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Google Now Gives A Boost To HTTPS Sites

Google is continuously trying to improve their search results. They use countless ranking factors to judge websites to decide who should rank for each keyword.

Google Now Gives A Boost To HTTPS Sites

(Here is a blog we did about onpage Optimisation that contributes to Google’s ranking factors too.)

The most recent change in relation to SEO is Google’s decision to count HTTPS as a ranking factor.

They have said they will give a small ranking boost to any website that has a SSL 2048-bit key certificate.

How this change will impact you

Google is recommending that it is better to change from HTTP to HTTPS because it offers better security for people searching and buying online. Websites are more secured and it provides a safer online experience.

Having a website with HTTPS isn’t a huge ranking factor. Google still claims having high quality, original and relevant content is one of the biggest ranking factors but it’s possible in the future Google could hugely prioritise websites that have HTTPS over HTTP. Just think back a few years ago when Google recommended you should make your website mobile-friendly and then it became a major ranking factor.

To stay ahead of your competitors, it’s important to keep an eye on Google’s latest updates and make the necessary changes so your keyword rankings don’t suffer the consequences. 


screenshot of Digital 22 HTTPS URL

See, we have HTTPS on our site!

How to make your website HTTPS

Steps to do this courtesy of Search Engine Land:

  1. Identify whether you need a single, multi-domain, or wildcard certificate
  2. Use 2048-bit key certificates to change your SSL Certificate
  3. Use relative URLs for resources that reside on the same secure domain
  4. Use protocol relative URLs for all other domains to switch to HTTPS from HTTP
  5. Remember don’t block your HTTPS site from crawling using robots.txt
  6. Allow your site to be indexed by search engines where possible and avoid the noindex robots meta tag.
  7. It is also important to make sure to track your HTTP to HTTPS migration carefully in your analytics software and within Google Webmaster Tools.

If you have any questions about changing to HTTPS then please get in contact with our team.

Do you want to increase the rankings of your website?

Here is the Google Ranking Factors Cheat Sheet which lists ALL the factors you need to benefit your organic rankings.