Why HTTPS Matters for SEO (And How to Check Yours)

February 24, 2026

If you care about search traffic, HTTPS is part of the picture. Google has treated it as a ranking signal for years and clearly prefers secure pages. That doesn't mean moving to HTTPS will suddenly put you on page one, but not having it can hold you back. Here's why it matters and how to make sure your site is in good shape.

Key takeaways

HTTPS is a confirmed ranking factor. Google prefers secure, encrypted connections.
Without a proper redirect, you can end up with HTTP and HTTPS both indexed and signals split between two URLs.
Broken SSL, mixed content, or redirect loops hurt trust and can affect how Google crawls and ranks your site.
Run a quick check with our free tool to see your redirect chain, certificate status, and any issues we detect.

What Google has said about HTTPS

Back in 2014 Google announced that HTTPS would be used as a ranking signal. Since then they've pushed for a web where HTTPS is the default. In practice that means a site with a valid certificate and a clean setup has a small edge over an equivalent HTTP site. The boost alone won't make or break you, but combined with other signals it matters. More importantly, Chrome and other browsers mark HTTP pages as "Not Secure," which can increase bounce rate and reduce engagement. So even if the direct SEO effect were tiny, the user experience and trust impact are real.

Redirects and canonical URLs

Having an SSL certificate isn't enough. If you don't redirect HTTP to HTTPS, Google might index both. You get duplicate content, link equity split across two versions, and confusion about which URL is the real one. Set up a 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS so that every request ends up on the secure URL. Then use one canonical URL in your sitemaps and internal links so search engines know which version to treat as primary. Our guide on how to fix the HTTP to HTTPS redirect walks through Nginx, Apache, Cloudflare, and WordPress.

When HTTPS goes wrong

Expired or misconfigured certificates trigger browser warnings and can make visitors leave. Redirect loops (HTTP to HTTPS and back again) break the page entirely. Mixed content, where the page is HTTPS but some images or scripts load over HTTP, can cause blocking or warnings. All of that hurts credibility and can lead to lower engagement or crawl problems. Fixing these isn't just security, it's basic hygiene for SEO. We have guides on redirect loops, SSL certificate errors, and mixed content if you run into them.

Check your setup in one go

You don't need to guess. Enter your domain in our free HTTPS checker and we'll show you the redirect chain, whether HTTPS works, certificate validity, security headers, and whether we see mixed content. It's the same kind of view we use when we're debugging a site. A clean report means you're in good shape for both users and search engines.

Check your domain with HTTPS Checker

Want a second pair of eyes on your HTTPS and redirect setup? Drop us a line.