Benefits of implementing SSL on Marketo pages?

[Anonymous]

Without a security or legal requirement to have pages/forms served with SSL (https), what reasons are there to implement SSL on your Marketo landing pages? I imagine that it increases the conversion rate, so that a higher proportion of visitors will fill out a form because they see it's a secure page, but I'm having trouble finding statistics to help guide the decision. Since we don't do purchases or credit card processing through Marketo pages of course, I'm skeptical that leads will give much attention to whether or not a page has https. Does anyone know of resources regarding how much SSL increases the conversion rate for marketing pages? Or, for those of you have implemented SSL with Marketo pages, how much do you think your conversion rate went up as a result?

Thanks!

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Hi Grant,

Another plus : It you want to get far with lead attribution, capture referrer info, etc, then going SSL is a good choice as it will enable you to get that info when people come from other https enabled sites.

-Greg

[Edward_Unthank_ · Accepted solution]

I think it's a security and legal requirement for good reason—danger of security risks, privacy risks, and being sued with having that data exposed. It didn't get to be a requirement without reason.

I think the conversion rate changes are negligible, but depend on the prospect audiences. I'm thinking around 0.3% lift (percentage points, not percentage) from knowing audiences. Our clients who market to developers need this for security reasons, and they see lift in their conversion rates from having it. To actual developers, submitting secure information on a page without SSL marks you as unprofessional and novice-ish—it's a branding thing, too.

Here are some reasons off the top of my head:

• Your prospect information becomes more insecure and available when you don't have SSL, which legal hates because it opens you up to being hacked and sued.
• There's Google SEO ranking benefit for SSL pages, for good reason.
• Branding quality for tech startups who want to have a buttoned-up digital presence
• Conversion lift (not primary driver) on landing pages for audiences who know
• You're in a controlled industry with heavy standards all around regarding your customer and prospect data, such as any industry related to finance.
• You're multi-national and you have prospects or customers or a presence in Luxembourg

Of the security requirements and security reviews I've been in for clients, Marketo has quite a few problems in quite a few places. SSL is definitely only a piece of this. But I also don't think "it's insecure everywhere, so SSL doesn't fix those security problems" is a reason to keep from implementing it.

Edward Unthank | Founder, Etumos

[Anonymous]

Very helpful! Thanks Edward

[SanfordWhiteman]

Grant, once you've decided to move forward with SSL for LPs, be aware that there's another vulnerable Marketo area (and another setup cost, sigh): your branding domain.

While a secure branding domain won't increase conversions -- everyday users won't stop to see it, and search engines won't index it -- it must be part of any strategy that claims to increase true security.  Without it, securing LPs is worthless from a practical security standpoint.