According to Google’s John Mueller, an SSL certificate does not provide a substantial boost to a website’s SEO. Mueller unequivocally debunked the claim that an SSL certificate enhances SEO rankings, dismissing the notion altogether.
A Discussion on Mastodon Regarding SSL and SEO
This conversation took place on Mastodon, where a user named EncryptedFence shared the following post:
“Improve your website’s SEO and reputation with an essential security measure: an SSL certificate – https://certerassl.com/blog/ssl-a-must-have-security-measure-for-websites-seo
Don’t miss out on the advantages! Get an SSL certificate today and ensure your website’s safety.”
John Mueller, Google’s Senior Search Analyst/Search Relations Lead, responded directly to EncryptedFence, stating:
“@EncryptedFence, an SSL certificate does not ‘boost’ your website’s SEO, I’m sorry.”
Does an SSL Certificate Actually Boost SEO?
SSL, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer, is an encryption standard (also known as a protocol) used for establishing secure connections on the Internet.
An SSL certificate serves as a digital certification that authenticates a website’s identity, ensuring that a browser is connecting to the correct server.
The SSL certificate plays a crucial role in facilitating secure data transfers across the Internet.
Google Encourages the Use of HTTPS
Google has been actively promoting the adoption of secure data serving on the Internet for several reasons, primarily focused on user security and privacy.
One obstacle to adopting HTTPS was the perceived technical complexity of obtaining an SSL certificate, leading many website owners to delay implementation, particularly for sites not involved in financial transactions.
In 2014, Google incentivized the adoption of secure standards by incorporating HTTPS as a ranking factor.
Google Hints at Potentially Strengthening the HTTPS Signal
Google further encouraged the SEO community by suggesting that they might consider strengthening HTTPS as a ranking factor.
In a 2014 statement, Google expressed:
“At Google I/O a few months ago, we called for ‘HTTPS everywhere’ on the web.
We’ve witnessed an increasing number of webmasters embracing HTTPS (also known as HTTP over TLS or Transport Layer Security) on their websites, which is encouraging.
To account for this, we have been conducting tests that consider whether sites use secure, encrypted connections as a signal in our search ranking algorithms.
These tests have yielded positive results, so we have begun using HTTPS as a ranking signal. Initially, it carries minimal weight, impacting fewer than 1% of global queries and weighing less than other signals like high-quality content.
However, we may strengthen this signal over time because we aim to encourage all website owners to transition from HTTP to HTTPS for the overall safety of the web.”
Google indicated the possibility of strengthening the HTTPS signal in the future.
The immediate response from the SEO community was overwhelmingly positive, resulting in a surge in SSL certificate adoption, akin to the rush for discounted televisions on Black Friday.
SSL Certificates and SEO Boost: Understanding the Nuance
If HTTPS is considered a ranking factor, then why did John Mueller claim that SSL certificates do not significantly impact SEO?
A ranking factor is a criterion utilized by Google to determine a website’s ranking for a particular search query. Consequently, it might be assumed that any ranking factor would enhance SEO.
However, this is not always the case.
Certain ranking factors, such as HTTPS, have a minimal impact on rankings.
It is widely accepted that inbound links from other websites play a crucial role as a ranking factor.
Hence, it is not far-fetched to acknowledge that other ranking factors can be so lightweight that their influence on a website’s ranking is minimal.
Another aspect to consider is that the vast majority of websites nowadays employ HTTPS, rendering any ranking advantage gained
