HTTPS and Security Basics for SEO: Why Google Requires Secure Sites

Reading time: 15 minutes

Your Scan report shows “Not secure (HTTP)” or “Mixed content detected.” Google penalizes insecure sites, and AI platforms won’t recommend businesses without HTTPS. Here’s how to fix it.

TLDR

HTTPS encrypts data and has been required for rankings since 2014. HTTP sites show browser warnings that scare away 85% of checkout visitors, lose ranking signals, and get ignored by AI platforms. Implementation takes two hours: get a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, force 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS, fix mixed content, and add security headers. Bonus: HTTP/2 only works with HTTPS and delivers 20-40% faster page loads. Verify with SSL Labs and target an A+ grade.

Why HTTPS Matters

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure):

• Encrypts data between visitor and website
• Prevents eavesdropping, tampering, and impersonation
• Shows padlock in browser address bar

HTTP (Insecure):

• No encryption
• Data transmitted in plain text
• Anyone on same network can intercept passwords, credit cards, form data

Google’s position (since 2014):

“HTTPS is a ranking signal. All else being equal, HTTPS sites rank higher than HTTP sites.”

Browser warnings:

Modern browsers flag HTTP sites:

• Chrome: “Not Secure” warning in address bar
• Firefox: “Connection is Not Secure”
• Safari: “Not Secure” label

Customer impact:

• 85% of users abandon checkout if they see “Not Secure”
• Trust indicators (reviews, badges) are worthless without HTTPS

HTTPS and AI Platform Trust

AI platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) security check:

When evaluating businesses to recommend:

1. Check URL protocol
   - HTTPS: Proceed to evaluate content
   - HTTP: Security concern, reduce trust score

2. Check certificate validity
   - Valid SSL cert: Legitimate business
   - Expired/invalid cert: Possible scam, do not recommend

3. Check mixed content
   - All HTTPS resources: Fully secure
   - Mixed HTTP/HTTPS: Configuration issue, reduce trust

Example AI decision:

Query: “Find me a Dallas moving company with transparent pricing”

Candidate A (your business):

• URL: http://yoursite.com (HTTP)
• No SSL certificate
• AI trust score: 45/100

Candidate B (competitor):

• URL: https://competitor.com (HTTPS)
• Valid SSL certificate
• AI trust score: 85/100

AI recommends: Candidate B (HTTPS site)

Why: AI platforms prioritize user safety. They won’t recommend potentially insecure businesses.

Understanding Your Scan Report

Scan security audit shows:

Security Issues:
Site not using HTTPS (Critical)
Missing security headers (High)
Mixed content detected (Medium)
SSL certificate expires in 12 days (Medium)

Priority order:

1. Implement HTTPS (if you have HTTP)
2. Fix mixed content (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages)
3. Add security headers (prevents XSS, clickjacking)
4. Renew SSL certificate (if expiring soon)

Implementing HTTPS: The 2-Hour Fix

Step 1: Get an SSL Certificate (30 minutes)

Free option (recommended for most sites):

Let’s Encrypt (free, auto-renews):

• Provided by most modern hosts
• Auto-renews every 90 days
• Fully trusted by all browsers

How to enable:

WordPress on shared hosting (Bluehost, SiteGround, HostGator):

1. Login to cPanel
2. Security → SSL/TLS Status
3. Click “Run AutoSSL”
4. Wait 5-10 minutes for certificate issuance

Shopify: Already HTTPS by default (no action needed).

Cloudflare (free tier):

1. Sign up at cloudflare.com
2. Add your domain
3. Update nameservers (follow Cloudflare instructions)
4. SSL/TLS → Full (Strict)

Paid SSL certificates ($50-200/year):

Only needed for:

• E-commerce sites processing credit cards directly (PCI compliance)
• Sites requiring Extended Validation (EV) certificates (shows company name in green)

For most service businesses: Free Let’s Encrypt is sufficient.

Step 2: Force HTTPS Redirect (15 minutes)

After SSL is installed, force all HTTP traffic to HTTPS:

WordPress (.htaccess method):

Edit .htaccess file (root directory):

# Force HTTPS redirect
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST%}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

What this does:

• Any visitor going to http://yoursite.com → automatically redirected to https://yoursite.com
• 301 redirect (permanent) → Google updates index

WordPress (plugin method):

Install “Really Simple SSL” plugin (free):

1. Install and activate
2. Plugin auto-detects SSL and forces HTTPS
3. One-click setup

Shopify:

Already forces HTTPS (no action needed).

Custom site (Nginx):

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

Verify redirect:

1. Visit http://yoursite.com (without the ‘s’)
2. Should automatically redirect to https://yoursite.com
3. Check browser address bar for padlock

Step 3: Fix Mixed Content (30-60 minutes)

Mixed content: HTTPS page loading HTTP resources (images, scripts, stylesheets).

