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HTTPS resulting in poor SEO?

UnitUnidentifiedUnitUnidentified Member
in Help

Hello,

Before I forced https (SSL) via .htaccess when I google my domain it's the top search result, but since I started forcing https via .htaccess it isn't even on the first page, let alone google. Is there any way to fix this?

Comments

  • GM2015GM2015 Member
    edited January 2016

    I wonder how much google got paid for announcing that ssl will improve your rankings.

    It's actually a minor factor among the other 200 that they have.

    Did you force the change with a 301 return or 302?

    301 is permanent and will take time for the old page's attributes to transfer.

  • UnitUnidentifiedUnitUnidentified Member

    @GM2015 said:
    I wonder how much google got paid for announcing that ssl will improve your rankings.

    It's actually a minor factor among the other 200 that they have.

    Did you force the change with a 301 return or 302?

    301 is permanent and will take time for the old page's attributes to transfer.

    I just added this in the .htaccess file.

    RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
    RewriteRule ^.*$ https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [R,L]

  • jadenjaden Member

    It's normal to have a dip when you redirect but it should bounce back.

  • UnitUnidentifiedUnitUnidentified Member

    I googled the exact URL even the https and nothing, it doesn't even show up.

  • GM2015GM2015 Member
    edited January 2016

    I like to check redirects and what codes they return with curl -I. 302(found) is just a temporary redirect and afaik google doesn't treat the result page as a replacement.

    HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Server: nginx/1.9.9
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2016 02:11:25 GMT
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Length: 197
Connection: keep-alive
Location: https://domain.com/

    UnitUnidentified said: I just added this in the .htaccess file.

    RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on RewriteRule ^.*$ https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [R,L]

  • mike0000mike0000 Member

    It'll dip for a bit. Just change all the links you can to point to https - like links on other sites you control, profiles you setup, etc. It'll help move things along. Also make sure everything is 301'ing properly and your cert passes all the validation tests.

  • UnitUnidentifiedUnitUnidentified Member

    @mikeyur said:
    It'll dip for a bit. Just change all the links you can to point to https - like links on other sites you control, profiles you setup, etc. It'll help move things along. Also make sure everything is 301'ing properly and your cert passes all the validation tests.

    I'm using cloudflare page rules for redirecting from the primary domain to the sub-domain and then .htaccess to force SSL.

  • UnitUnidentifiedUnitUnidentified Member
    edited January 2016

    -- I removed the cloudflare page rules and am doing it via cPanel redirects 301, see if it makes a difference in the following days. And I am forcing https via redirects and not via .htaccess.

    Thanks for the help guys.

  • mike0000mike0000 Member

    Try to make sure you're only doing 1x 301 per URL structure. So root http > sub https. Sub http > sub https. Don't do like root http > sub http > sub https.

    There's a good plugin for Chrome called Ayima Redirects (I think). If you enter a URL it'll show you the chart of what URLs you jump through. Make sure it's "1 hop" (so to speak) between all your possible root/sub domain combos and your desired destination.

  • UnitUnidentifiedUnitUnidentified Member

    @mikeyur said:
    Try to make sure you're only doing 1x 301 per URL structure. So root http > sub https. Sub http > sub https. Don't do like root http > sub http > sub https.

    There's a good plugin for Chrome called Ayima Redirects (I think). If you enter a URL it'll show you the chart of what URLs you jump through. Make sure it's "1 hop" (so to speak) between all your possible root/sub domain combos and your desired destination.

    Yep, my host is just migrating so I'll do that later, thanks for the help.

  • blackblack Member

    It will take a couple of days for google to re-rank your website. It happens to me a lot when I update my project page.

  • deadbeefdeadbeef Member

    @UnitUnidentified said:
    Hello,

    Before I forced https (SSL) via .htaccess when I google my domain it's the top search result, but since I started forcing https via .htaccess it isn't even on the first page, let alone google. Is there any way to fix this?

    Remove the redirect...

    If not, the 301 will pass the "juice" in time plus a bonus-malus.

  • JamesKJamesK Member

    @UnitUnidentified said:
    Hello,

    Before I forced https (SSL) via .htaccess when I google my domain it's the top search result, but since I started forcing https via .htaccess it isn't even on the first page, let alone google. Is there any way to fix this?

    I don't think https is the reason behind poor seo results. Because it helps to improve google ranking as per this article http://thenextweb.com/google/2015/12/17/unsecured-websites-are-about-to-get-hammered-in-googles-search-ranking/

  • GM2015GM2015 Member

    yeah, https automatically pumps you to number 1.

    JamesK said: I don't think https is the reason behind poor seo results. Because it helps to improve google ranking as per this article http://thenextweb.com/google/2015/12/17/unsecured-websites-are-about-to-get-hammered-in-googles-search-ranking/

    Thanked by 1namhuy
  • ricardoricardo Member

    You'll always take a small, permanent loss of domain power because of the redirect, that's how pagerank works at its foundation, as the URL is seen as different because of the scheme used. You could reverse that by going cap in hand to everyone who links to you and asking them to update their link, but that's a waste of time.

    Otherwise, everything should be absolutely fine if you follow everyone's advice above.

    Thanked by 1deadbeef
  • UnitUnidentifiedUnitUnidentified Member

    Well, when you google the exact URL including the https you'd expect it to show up within the first 5 pages.

  • ricardoricardo Member

    Google's all about trust. When it sees something drastically new, it'll move it from any prominent position until it better understands it. Give it time.

    Thanked by 2deadbeef sin
  • DevoniusDevonius Member
    edited January 2016

    I use this and it works for me, dunno is there any difference with yours

    RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off

    RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

    and you need to wait at least 1-2 weeks to get all your juice back

    Thanked by 1Rhys
  • ceibaNetceibaNet Member

    you should be alright, it usually just takes some time for the change to be taken into account by google. Your site should be top search result again after some time has passed. And as someone above said already, try changing any link you have out there to use the https

  • DevoniusDevonius Member

    ps: remember to add https version on your web master tools, it would help.

  • JamesKJamesK Member

    @GM2015 said:
    yeah, https automatically pumps you to number 1.

    Not to pumps to number 1 but yes definitely will help little in ranking.

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