Not a single Google hit after 4 months?

[tryingtogrowsite]

Am I doing something wrong?

I wish Google would go back to the simple days of allowing people to develop sites without having to have a lot of technical knowledge. These days, there are far too many obstacles to running a site smoothly. The unexpected errors in the search console, canonical issues, lack of smooth indexing of content, etc. Just when you think you are on a top of a problem, another issue arises. It's just a constant battle.

[tryingtogrowsite]

I think the pages that are showing with https prefix are no longer represented in sites linking in. This is because the http pages that have been linked to are no longer passing the link value on to the https after the prefix change. For example, my home page which had a significant number of links pointing to it from external sites are no longer showing any backlinks. Do I use redirection? Please bear in mind that I have previously redirected from the permalink that has day and name to one containing post name.

[justpassing]

The trend seems to be more and more sites are going the SSL route

Indeed. This is amovement which is not new, it's been some years, and things accelerated 2 or 3 years ago, when Google started to point that HTTPS would be a ranking factor (among hundreds of others), and then when Chrome announced it will start label "unsecure" sites which are not HTTPS.

Do I need to complete a redirect instruction?

you need to 301 redirect all your URLs. Also you have to review your internal link structure.to be sure you were not using absolute links. Normally, internal links should have been relative links already.

have noticed a number of sites linking in have been going down for a good two/three months now according to the search console.

Yes,things can be a bit messy for a little while, from one or two weeks, and insome case, yes it can take a couple of months. If done correctly. This is why it would have been a good idea to start switching some years ago, when it appeared that it would become the new standard.

[keyplyr]

If the HTTPS prefix replaces HTTP what happens to the backlinks pointing to the site?

All these questions are discussed in the links I gave you above.

Basically everyone gets redirected once that code 301 is added to the htaccess. Google understands that all the backlinks are now associated with the HTTPS site.

Here are those links again:

What Will Happen if I Don't Switch to HTTPS? [webmasterworld.com]

Downsides of not using HTTPS [webmasterworld.com]

Why HTTPS Matters [developers.google.com]

And here is the process to switch to HTTPS:

- Generic Steps to Switch from HTTP to HTTPS -
(Reposted from earlier discussions)
• Read all info at your host concerning certificates & switching to HTTPS and when applicable, follow those instructions.

• Install security certificate.

• Have your host enable HTTPS (if needed.) This will enable access from both HTTP & HTTPS allowing normal access while you test.

• Go through site, page by page & make sure all file paths are relative (no protocol.) Test by accessing site using HTTPS and look for any browser alerts.

• Install 301 code in .htaccess file

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Note: your server may require different code

• Go through site again, page by page, and test. Any remote absolute links will need to be HTTPS including those found in scripts & pluggins. If you publish Adsence or other advertising, links in these scripts need to be HTTPS also (or just remove the protocol altogether.)

• Update sitemap.xml (if applicable) and submit to appropriate agencies (Google, Bing, Yandex, etc)

• In Google Search Council create a new site using HTTPS (do not use the Change of Address form.) It will take a few days to start populating information. This is normal & traffic to old site (HTTP) will drop off accordingly.

• Bing Webmaster Tools, Yandex & others should update automatically once they crawl your new pages. Updating/re-submitting sitemap.xml should speed up this process.

- - -

[tryingtogrowsite]

I think I can do the redirection with htaccess, but is there a way to do the same easier with a plugin?

"you need to 301 redirect all your URLs." Doesn't the htaccess instruction do this?

[tryingtogrowsite]

Sorry, didn't see your post when I posted just now. The instructions you posted above will really help.

[lucy24]

Google understands that all the backlinks are now associated with the HTTPS site.

In the specific case of Google, is the redirect even strictly necessary for linking-and-indexing purposes? (I’m thinking, for comparison purposes, of Yandex, which extrapolates your preferred hostname-and-protocol from your response to requests for the root, and applies them to all other URLs on the site.) It’s obviously desirable for lots of other reasons.

