But how, exactly, do SSL certificates affect search engine rankings and more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Is the Overall HTTPS SEO Impact?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a visual for some quick facts about secure sites, but keep reading for more details!<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than just onsite content can have a positive impact on your rankings, traffic, and, potentially, conversions. One of these factors is website security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in 2014, Google rolled out updated algorithms across the board in favor of HTTPS websites. Then, it was a lightweight component within the overall ranking algorithm and HTTPS sites experienced only minor ranking increases. But Google indicated that they may strengthen the signal in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2015, Google stated that their HTTPS ranking boost may serve as a tie breaker if the quality signals for two different search results are equal in everything else. Meaning, if your website is equal to your competitor\u2019s website in terms of speed, title tags, content freshness, etc. but your competitor\u2019s website is HTTPS and yours isn\u2019t, Google will most likely rank theirs ahead of yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does it look like today? Although only less than 1% of all websites are secure (talk about getting ahead of the competition!), 40% of Google\u2019s page one organic search results feature an HTTPS site. Google has encouraged webmasters to make the migration to a secure site for a while now and has been giving an increasing amount of weight in ranking boosts to websites that are HTTPS. Keep in mind, those sites ranking on page one of Google are also likely following many other best practices in order to gain and retain their valued page one real estate, so it\u2019s not a surprise that of those ranking on page one, more are following Google\u2019s heavy suggestion toward having a secure site!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, in a study conducted by Brian Dean, SEMRush, Ahrefs, SimilarWeb and MarketMuse, a moderate correlation between HTTPS and higher search rankings was found. Other studies have found minor correlations as well\u2014but combined with other factors and reflecting what Google had already confirmed (it would act as a tie breaker, not a major ranking factor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moz also found a slight correlation between HTTPS and higher search rankings but combined with other factors and reflecting what Google had previously stated\u2014it would act as a tie breaker, not a major ranking factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Better rankings can lead to more traffic (the more people see your site, the more visitors you\u2019ll get). Also, when users are looking at the search results, they may see a secure site as a signal of trust and authority and click that website over another, non-secure site, thus improving your site\u2019s click-through-rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users trust secure connections more\u2014it\u2019s a fact (and sites that follow best practices for user experience are more likely to rank better in Google search results). According to a GlobalSign survey, 84% of users would abandon a purchase if data was sent over an insecure connection, and a large majority are concerned about their data being intercepted or misused online. If a customer came into your store and voiced a concern about something, you would do everything you can to alleviate that concern and create not only a loyal customer but a raving fan. Why shouldn\u2019t it be the same online\u2014where an overwhelmingly large majority of users shop and search for home services? Make your customers and prospects feel safe and give them peace of mind, whether it\u2019s in your store or on the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So while at this current moment the SSL SEO impact isn\u2019t overwhelmingly negative (having a secure site won\u2019t make or break your rankings), things seem to be moving in that direction. Google\u2019s Webmaster Blog hints at a fully secure web in the future: \u201cAs migrating to HTTPS becomes even easier, we\u2019ll continue working towards a web that\u2019s secure by default.\u201d That\u2019s from a post a couple months ago! Be proactive about website security rather than reacting to it later down the road when you\u2019re already behind the competition because it\u2019s the new norm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s start with the basics. The \u201cs\u201d at the end of the \u201chttp\u201d part of a URL means the website is secure. HTTPS (Hypertext Transport Protocol Security), or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-web-trends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/40"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oasiswebasia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/seo-ssl-1024x495.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nRANKINGS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
TRAFFIC<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
CONVERSIONS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Be Proactive & Act Now: Get Your Website Secured<\/h2>\n\n\n\n