TP to HTTPS Migration

Ensuring that your website is SSL certified and all pages are HTTPS is a crucial component of the SEO process. This is because these websites have higher security levels and encryption that are visible to all visiting traffic.

That’s not all:

Besides being safe, they are favoured by search engines and given rankings boosts. So ensuring your website(s) have SSL certificates and are properly optimised is vital to a healthy SEO campaign. Upgrading to HTTPS is a great way to improve the performance of your website and ultimately business. It has been tested that websites running on HTTPS perform way better than those on HTTP. Namely, HTTPS provides amazing data security by encrypting the transmission of information between the parties involved. It builds greater trust among users and creates a safe and healthy environment for online businesses.

 

What is SSL?

You may not recognise the term Secure Sockets Layer or SSL but you will likely have seen HTTPS and/or HTTP before. They are the lines of code that appear at the beginnings of some URLs in green.

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a protocol to transfer data on the internet, by using an encrypted and therefore secured system. There is a different range of SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates available in the market. The type of SSL you need will depend on your requirements. SSL certificates have different validation levels. The most basic of which is a domain-validated SSL to extended-validated SSLs.

1. Domain Validated SSL Certificates —the lowest level of SSL certificate. Checks that the organisation applying for the certificate has authority over the domain in question. Verification is done via email; to validate the authority you can be either requested to upload a file to your domain or to update your DNS settings. Once installed, the browser will show the green padlock to users confirming that they have a secured HTTPS connection to your website. Doesn’t require human interaction.
2. Organisation Validated SSL Certificates — your organisation is not checked deeply, it is checked to verify that you are indeed an organisation. The issued certificate will then show your organisation details in the certificate which may include your business name, city and country. It generally takes a few days for this type of certificate to be issued. Requires human interaction.
3. Extended Validation Certificates — The certificate authority will validate and check the ownership, organisation information, physical location, and legal existence of your company. Require documentation to verify the existence of your company by real human involvement. Expensive and can take a few weeks to be issued. The website gets a green padlock and a green address bar with the company’s name in it. 

 

How to Get an SSL Certificate

Obtaining an SSL certificate isn’t an easy task, so you should trust GWM SEO Sydney to help you out and put your business on the map. We offer a multitude of SEO services Sydney-wide, including HTTP to HTTPS Migration and guarantee your website’s performance will improve significantly. Being an SEO company Sydney is proud to have we have helped numerous clients skyrocket their businesses by providing them with top-notch SEO services. There are online merchants such as GoDaddy, DigiCert and Comodo that sell HTTPS certificates. Prior to any purchasing you need to decide just what kind of certificate is needed. Are you protecting one website or several? What about your sub-domains?

Perhaps you want to invest in an EV SSL certificate. It costs more but takes the display of HTTPS an extra step further by conveying further traffic-validating info.

Instead of simply saying ‘Secure’, the certificate states more descriptive info such as the name of the business and its country of origin.

The Milestones

There is a multitude of concerns that need to be addressed and satisfied to ensure a successful HTTPS migration.

Timing

Adopting a migration strategy should be done during a period when traffic is at its lowest. For example, a winter wear business would probably ensure greater success if it implemented a plan in the summer. Doing so will ensure you do not miss out on any traffic boom periods.

Verify

Having the HTTPS version of your website in Google webmaster tools is essential. This will ensure that the HTTPS version will be given SEO priority over the www edition.

301 Redirect

Which of these URLs would you most likely type out?

https://www.example.com

Or

www.example.com

Most, if not all people, would opt for the latter. It’s shorter and easier to compose. Typically this would mean HTTPS versions of websites would rarely get visited. Fortunately, that is why 301 Redirects exist. Using the URLs listed above as an example, if someone inputs the latter, a 301 redirect would automatically link them to the HTTPS version of example.com.

Before implementing redirects it is important to list all the pages of your site and connect them to the pages they will redirect to.

Update Link Network

Once HTTPS is launched it is important that the website’s link network is updated and established, including links from social media. This will ensure search engines will not be penalised for duplicate content.

XML Sitemap

Create a new sitemap with all the HTTPS URLs and submit them to Google Webmasters.

Update the Robots.txt File

Like with the sitemap, the robots.txt file must be configured for HTTPS optimisation.

Canonical Tags

A canonical tag is a special tag that is only found in a web page’s source code and is part of the HTML header.

Optimise for Google Analytics

Ensure that the tool is optimised for HTTP use.

Code Check

Ensure that all the coding works correctly with HTTPS.

Ensure Extension Functionality

Some plugins may or may not operate depending on whether a site is HTTPS or not.

Check Page Speed

Evaluate the speed between the HTTPS and non-HTTPS page(s) and make changes.

Utilise Updated Links

It is important that the HTTPS URL is used in your link-building campaigns. If possible try to update the backlinks too, if applicable. Https migration is a tricky avenue because it leaves you busy checking whether all your pages and links are optimised. However, it has been proven that it can be a valuable asset when it comes to building a strong SEO-approved website and can even foster the experience of the human user.

 

Contact Us Today

GWM SEO Sydney is here to assist in your HTTP to HTTPS migration. Contact us today whether you need to switch from HTTP to HTTPS or if you need us to provide you with some of our SEO services in Sydney, including SEO for brands, WordPress SEO, Local SEO, National SEO, and many other. Our expert team is eager to help your business thrive.