HTTPS as a ranking signal

What changed

As part of a wider security push, Google said encrypted connections would count as a ranking signal, describing it as very lightweight and affecting fewer than 1% of global queries at launch. Google said it might strengthen the signal over time to encourage migration. The announcement, combined with later browser interstitial warnings for HTTP pages, drove near-universal HTTPS adoption over the following years.

Timing

Rollout began 6 August 2014. No completion date was announced. Rankings typically remain unstable for the whole rollout window, so measurements taken inside it are not a reliable read on the outcome.

What it affected

Further reading

• HTTPS as a Ranking Signal · Landmark Post