Can SSL hurt rankings?

[eNzim]

So, I was thinking about getting SSL cert for one of my sites (not a free SSL), because I'd like to integrate a card payment gateway like Stripe.

Since the links pointing to my site are http and http://mydomain.com doesn't equal https://mydomain.com and 301 does not transfer the full link juice my question is:

Can switching to https hurt rankings?

Thank you for your replies in advance!

 

[radiant13]

It's suppose to help rankings.

 

[Vapys]

From all my reading and personal experience SSL is shown preference by big G over those that don't have it. Ever so slight it may be.

 

[eNzim]

It's suppose to help rankings.

I know that it's considered as a weak ranking factor, but I'm asking because you might lose more with the url change than win with the SSL.

 

[Nut-Nights]

Nope it wont hurt your ranking. You can use redirect plugin if you care too much about it.

 

[fb3003]

if you do the redirects correctly, it will help. be ready for a month or two where your ranking will get dropped then it will go back up again.

 

[alexhaze]

SSL is meant to protect your website from malware's, hackers etc. Actually, it has very little to with the rankings of a website.

 

[KHR]

SSL good for your site.

But when you move to Non-HTTP to HTTPS Google may take few times to Update.

 

[arvind00557]

you are saying the opposite...on the contrary it will boost your ranking...SSL certificate secure you information and protect your website from hackers and bogus websites...also search engines rank https website with SSL certificate higher as compared to other websites...!!

 

[Ding Dong]

Definitely worth to switching into HTTPS from HTTP
Make sure you are doing perfectly on GWT. It will not drop your ranking.

 

[X]

Every site you run should be on SSL. At least add your sites to cloudflare and enable SSL through them. It's free and takes little effort to congfigure, and is a factor Google takes into consideration for rankings.

 

[Vapys]

Every site you run should be on SSL. At least add your sites to cloudflare and enable SSL through them. It's free and takes little effort to congfigure, and is a factor Google takes into consideration for rankings.

100% correct.
Just click add site and point your DNS to cloudflare and you're done.

 

[Shilpa105]

From personal experience you will see a big drop in rankings for 2-3 months after that your rankings will go up.

 

[albaztom]

SSL is used for the security purpose it dosenot affect much to the rankings of the website. And if your site has deal with money transactions or deal with user related data then SSL is very important.

 

[quatumcore]

your ranking improves get ssl today only

 

[aidenhera]

after making a website, I always set up ssl before even sending site to GWC

 

[Seolb]

I think it won't destroy your site ranking.

 

[eNzim]

Thank you guys for the answers. Yea I think I should've done it before building links to the site. Anyway, I'll go for it since it's essential, just don't want to see big drops. Thanks again!

 

[asastanislaw]

You're wrong.

SSL protect your sensitive information such as credit card information, usernames, passwords etc. It also:

• Keeps data secure between servers
• Increases your Google Rankings
• Builds/Enhances customer trust
• Improves conversion rates

 

[ScreamingMidget]

SSL is down to encryption. So, in theory - if you don't accept any online payments, you shouldn't be penalised whether you have it or not. I'm sure Google know this. I don't see how things such as malware comes into play as that's security which is mainly down to your host. If you don't accept any online payments and don't process any information such as online forms, then I don't see why it would have an impact on SEO.