest quality products and services, as well as a fun, safe and easy shopping experience.
This expectation is not limited to e-commerce and B2B websites. Consumers expect this type of experience on every website they visit on the Internet, including search engines.
So just publishing insightful articles and following SEO best practices is no longer enough to rank high on Google and other search engines. You also need to ensure that your website provides your target audience with a user experience that meets, if not exceeds, their expectations.
How security breaches can ruin your SEO efforts
The impact of a cyberattack can be severe, and some businesses may never recover.
In addition to dealing with high costs associated with security breaches, victims of cyberattacks face reputational damage with customers and search engines.
Google and other search engines are like other SaaS businesses in that they are responsible for the security of your personal information whenever you use their services.
That's why website security is an important factor to consider when evaluating a website's overall page experience.
Google's Page Experience Documentation includes questions focused on website security.
And they're not alone.
Browsers and websites that build backlinks also prevent users from driving traffic to your website.
Until Google and other search engines remove your site's URL from their blocklist, you'll see a notification like this in your browser every time someone tries to visit your website.
On the other hand, tools like Ahrefs and Semrush can classify backlinks to your website as “harmful” or “malicious”, allowing other websites to remove your backlinks from their site and block their own websites. Make sure to disavow links pointing to your site.
Therefore, one of the first signs that your website's security has been compromised is when your website stops receiving traffic.
And even if you manage to get your website off Google's blocklist, new and existing customers can take your business to other customers, spread the word about security breaches within their networks and to online review sites, and improve your website and SEO. It will further reduce efforts. spiral of evil.
Leverage WordPress Security to Gain an SEO Advantage: A Step-by-Step Guide
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to protect your website and your customers from cybercriminals lurking on the Internet and looking for their next victim.
Step 1: Implement the right SSL certificate for your business
SSL certificates encrypt all data sent and received on your website, protecting your business and customers' data and personal information from data breaches.
Most web hosting providers like SiteGround include SSL certificates as part of their WordPress website hosting services. Still, it's essential to ensure that the type of SSL/TLS certificate provides the level of security you expect for your business and online activities.
For example, if you run a restaurant, an Organizationally Validated (OV) SSL certificate is your best option. This SSL certificate type proves that your website is associated with a legitimate business.
Step 2: Keep all WordPress plugins up to date
Reputable WordPress plugin developers regularly update their plugins to address vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit. Therefore, be sure to update your plugins when you receive a notification.
Back up your website before updating WordPress plugins, especially when updating site builders or security plugins. If an updated plugin breaks your website or causes compatibility issues with other plugins, you can always revert to the previous version.
If you have plugins installed that the developer hasn't updated in a long time, disable them and remove them from your website. These plugins may contain vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can use as backdoors to break into your website.
Step 3: Establish your organization's cybersecurity policy
As companies adapt to remote and hybrid working models, establishing and maintaining internal cybersecurity policies is more important than ever.
A cybersecurity policy documents guidelines and best practices that everyone in your organization must follow to protect your website and WordPress forms from potential security breaches due to the use of insecure internet connections or devices. has been made into
Ideally, cybersecurity policies can be included in employee contracts, handbooks, and onboarding processes.
This allows us to properly communicate these policies and the consequences of violating them.
Step 4: Invest in security plugins
Security plugins like Sucuri and Wordfence block hackers from entering your website by implementing features such as firewall protection and limiting login attempts.
It also constantly scans your website to find and fix any malware that may have gotten past your first line of defense.
If a WordPress security issue is found on your website, these security plugins will notify you so you can take immediate action.
Screenshot of email alert notification sent to users from Wordfence Security
Step 5: Stay alert and proactive
Even if you follow the previous steps, it's still important to closely monitor your website for WordPress security issues.
The leaps and advances we've seen in artificial intelligence and machine learning have unfortunately helped cybercriminals refine their hacking techniques.
One of the most common hacking techniques is email phishing. This cyberattack tricks people into revealing sensitive information such as passwords and credit card details by sending legitimate-looking emails.
Thanks to AI-authored tools like ChatGPT, cybercriminals can now send more convincing phishing emails to unsuspecting victims. One study revealed that email phishing victims increased by a whopping 1,265% in the months following ChatGPT.
Tools like Ahrefs allow you to conduct regular audits of your website and backlinks to quickly identify potential threats such as backlinks to insecure websites or significant drops in website traffic. can be identified and addressed.
Also, require your IT team to get into the habit of testing and validating the integrity of customer data, especially if they've recently started using new tools or software programs.
In today's digital marketplace, data is a key commodity.
This allows businesses to make informed decisions that drive revenue and growth.
For cybercriminals, the data gives them access to their victims' bank accounts and credit cards.
Regularly testing data integrity ensures that your data is current, accurate, and not corrupted by malware that cybercriminals can use to infiltrate your system.
Above all, listen to your gut.
If you're concerned about an email you've received from your bank or the IRS, don't hesitate to call and find out if it's from them.
The inconvenience of spending a few minutes on hold to talk to someone about this matter pales in comparison to the devastating effects of becoming the victim of a cyberattack.
Improve your domain reputation (DR) using security measures with Ahrefs
Domain Rating (DR) is a metric from Ahrefs that measures the overall quality of a website's backlink profile.
This is the first metric you see when you explore a website using Ahrefs' Site Explorer.
Although Google officials downplay the role that backlinks play in search rankings, a website's DR score is still a good indicator of how well a website ranks in the SERPs.
Here's why: Google cites content quality as an important factor when choosing which sites to include in its SERP for a particular query.
One way to judge the quality of content is the number of authoritative websites that link to this content.
In a nutshell: quality backlinks.
Screenshot of documentation on how Google search results are automatically generated.
These are the same criteria that Ahrefs considers when calculating a website's DR score.
However, for a website to rank high in the SERPs, it is not enough to generate a lot of backlinks. In fact, it can even hurt your search rankings, as my boss, David Ellis, founder of his Teranga Digital Marketing, explains:
The best way to explain this is that birds of the same feather flock together. If you have only a few backlinks to your site and they come from websites owned by respectable companies or industry leaders, Google will recognize you as such.
On the other hand, what if you generate a lot of backlinks, but they come from less secure websites? Google and other search engines also think your website is of poor quality. Masu. This means that instead of improving your search rankings, your search rankings will drop or even disappear from the SERPs altogether.
So if you notice your DR score, you can find it in the left sidebar.[参照ドメイン]Click to see where that score came from.
If you see a website with little or no traffic, it may be insecure or blocklisted.
You can use Ahrefs' disavow tool to submit these domains to Google, and search bots will ignore these backlinks the next time they crawl your website.
conclusion
Website security is very important to building a strong online presence, especially for WordPress websites.
A secure website helps you build trust with your target customers by keeping their personal information and transactions safe and protecting them from cyber threats.
At the same time, it assures Google and other search engines that you're providing your customers with a great page experience, leading to better search rankings.
The strategies shared in this article are the first step to protecting your website from cybercriminals. Rigorous checks and constant vigilance will help reduce the chances of your website becoming a victim of a cyber attack.