With the online holiday shopping season fast approaching, SSL certificates (which provide server to browser encryption, the padlock icon and the familiar https prefix to secure a website) are the focus of many merchants. So where are merchants turning for their SSL certificate needs these days? By the looks of it, they are going to GoDaddy.

In its Netcraft LTD Secure Server Survey for November 2009,  the analyst firm announced that GoDaddy's overall SSL market share has grown four times faster than VeriSign's during the past year. NetCraft projected that GoDaddy would pass long-time market leader VeriSign in less than 18 months. GoDaddy apparently does not want to wait that long and is now offering its EV SSL Certificate for $99. Obtaining a relatively identical security level at VeriSign would cost more than $1400.

“The reason for our growth is simple - our customers are smart enough to know they can get a world-class SSL Cert without having to pay through the roof,” said GoDaddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. “You could purchase 14 GoDaddy Certificates for the same price as a single VeriSign Cert, not to mention the great support our customers enjoy.”

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