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So by now I'm sure that you've heard about the latest ranking factor that Google has come up with ... the idea that websites should be on HTTPS.

Of course on the surface that sounds like a good idea ... and we've read what Google's mouthpieces have said about it but ... being of a slightly paranoid disposition ... both my partner and I are wondering why Google is bothering with HTTPS.

Even the fact that Google has bothered to tell us that HTTPS is now a ranking factor ... although a very slight one right now ... is interesting. Why would Google bother telling us about something that was relatively unimportant?

And why is Google telling us about it at all? There are lots of other ranking factors that carry a lot more weight that Google has never bothered to tell us about.

Then there is the little matter of what Google is not telling us about HTTPS ... it's not as secure as everyone seems to think or that Google suggests. Of course we believe that the little lock symbol and the SSL certificate graphic indicate that the site that they appear on is totally secure but that's not what those symbols mean at all.

The site and the server that the site sits on are no more secure than any other website or server that serves up sites that use HTTP. HTTPS ... the lock ... and the SSL certificate graphic only tell you that the connection between your computer and the website is secure because the data that is exchanged over that connection is encrypted.

But even that is not totally correct. Not all data exchanged over a HTTPS connection is encrypted, the data that is encrypted is not totally secure and there is nothing to prevent third parties from collecting that data.

Encrypted data can be unencrypted by those with a malicious intent and these days there is simply no guarantee that others aren't listening in to those encrypted connections. So why is Google pushing the whole HTTPS wagon?

Clearly Google knows that HTTPS is almost a mirage when it comes to online security and they're not doing anything to inform people of the fact that it's not as secure as people seem to believe and you just have to ask the obvious question.

I certainly don't mind that Google has made this announcement. It will ovbiously add to our bottom line as we gradually move more and more of our clients' sites across to HTTPS but the paranoid part of me is definitely wondering what's really in it for Google and what haven't we been told yet?

And while we're talking about Google perhaps we can drop into the dark world of negative SEO ... and how some people want to make money from it.

It seems that a number of people in the SEO community have been receiving rather clear and unequivocal threats from someone ... or some people ... in India. The threat is that this person or persons will dump 20,000 crappy do-follow backlinks into a forum ... or a website ... and they will all point to a website that belongs to the person who received the email unless a ransom is paid.

The sender doesn't even leave it up to the imagination of the site owner to decide what all that means. The threatening email spells it out quite clearly ... all those crappy backlinks will destroy the listing of the site that's on the receiving end.

Of course all that pain and suffering can be avoided if the site owner sends an amount of money ... the amount seems to vary from website to website ... via Western Union. And just in case the site owner thinks it's all a bluff the sender gives them access to a Notepad document that lists all those links.

What would you do if you received a threat like that? Would you find the cash and head for your nearest Western Union office? It seems that's exactly what some of the people who received the threat may have done while others are publicly laughing it off and one guy is blogging about it all so everyone can see what happens.

It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. Google once took the line that nothing could be done to destroy another site's rankings but these days they've changed their tune.

And now that's it for me this week. Right now it's Friday and we're looking at a wet weekend but that's ok ... I have plenty of work to do on a couple of my own projects that have been left idle for way too long.