In a previous post, The Case For Https, I raised the potential issue of duplicate content when switching from http to https.

Https is the secure protocol for websites that provides a safer experience for users.

It’s important in sites where you need to login with a password.

 

Potential Panda Penalties

The major issue with sites switching to https was the duplicate content penalty that Panda brings along.

Google’s John Mueller has confirmed that https will be treated in a similar way to the www/non-www that sites have.

(see here for his Google Plus post)

In WordPress for example, a user is redirected to the respective www/non-www version even if they type in the alternate version.

 

What This Means For You

If both versions of the same page exist then Google will index the https version.

In practice this means that no loss of link authority.

If you’re in a position to move over to https, I recommend that you do it now.

Google has previously confirmed that sites will get a small ranking boost as https carries more trust than regular http.