:: idly thinking that if you've got a backlink that points to http, and G### knows you've been https since 2013, just how much weight would they give that elderly link anyway? ::

[not2easy]

I am very sorry to hear about all the kinds of problems you're having with indexing. Seriously. But these things are not the sort of things that just happen. If you don't know your own site, it is really hard to know what questions to ask and even harder for others to try to guess the what and why of the situation so they can try to help you get it fixed.

An unknown https protocol change would definitely lead to "too many REDIRECTS" when you're operating from the assumption of http: in your settings. Not to mention that your domain might have a certificate and be all set up for https: but if your WP site has settings that say it is at http://example.com there is no way to expect indexing, hits or traffic - especially if you have neither changed your Settings nor set up the "new" domain in GSC.

I find it hard to believe that a host just went in and set up the site as https: without your knowledge or consent. Have you actually looked at your htaccess file to see what they might have changed in there? These are things that every webmaster needs to check up on, to be aware of. If your host can just arbitrarily make such changes without telling you about it, I would wonder what else they might do.

Yesterday you said that your Permalink structure is http://example.com/category/article and today we learn

Please bear in mind that I have previously redirected from the permalink that has day and name to one containing post name.

How and where are you redirecting? Why would you redirect when all you need to do is change your settings? Permalinks are whatever you tell them to be. The site clearly doesn't have years of indexing to be concerned about since you said you started it a few months ago and it can't be indexed the way it is set up. I am perhaps just confused.

"you need to 301 redirect all your URLs." Doesn't the htaccess instruction do this?

In WP, you need to add that code - ABOVE (before) the WP section in your htaccess file. No rewrites after the WP section. And change your WP Settings so that the location is your actual https: whatever URL. You do not redirect each page. WP is where the Settings say it is.

[tryingtogrowsite]

"And change your WP Settings so that the location is your actual https: whatever URL."

Do you mean the Permalinks? It's currently set to http://examplesite

I am guessing here, once I've updated the .htaccess the https will become available for selection as a Permalink option. Since the redirection is from HTTP to https, wouldn't this already be the case? That's what the redirection is for.

This site I am on about is much older. Yeah, I started off asking about a 4-month site, but the last few posts are related to a much older site. I should have made this clear.

[edited by: not2easy at 1:52 pm (utc) on Oct 11, 2018]
[edit reason] use example.com PLEASE [/edit]

[TorontoBoy]

I'm not really sure what you are doing, but when I put up a new WP site and purposely don't tell Google to index, invariably they find my site and begin indexing on their own. It can be somewhat annoying to see your stuff up on Google when you did not tell them to index.

I an unsure what you are doing to not get Google attention for 4 months.

[tryingtogrowsite]

I don't want to drag this thread on too much longer. Let's see if I have this right.

1) I ask the host to install the SSL

2) Use Firefox to see if there is a green padlock assigned to the pages of the site

3) Use FTP to upload the redirection code to the htaccess file. Last I checked, I couldn't find this file, and I don't use a cPanel by the way. Do I need to create one using the notepad with the instruction and then upload to the root directory?

Are there any other steps I should be aware of?

[not2easy]

Do you mean the Permalinks? It's currently set to http://examplesite

That is not what you posted two days ago:

Under Wordpress settings, permalinks: the current permalink is set with the following URL structure:

http://example.com/category/page

Don't confuse Permalinks with Location, these are two different things. Your WP Settings file is where you set up the configuration for some elements of WP. You have mentioned using the Settings > Permalinks so you know where to get to your Settings file. Go to Settings > General and you will see the place where you originally set the Title of your site and the WordPress Address (URL) information. This is what determines the URL, this is where you change it to https. WordPress offers detailed instructions if you need help: [codex.wordpress.org...]

WordPress also offers very detailed easy to follow instruction for every aspect of managing your WP site: [codex.wordpress.org...] which I highly recommend.

You still need to have the code in your htaccess file, so that requests for your OLD http URL go to the new pages. The WP settings control your internal URLs, the htaccess file manages incoming external requests.

