HTTPS as a ranking signal?

Over the last few years in the wake of the continuing Edward Snowden, NSA and GCHQ scandals, Google has been making security a higher priority. They’ve made HTTPS default for the majority of their sites and services, but by now stating that HTTPS is a ranking factor, this could be a game changer to bringing the rest of the web up to Google’s high security standards. All of the signs that Google would make this kind of move have been appearing for a few months now. With the speech at Google I/O 2014 calling for HTTPS everywhere on the web, as well as the increased number of resources to help developers prevent security breaches on their sites.

Whilst the announcement of 'HTTPS as a ranking signal' on  Google’s Webmaster Central blog sounds unambiguous and clear, it has to be taken with a pinch of salt. With all new announcements of upcoming Google ranking signals the impact from the start is usually hazy and minimal. Studies such as Search Metrics 'HTTPS vs. HTTP – analysis: Do secure sites really get higher rankings?' have already concluded that there’s currently no impact of HTTPS on ranking. However, it could have an effect on rankings in the future, with its impact increasing year on year, as with page speed performance.

What we know so far:

Since the announcement, no official documentation has been released by Google on HTTPS, but nevertheless this can be expected in the future. Google employees like John Mueller have explained how Google currently treats, and may in future treat, HTTPS. Mueller has stated that whilst a URL that moves to HTTPS may not see a definite increase in rankings, for example, from position 5 to 4, behind the scenes, Google’s algorithm would give the HTTPS URL a tiny boost. In the same video, Mueller also stated that HTTPS is on an individual URL basis. If some of the URLs of a site switch to HTTPS and others remain HTTP, the HTTPS URL pages would receive a tiny boost, whilst the rest of the site would not.

Some webmasters have also noted their concern in regards to how the Google News index would differ from Google’s web index. Mueller once again lays these fears to rest declaring that following the normal migration process would allow Google News to see the change without a problem.

Should your site switch to HTTPS for SEO reasons now?

Currently, the recommendation would be no; until further documentation is released or evidence of HTTPS’ impact increases, the most that can be done is plan for a move when Google’s algorithm begins to weigh secure sites more favourably. Right now, there are over 100 changes that could be made to a website that would have a larger SEO impact than switching to HTTPS.

The hidden SEO dangers of switching to HTTPS should also be noted. Google’s blogpost was a little dismissive of the impact that the SSL handshakes would have on performance. The added SSL handshakes would significantly add to page loads. They certainly can be honed in, but too many sites are inadequately optimised to consider adding more to the page load speeds.

In conclusion, whilst adding more security for users throughout as much of the web as possible should always be pursued. In pure SEO terms, migrating a site to HTTPS will for now have little to no effect, but should be considered and planned for in the future, depending on Google’s next move for HTTPS.