Anyone have experience with using HTTPS compared to HTTP and how it could affect rankings?
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Are there any negative or positive effects of using https over http when it comes to rankings?
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If you have users register for anything (like comments for example) then I would use https, or any kind of ecommerce.
Other than that, I don't think you pick up an advantage.
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https is slower, as it encrypts your data, and has to be decrypted at the other end. if you have no reason to use it, then just use http
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Mike's right - Matt Cutts is a huge HTTPS fan but there are no direct benefits yet. If both versions of the site are available, you need to make a decision about which one you want to use and stick with it, either redirecting the other or pointing to the preferred version with a canonical tag.
We used to say that only pages requiring secure connections (payment pages, or pages where other sensitive information is passed) should be secure, but since Google can clearly handle these pages and some high-ranking people within the search team prefer them, I'd say you're definitely safe to use them if you want to.
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At this point, no - there are not positive or negative effects you'd need to worry about.
If you are wanting to switch from one to the other, you will want to make sure you you have the proper redirects/canonical tags in place.
One way to choose which option is best for your situation would be to check your analytics and see which site is getting more traffic (if both the http and https versions of your site are accessible).
Matt Cutts did make a comment earlier this year that he personally would want to give a boost to secure sites - but that is not currently in place.
Depending on your audience https may be more appropriate. For instance, if you Google "banking" - you can see both http and https websites ranking - savvy users will probably notice the secure sites and visit those. I guess it all depends on your industry and your audience though.
Hope this helps.
Mike
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