When someone tries to access your site, it can be spoofed by attackers even if the user entered the domain name correctly.
SSL certificates eliminate the possibility of such substitution - by viewing the certificate, the user can make sure that the domain hosts exactly the site that should be there, and not its duplicate.
Additionally, an SSL certificate allows the user to verify who the owner of the site is. This means that the user can make sure that he has visited the website of the organization he needs, and not the website of its double.