--- type: "Article" title: "HTTPS ranking signal | technical SEO foundations" description: "Google's HTTPS ranking signal from 2014, its retirement as a named system in 2023, and the HTTPS migration errors worth auditing today." resource: "https://www.laurelinlabs.com/search-systems/secure-sites-https" tags: ["https-ranking-signal", "technical-seo-foundations", "google-secure-sites-system"] generated: { by: "laurelin-site-build/2026-09-02", at: "2026-09-02T12:00:00+00:00" } status: "stable" stale_after: "2027-03-02T00:00:00+00:00" --- # Secure sites system (HTTPS) The secure sites system was Google's use of HTTPS as a ranking signal, announced in August 2014 as a very lightweight signal affecting fewer than 1% of global queries. Google confirmed it and later listed HTTPS as a page experience signal. In April 2023 the secure sites system was removed from Google's ranking systems guide, and Google now says page experience aspects other than Core Web Vitals do not directly help rankings. HTTPS remains a baseline for users, browsers and clean site migrations rather than a ranking lever. ## What was the secure sites system? The secure sites system was Google's use of HTTPS as a ranking signal. Google announced it on [7 August 2014](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2014/08/https-as-ranking-signal) after testing whether sites use secure, encrypted connections, and described it as a very lightweight signal affecting [fewer than 1% of global queries](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2014/08/https-as-ranking-signal). Google said it might strengthen the signal over time to encourage the web to move to HTTPS. The sources on this page record no later change in its weight. ## How did HTTPS fit into page experience? From 2020, Google listed HTTPS as one of the existing signals it combined with Core Web Vitals under [page experience](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2020/05/evaluating-page-experience). In April 2023 Google rewrote that framing and said not all of the listed aspects may be directly used in ranking, while all of them align with success. The current [page experience documentation](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/page-experience) still asks whether pages are served in a secure fashion, but states that aspects beyond Core Web Vitals do not directly help a site rank higher. Read literally, that includes HTTPS. ## What evidence is there that Google uses HTTPS in ranking? The evidence label is Confirmed for the 2014 signal: Google announced it. For today, the evidence points the other way. [Search Engine Roundtable reported on 21 April 2023](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-retired-ranking-systems-removals-35264.html) that the secure sites system had been removed from the retired list in Google's ranking systems guide, and Google's current documentation no longer describes HTTPS as a direct ranking input. What is not in doubt is the practical cost of getting HTTPS wrong: certificate errors, mixed content and half-finished migrations break pages for users and split signals between HTTP and HTTPS URLs. ## What should a site do about HTTPS now? Serve every URL over HTTPS with a valid certificate, redirect HTTP to HTTPS in one hop, and finish the migration inside the site. Google treats a move from HTTP to HTTPS as a site move with URL changes, and its [site move guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes) tells site owners to update internal links to the new URLs. Do not expect a ranking gain from HTTPS on its own. A falsifiable test: after a clean migration, rankings should hold steady; a drop points to migration errors such as redirect chains or links still pointing at HTTP. ## Which Laurelin audit checks test for HTTPS? The new check [Internal links still point to HTTP URLs after an HTTPS move](https://www.laurelinlabs.com/audit/technical-foundations/358-internal-links-still-point-to-http-urls-after-an-https-move) tests whether the migration Google documents was completed. It measures migration hygiene, not a live ranking signal. Related existing checks: [No HTTPS](https://www.laurelinlabs.com/audit/technical-foundations/91-no-https): the site is not on HTTPS at all. [HTTP to HTTPS redirect missing](https://www.laurelinlabs.com/audit/technical-foundations/35-http-https-redirect-missing): HTTP URLs do not redirect to HTTPS. [Expired or invalid SSL certificate](https://www.laurelinlabs.com/audit/technical-foundations/92-expired-invalid-ssl-certificate): certificate errors that block users. [Mixed content: HTTPS page loading HTTP](https://www.laurelinlabs.com/audit/technical-foundations/36-mixed-content-https-page-loading-http): HTTPS pages loading HTTP resources. [Protocol mismatch in canonical](https://www.laurelinlabs.com/audit/technical-foundations/57-protocol-mismatch-in-canonical): canonicals that still name the HTTP version. ## What are the key dates for HTTPS ranking signal? - 2014-08-07: Google announces HTTPS as a lightweight ranking signal ([source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2014/08/https-as-ranking-signal)) - 2020-05-28: HTTPS listed as a page experience signal ([source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2020/05/evaluating-page-experience)) - 2023-04-19: Google says not all page experience aspects may be directly used in ranking ([source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/04/page-experience-in-search)) - 2023-04-21: Secure sites system reported removed from the ranking systems guide ([source](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-retired-ranking-systems-removals-35264.html)) ## FAQ ### Does HTTPS still help Google rankings? Google announced HTTPS as a lightweight ranking signal in 2014, but its current documentation says page experience aspects other than Core Web Vitals do not directly help a site rank higher. Treat HTTPS as a baseline requirement, not a ranking lever. ### Is moving to HTTPS a site move? Yes. Google's site move documentation lists URL changes from HTTP to HTTPS as a site move with URL changes and says to update internal links to the new URLs. Hub: [Technical Foundations](/topics/technical-foundations.md)