HTTP to HTTPS Migration

Why HTTPS is important for SEO

Ranking signal since 2014

Google introduced HTTPS as a light ranking signal in 2014. While the direct SEO boost is minimal, HTTPS has an indirect positive impact on rankings:

• Trustworthiness: Users prefer secure websites
• Bounce Rate: HTTPS reduces the bounce rate
• User Experience: Modern browsers warn about insecure pages

Browser warnings and user behavior

Since Chrome 68 (July 2018), all HTTP pages are marked as "not secure":

• Red warning: Significant increase in bounce rate
• SEO Impact: Indirect negative effects on rankings
• Conversion loss: Users leave insecure pages faster

Technical preparation

Choose SSL certificate

Check server configuration

Migration strategies

1. Staged Migration (Recommended)

Advantages:

• Minimized risk
• Step-by-step validation
• Easy rollback possible

2. Big Bang Migration

Only recommended for small websites:

• Less than 100 pages
• Simple URL structure
• Full control over all assets

Technical implementation

1. Install SSL certificate

# Let's Encrypt example (Certbot)
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com

2. Server configuration

Nginx configuration:

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    
    ssl_certificate /path/to/certificate.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/private.key;
    
    # SSL optimizations
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_ciphers ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512;
    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;
    
    # HSTS headers
    add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;
}

3. HTTP to HTTPS redirects

Implement 301 redirects:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

SEO-specific measures

URL migration and redirects

Update canonical tags

Important changes:

• Update all canonical tags to HTTPS URLs
• Maintain self-referencing canonicals
• Check cross-domain canonicals

Sitemap updates

Fix mixed content

Mixed content types

Automatic mixed content fixing

Content Security Policy (CSP):

<meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="upgrade-insecure-requests">

HSTS implementation

HTTP Strict Transport Security

Configure HSTS headers:

add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload" always;

HSTS preload list:

• Register website in HSTS preload list
• Only with complete HTTPS coverage
• Irreversible process

Monitoring and validation

Post-migration checklist

Validation tools

Free tools:

• SSL Labs SSL Test
• Why No Padlock
• Mixed Content Scanner
• Google Search Console

Premium tools:

• Screaming Frog SEO Spider
• Sitebulb
• DeepCrawl

Avoid common mistakes

Critical errors

Minimize performance impact

Optimization measures:

• Enable HTTP/2
• Configure OCSP stapling
• Use session resumption
• Modern cipher suites

Google Search Console updates

Property migration

Steps in GSC:

1. Add new HTTPS property
2. Update sitemap to HTTPS URLs
3. Transfer disavow file
4. Remove old HTTP property after 6 months

Address Change Tool

Only for domain changes:

• Use Address Change Tool in GSC
• Not for subdomain-to-subdomain migration
• Inform Google about the change

Timeline and milestones

ROI and business impact

Positive effects

Measurable improvements:

• Conversion Rate: +5-15% through trust
• Bounce Rate: -10-20% through security
• User Engagement: +8-12% through UX
• Mobile Performance: +3-7% through HTTP/2

Long-term advantages

• Future-proof: Browsers become increasingly restrictive
• SEO benefits: Indirect ranking improvements
• Compliance: GDPR and other regulations
• Technical basis: For modern web features

Related topics

• SSL Certificates
• Mixed Content
• HSTS
• Security Headers
• Core Web Vitals