04 May SSL Certificates
Have you been hearing the term SSL lately and don’t know what it is? Are your emails and messages not being delivered properly? Are your customers receiving a “NOT SECURE” message when trying to access your site? Well then, it may be time to make sure you have SSLs. What are they? Let’s take a look:
What is a SSL certificate?
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and is a protocol for creating authenticated, encrypted links between computers.
SSLs function by creating two keys. One key that is public and one key that is private. These are used to establish site and page authenticity. The “public” version of that key pair is the SSL certificate that is purchased from Salesforce. These certificates communicate the validity and authenticity of the information being transmitted. This authenticity is the private key. In summation this ultimately ensures that the page hasn’t been altered by a 3rd party.
What if my content is not sensitive, is this still important?
Yes, it is! When content is created in Marketing Cloud, that content is hosted by a “Content Delivery Network” or CDN. A SSL needs to be leveraged to ensure that Salesforce can securely transmit those images from the Marketing Cloud server to the client’s inbox.
So everyone should have SSLs?
Without a SSL in place, the recipients will likely receive a “NOT SECURE” warning when they receive an email, click on a link, or image, or go to a cloud page. This obviously can hinder the subscriber’s ability to complete the call to action.
Absolutely! Mostly due to the recent changes with GMAIL, you will at a minimum, need one SSL to authenticate the content used for securing the email itself. Sending a secure email will optimize deliverability, help with inbox placement, and show trusted content to the ISPs. A second SSL will be needed for securing landing pages (Cloud Pages or Microsites).
NOTE: The recommendation is that you will need two SSL certificates per domain in your Marketing Cloud Account
Can I bring my own SSL certificates?
You CAN bring your own SSL but only to secure clicks and views on the domain. Additionally, you can only bring your own SLLs if you are self-hosting your DNS records (so you can apply the CNAME to the SSL). If you are not self-hosting you MUST purchase through Salesforce.
Additionally, if you are self-hosting, they can only secure link/view but nothing else. You CAN NOT secure images or pages (which are all hosted on Akamai in Content Builder)
Because of this, Offprem does not recommend this option.
How long does a SSL setup take?
Typically this process takes 4-6 weeks after submitting the request to Salesforce.
For more information, contact us by emailing contact@offprem.tech or working with your Offprem Account Executive!