How to Switch My Site to HTTPS in GWT?
-
I recently bought an SSL certificate and moved my site over to HTTPS. Now how do I make the change in Google Webmaster Tools?
-
As the other guys have mentioned, implementing 301 redirects correctly is the key when moving over to https. Adding to Google Webmaster Tools is a bonus and something you should do if possible.
However this recent article on Marketing Land highlights a few issues that have been encountered by websites moving to https, so it's worth reading through this too so that you can avoid the issues mentioned:
http://marketingland.com/snags-googles-ssl-vision-sites-can-get-tripped-quest-secure-web-97266
-
Personally I would just setup the 301 correctly and not worry about logging the change in WMT. However If you click into your site, hit the gear icon in the upper right hand side of the page, then hit "change site address" you can specifiy a new address. You could also setup the https domain as a new site in WMT and delete the old WMT account, but again if it was me I would just leave things as is and let google pick up the change through your 301
-
As long as you have a 301-redirect that forces you over to https google should automatically discover this. However you could probably use the "Change site address"-feature.
See https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/83106?hl=en
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Https & http
I have my website (HTTP://thespacecollective.com) marked on Google Webmaster Tools as being the primary domain, as opposed to https. But should all of my on page links be http? For instance, if I click the Home button on my home page it will take the user to http, but if you type in the domain name in the address bar it will take you to https. Could this be causing me problems for SEO?
Technical SEO | | moon-boots0 -
Migrating Http Site to Https Version
Hello, This coming weekend we will be changing our http sites to https versions. I have a very quick question regarding Google Search Console. Because the migration is happening over a weekend, we want to get as much as possible setup beforehand. Is there any risk to adding the new properties to the search console without the sites being live yet? I want to deliver the Search Console verify files to our IT team in advance for them to add to the site, and then once I get the okay that the migration went successfully, I would go into the Search Console and click on the Verify button to get the sites verified and of course, then fetch as Google to help speed up indexing a bit and ensure there are no errors. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated! Amiee
Technical SEO | | Amiee0 -
Site hacked in Jan. Redeveloped new site. Still not ranking. Should we change domain?
Our top ranking site in the UK was hacked at the end of 2014. http://www.ultimatefloorsanding.co.uk/ The site was the subject of a manual spam action from Google. After several unsuccessful attempts to clean it up, using Securi.net and reinstating old versions of the site, changing passwords etc. we took the decision to redevelop the site. We also changed hosting provider as we had received absolutely no support from them whatsoever in resolving the issue. So far we have: Removed the old website files off the server Developed a new website having implemented 301's for all the old URL's (except the spam ones) Submitted a reconsideration request for the manual spam action, which was accepted. Disavowed all the spammy inbound links through Webmaster Tools Implemented custom URL parameters through Google to not index the SPAM URLs ( which were using parameters) Our organic traffic is down by 63% compared to last year, and we are not ranking for most of our target keywords any longer. Is there anything that I am missing in the actions I have taken so far? We were advised that at this stage changing domain and starting again might be the way to go. However the current domain has been used by us since 2007, so it would be a big call. Any advice is appreciated, thanks. Sue - http://www.ultimatefloorsanding.co.uk/
Technical SEO | | galwaygirl0 -
Should we dump the https from a client site?
We inherited a site that has both http and https. No e-commerce or data transfer...just html. Should we dump the https certificate? I think it might be causing issues with indexing and possible duplicate content. The https site has a certificate warning message...not good. The URL is www.charlottemechanical.com
Technical SEO | | theideapeople0 -
How to link site.com/blog or site.com/blog/
Hello friends, I have a very basic question but I can not find the right answer... I have made my blog linkbuilding using the adress "mysite.com/blog" but now im not sure if is better to do the linkbuilding to "mysite.com**/blog/ "** Is there any diference? Thanks...
Technical SEO | | lans27870 -
Two sites
Hi there just joined had nightmere of a time trying to get a website up and running..... now i have 2 .... one marketing person did and one i did the one i did performing better on google but other onre looks more profetional is there a way i can conbine the 2 under one site..... the one that looks better and getting the benifit of the one thats performing better...... Thanks steve......
Technical SEO | | stevetemple0 -
Google Custom Site Search
I am an admin on a google custom site search account. I am also the owner of a verified webmaster tools account for the same site. The Custom Search control panel will not let me add URL's or a Site map for on demand indexing, but says "you must submit a sitemap of your own verified sites". Has anyone else has this issue? Does the Owner of the custom search account have to be the owner of the webmaster account, or can the logged in admin be? Thanks
Technical SEO | | SEMPassion0 -
.CA site same as .com site - are both necessary?
Dear Friend, We representa a major national brand in the auto care industry, and they have locations in both US and Canada. There is a primary content site at .com that we have duplicated at .ca. We are hosting the .ca site on a separate IP on a server in Canada - but by in large it is the same site. (there are some minor changes we made to change US English to Canadian English - though minor. When we search Google.ca we generally see strong search results for the .com site, but rarely, if ever any evidence of rankings for the .ca site. The .com site was launched several years ago about 18 months before the .ca site. Why doesn't Google.ca show the .ca site? Is this an issue of duplicate content, and Google.ca simply shows the .com version which it knew about first? Are we wasting our time, money and efforts having both? Thanks, Tim ps. this isn't about location. We use a separate site to locate local shops, and have coordinated that well with Google Places, and when looking for local auto care - we do well in both US and Canada. The sites described above are largetl content sites.
Technical SEO | | lunavista-comm0