Google launches new HTTPS report in Google Search Console

This new report now shows why some pages are not being served as HTTPS.

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Google has added a new HTTPS report within Google Search Console that not only shows which pages are being served under HTTPS but also why the pages not being served under HTTPS are having issues. “One of the common requests we heard from you was to provide more information regarding the HTTPS status of the site and make it easier to understand which pages are not served over HTTPS, and why not,” Google said.

What the report looks like. Here is a screenshot of the HTTPS report that shows the number of non HTTPS URLs and the number of HTTPS URLs, with the non-HTTPS URLs in red and the number of HTTPS URLs in green. Google also shows the issue on why pages are not being served over HTTPS, including but not limited to these errors:

  • HTTP marked with canonical tag
  • HTTPS has invalid certificate
  • Sitemap points to HTTP
  • HTTPS has redirect
  • HTTPS URL is roboted
  • HTTPS not evaluated
  • Other issues
Search Console Https Reports

Report availability. Google made this report available to many sites, as of today, but said it is still rolling out over the “next few months.” Google also said this new report is available only for Domain properties and HTTPS URL-prefix properties.

You may be able to access this report over here.

Page experience. HTTPS is a part of the overall page experience ranking algorithm, which is a very light weight signal uses towards ranking web sites. Google said “As a reminder, page experience is a set of signals that measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page beyond its pure informational value, both on mobile and desktop devices. It includes Core Web Vitals, which is a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of the page, along with signals for mobile friendliness, intrusive interstitials, and HTTPS. The HTTPS component ensures the safety and security of users on the web.”

Why we care. We love new and improved reports and this is both of that. You can not only see which pages Google is serving under HTTP vs HTTPS but also why Google is not serving some of your pages under HTTPS. Then you can dig in to see how you can fix those issues.


About the author

Barry Schwartz
Staff
Barry Schwartz is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on Twitter here.

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