Example:

<!-- Your page: https://yoursite.com -->
<img src="http://yoursite.com/image.jpg"> <!-- HTTP resource! -->
<script src="http://cdn.example.com/script.js"></script> <!-- HTTP! -->

Browser behavior:

• Blocks HTTP resources on HTTPS pages (broken images, broken scripts)
• Shows “Not Secure” warning despite having SSL

How to find mixed content:

Chrome DevTools:

1. Open your HTTPS site
2. F12 → Console tab
3. Look for: “Mixed Content: The page at ‘https://…’ was loaded over HTTPS, but requested an insecure…”

Online scanner: https://www.whynopadlock.com/

Enter your URL → shows all HTTP resources.

How to fix:

Method 1: Update absolute URLs

Change:

<img src="http://yoursite.com/image.jpg">

To:

<img src="https://yoursite.com/image.jpg">

Method 2: Use protocol-relative URLs

<img src="//yoursite.com/image.jpg">

Browser automatically uses HTTPS if page is HTTPS.

Method 3: Use relative URLs (best)

<img src="/images/photo.jpg">

No protocol specified → automatically uses page’s protocol.

WordPress fix:

Install “Better Search Replace” plugin:

1. Tools → Better Search Replace
2. Search for: http://yoursite.com
3. Replace with: https://yoursite.com
4. Select all tables
5. Run (check “Dry run” first to preview)

Expected time: 30-60 minutes to find and fix all mixed content.

Step 4: Update Google (15 minutes)

Tell Google your site is now HTTPS:

Google Search Console:

1. Add HTTPS property: https://yoursite.com
2. Verify ownership (same method as HTTP property)
3. Submit sitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Update sitemap:

Ensure all URLs in sitemap use HTTPS:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://yoursite.com/</loc> <!-- HTTPS! -->
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://yoursite.com/services</loc> <!-- HTTPS! -->
  </url>
</urlset>

WordPress: Sitemap plugins (Yoast SEO, Rank Math) automatically update to HTTPS.

Security Headers for SEO and AI Trust

Beyond HTTPS, add security headers:

Why this matters:

• Prevents XSS (cross-site scripting) attacks
• Prevents clickjacking
• Shows technical competence to AI platforms

Scan report security headers check:

Security Headers:
Content-Security-Policy (Missing)
X-Content-Type-Options (Missing)
X-Frame-Options (Missing)
Strict-Transport-Security (Present)

How to add security headers:

Apache (.htaccess):

# Security headers
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    # Prevent clickjacking
    Header set X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN"

    # Prevent MIME type sniffing
    Header set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"

    # Force HTTPS for 1 year
    Header set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains"

    # Basic Content Security Policy
    Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self' https:; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' https://www.google-analytics.com; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline';"
</IfModule>

Nginx:

# Security headers
add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;
add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self' https:; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' https://www.google-analytics.com;" always;

Cloudflare (easiest):

1. SSL/TLS → Edge Certificates
2. Enable “Always Use HTTPS”
3. Enable “HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)”

WordPress plugin:

Install “Security Headers” plugin:

1. Install and activate
2. Settings → Security Headers
3. Enable recommended headers
4. Save

Verify headers:

https://securityheaders.com/

Enter your URL → see grade (A+ is ideal).

SSL Certificate Renewal

Let’s Encrypt certificates expire every 90 days.

Auto-renewal (recommended):

Most hosts auto-renew Let’s Encrypt certificates.

Verify auto-renewal is working:

cPanel hosts:

1. cPanel → SSL/TLS Status
2. Check “AutoSSL” is enabled
3. Check certificate expiration date (should show 60-90 days from now)

Cloudflare: Auto-renews automatically (no action needed).

Manual renewal (if auto-renewal fails):

SSH access:

certbot renew

Or re-run AutoSSL in cPanel.

Monitor expiration:

Free monitoring service: https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-certificate-expiration-reminder.html

Enter your domain → get email 30 days before expiration.

HTTPS and Page Speed

Common concern: “Will HTTPS slow down my site?”

Answer: No. Modern HTTPS (HTTP/2) is actually FASTER than HTTP.

