Last year Google announced they would be using HTTPS as a ranking signal with the implication that it would be considered heavier in the future. Well, the future is now! Yesterday Google has taken the next step in security and will now index HTTPS pages over their HTTP counterparts, even if those pages aren't directly linked. The blog announcement states:
We'd like to announce that we're adjusting our indexing system to look for more HTTPS pages. Specifically, we’ll start crawling HTTPS equivalents of HTTP pages, even when the former are not linked to from any page. When two URLs from the same domain appear to have the same content but are served over different protocol schemes, we’ll typically choose to index the HTTPS URL.
Check out their announcement to see the full criteria for a secure page.
Us monkeys believe in a secure, open world wide web and applaud Google for serving up results for secure pages. We always encourage our clients to use HTTPS and will continue to champion for privacy and net neutrality.
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