The "Encrypt Everything" initiative is not Google driven. It is an industry move that has been happening for years. Let's Encrypt gives away free SSL certificates, and there are websites like ZeroSSL that provide you with Let's Encrypt certificates through a web interface if you cannot install LE on your server. There is no reason to avoid SSL anymore.

As others have indicated, an SSL-encrypted connection is just one step. Is your server secure? Is your CMS login secure? Is your file system secure? Are your plugins secure? Is your database secure? SSL is merely protecting your transport, but it's a big improvement.

SSL ensures the data sent from the server is the data the client receives. There are no unintended ad injections, and no code manipulations. Your content is not snooped and used for any other purposes, regardless if it contains personal data or not. Do you want the world knowing what you're reading about, anyway?