HTTP/2 benefits (requires HTTPS):

• Multiplexing: Load multiple resources simultaneously
• Header compression: Smaller request sizes
• Server push: Server sends resources before browser asks

Performance comparison:

HTTP/1.1 (old):

• Loads 6 resources at a time
• Each resource: separate connection
• Slow on modern websites (50+ resources)

HTTP/2 (HTTPS only):

• Loads all resources simultaneously over one connection
• 20-40% faster page load times

Verify HTTP/2 is enabled:

https://tools.keycdn.com/http2-test

Enter your URL → should show “HTTP/2 Supported: Yes”

HTTPS Migration Checklist

Before migration:

• Backup website and database
• Note current Google rankings (screenshot Search Console)
• Verify hosting supports SSL

During migration:

• Install SSL certificate (Let’s Encrypt or paid)
• Force HTTPS redirect (301 permanent)
• Fix mixed content (all resources HTTPS)
• Update internal links to HTTPS
• Update canonical tags to HTTPS

After migration:

• Add HTTPS site to Google Search Console
• Submit HTTPS sitemap
• Update Google Business Profile URL
• Update social media profile URLs (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Update directory listings (Yelp, BBB, etc.)
• Test all forms (contact, checkout) work on HTTPS
• Monitor Search Console for crawl errors

Timeline:

• Week 1: Google discovers HTTPS version, indexes new URLs
• Week 2-4: Rankings may fluctuate slightly during transition
• Week 4-8: Rankings stabilize, often with boost from HTTPS signal
• Month 3+: Full HTTPS benefits (rankings, AI trust)

Common HTTPS Mistakes

Mistake 1: Installing SSL but not forcing HTTPS

Problem:

• Certificate installed
• But site still loads at http://yoursite.com
• Google sees duplicate content (HTTP and HTTPS versions)

Fix: Add 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS.

Mistake 2: Forgetting to update external links

Problem:

• Your Google Business Profile links to http://yoursite.com
• Your Facebook page links to http://yoursite.com
• Visitors land on HTTP, then redirect → slower, looks unprofessional

Fix: Update all external links to HTTPS version.

Mistake 3: Mixed content breaks site

Problem:

• Migrated to HTTPS
• Forgot to update image URLs from HTTP
• Images don’t load (browser blocks mixed content)

Fix: Use Chrome DevTools Console to find and fix all HTTP resources.

Mistake 4: SSL expires, site breaks

Problem:

• Let’s Encrypt auto-renewal failed
• Certificate expired
• Browsers show “Your connection is not private” error
• Site is effectively down

Fix: Set up expiration monitoring, enable auto-renewal.

AI Platform Security Signals

Beyond HTTPS, AI platforms check:

1. Certificate validity:

Valid certificate, trusted CA (Let's Encrypt, DigiCert, etc.)
Self-signed certificate (untrusted)
Expired certificate

2. TLS version:

TLS 1.2 or 1.3 (modern, secure)
TLS 1.1 (outdated but functional)
TLS 1.0 or SSLv3 (insecure, rejected)

3. Security headers:

HSTS enabled (prevents downgrade attacks)
CSP present (prevents XSS)
Missing security headers (reduces trust score)

AI trust impact:

Fully secure site:

• HTTPS with valid cert
• TLS 1.3
• Security headers
• No mixed content

AI trust score: 95/100

Partially secure site:

• HTTPS but mixed content warnings
• Missing security headers

AI trust score: 65/100

Insecure site:

• HTTP (no HTTPS)

AI trust score: 35/100 (major penalty)

Testing Your Security

SSL Server Test: https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/

Enter your domain → comprehensive security analysis.

Target grade: A or A+

Common issues:

• B grade: Weak cipher suites (ask host to update)
• C grade: TLS 1.0 still enabled (disable, use TLS 1.2+)
• F grade: Expired certificate or major config error

Security Headers Test: https://securityheaders.com/

Target grade: A or A+

Quick wins:

• Add X-Frame-Options: A- → A
• Add Content-Security-Policy: A → A+

HTTPS and Google Rankings

Google’s confirmation:

“HTTPS is a lightweight ranking signal, affecting fewer than 1% of global queries.”

Translation:

• HTTPS alone won’t make you #1
• But all else equal, HTTPS beats HTTP
• As a tiebreaker, HTTPS wins

Observed ranking boost:

• 0.1-0.5 position improvement on average
• Greater boost for competitive keywords
• Greater boost for e-commerce/transactional sites

Why implement HTTPS?

Not just for tiny ranking boost:

1. Trust: 85% of users won’t submit forms on “Not Secure” sites
2. AI platforms: Won’t recommend HTTP sites
3. Browser warnings: Chrome flags HTTP as insecure
4. Performance: HTTP/2 only works with HTTPS
5. Future-proofing: Google will penalize HTTP more heavily over time

Next Steps

This Week:

1. Check your site: http://yoursite.com or https://yoursite.com?
2. If HTTP, contact your host about installing free Let’s Encrypt SSL
3. If HTTPS, verify padlock shows and no “Not Secure” warnings

This Month:

1. Install SSL certificate (free Let’s Encrypt)
2. Force HTTPS redirect
3. Fix mixed content warnings
4. Add HTTPS site to Google Search Console

Ongoing:

1. Monitor SSL expiration (set reminder 30 days before)
2. Verify auto-renewal is working
3. Run SSL test quarterly: https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/
4. Add security headers for A+ grade

→ Related: Core Web Vitals Explained | AI Visibility vs Traditional SEO