: Does linking to HTTPS or HTTP make a difference for link popularity? I am considering making my site HTTPS but I was wondering does Google treat a link to HTTP exactly the same as SSL HTTPS

@Nimeshi995

HTTP/HTTPS Backlinks

Google will treat both backlinks the same since they are protocols and technically the same site, however...! If someone links to your site using and your site is HTTPS only then a redirect action will be required and whenever using a 301 redirect some juice is lost, but its a tiny weenie! amount! and nothing worth worrying about.

HTTPS Rankings Increase

It's no secret that Google recently announced that SSL enabled sites will be rewarded a minor increase in rankings as SSL is now a signal among hundreds of others, it may have already been a siginal for some time but only recently announced it. However is anyone's guess how much it actually does help, you may notice a small shift but in all honesty it's most like so minor that you don't notice any chance.

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@Cooney921

Technically speaking, http and https are two different sites, and hence it is highly recommended that you setup a http to https version redirect while migrating to https.

Linking directly to https will help. When you do a 301 redirect, a very small amount of link juice is not passed to the newer version. This is a long-time known issue.


I guess it makes no difference if your links have www or not


No, it does make a difference. Sites with www and without www are treated as 2 separate sites. More on this here

Thanks,
Krinal

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