The site serves HTTPS, but navigation, body content, breadcrumbs or templates still link to http:// versions of its own URLs, which then redirect. Google treats HTTP to HTTPS as a site move with URL changes and says to update internal links to the new URLs. Links to HTTP add a redirect hop for every crawl and user click. This checks migration hygiene; it is not a proxy for the retired HTTPS ranking signal.
Why does internal links still point to http urls after an https move matter for AI search?
Google treats HTTP to HTTPS as a site move with URL changes and says to update internal links to the new URLs. Links to HTTP add a redirect hop for every crawl and user click. This checks migration hygiene; it is not a proxy for the retired HTTPS ranking signal.
How do you fix it?
Replace internal http:// links with https:// or root-relative links in templates, content and databases, then re-crawl to confirm no internal link resolves through a protocol redirect.
How do you find it on your site?
- Crawl the HTTPS site and export all internal links (source, target, status).
- Filter for targets on the site's own hostname that begin with http://.
- Group by source template to find links hard-coded in navigation or footers versus in body content.
- Confirm each HTTP target returns a single 301 to its HTTPS equivalent and log any chains.
Which ranking and citation factors does it touch?
Written for the Secure sites system (HTTPS) page (evidence: Confirmed).
What is the impact?
Indirect. Crawl efficiency and signal consolidation; no confirmed direct ranking effect. Estimate only.
What is the evidence?
Google's site move with URL changes documentation and its 2014 HTTPS as a ranking signal post.
Sources
Frequently asked questions about internal links still point to http urls after an https move
What does "Internal links still point to HTTP URLs after an HTTPS move" mean?
The site serves HTTPS, but navigation, body content, breadcrumbs or templates still link to http:// versions of its own URLs, which then redirect.
How do you fix internal links still point to HTTP URLs after an HTTPS move?
Replace internal http:// links with https:// or root-relative links in templates, content and databases, then re-crawl to confirm no internal link resolves through a protocol redirect.