NEXT - read and follow the instructions keyplyr posted above - Generic Steps to Switch from HTTP to HTTPS -

• Go through site, page by page & make sure all file paths are relative (no protocol.) Test by accessing site using HTTPS and look for any browser alerts.

These generic instructions are simpler for WP: Change your Site Address in the Settings > General page. Go through your posts/pages to make sure that any links going out of your site to external sites do not have the http: protocol. In posts and pages you can simply remove the http: part of the URLs and leave them as "//www.example.com/page" or "//example.com/image.jpg" and the browser will find the correct protocol. Any internal links such as to another page on your site you can do the same thing, but replace your domain with "/" to make your internal URLs relative. (assuming that WP is installed in the root directory as it appears to be from your permalinks of two days ago - not today's version)

When you are sure it is all ready for Google, go to your GSC account and add the "new" domain. This is NOT an address change, it is a new domain for Google. Don't remove the old version(s) you have there. Those old versions will help you spot things you might not find any other way.

[not2easy]

3) Use FTP to upload the redirection code to the htaccess file. Last I checked, I couldn't find this file, and I don't use a cPanel by the way. Do I need to create one using the notepad with the instruction and then upload to the root directory?

The .htaccess file is a hidden system file. it starts with "." and has no file extension like ".txt" so it is hidden by default. You may need to enable the viewing of hidden files on your computer/in your FTP client/in your text editor. The text editor needs to use plain text. If you visit the WP tutorials I posted above you will have complete details. The .htaccess file is a powerful tool, it contains server instructions.

IF your host set up the https protocol, they may have edited that file already. You should READ and ask your host about this part of the fix before you jump into it.

Edited to add: Never upload a new .htaccess file without downloading a copy of the original. You would overwrite all the instructions that are already there. First get a copy of the .htaccess file, save a copy in a folder so that you can put it back if you need to, and then edit a version to add or change or remove anything. Then upload the new version with the assurance of being able to put back the original in case you have made a mistake. That happens.

[tryingtogrowsite]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I will study it carefully before I do anything silly.

Yes, for the Permalinks, I meant this: http://example.com/category/page

"Go to Settings > General and you will see the place where you originally set the Title of your site and the WordPress Address (URL) information."

I know where this is. However, currently, this seems uneditable. There doesn't seem to be a way to edit any of the text in the URL field. I wouldn't edit it yet but checked to see if I could when the time comes.

I will look into the htacess again, but if I can't find it I will get in touch with the host and ask them how to locate so I can download it and do the necessary edits.

[tryingtogrowsite]

By the way, how long will something like this take to rectify? I have lost a steady stream of links and traffic over the last few months. Does Google usually recover things quickly if the issues that were a cause are put right?

[not2easy]

That can't begin until you do. Get it ready and after verifying your changes and once you have added the new site to GSC, you can watch the old domains losing pages and the new https site gaining. Be sure to submit your new sitemaps. A site in good order before the switch to https should easily move to the new URLs being indexed. A site with issues such as yours has had in the past can take a little longer. That is the reason to spend time getting it ready before you send Google to crawl it. You don't want to jump from one mess to a different mess.

As far as editing the Settings file, you first need to be able to reach it at the URL you want to change it to. There is also the small possibility that the installation software method requires changes through their interface - this is another ask your host thing, each site can be different.

WP is easy to use but confusing in many ways until you understand the parts of the puzzle. That link up there for the WP tutorials is a good place to spend your time so you understand what happens with each change you make, and how to make it work better for you. It beats repairing things. ;)

[tryingtogrowsite]

I submit sitemaps generated with Google XML from Wordpress admin. I will need to do that again once the site has switched to https. And yes, I will add the new site to Google Console once the switch to https has been confirmed.

[not2easy]

If you're already using Yoast, it offers plenty of options for generating only the sitemaps you choose. The idea being to use as few plugins as it takes to manage your site.

[tryingtogrowsite]

The https switch has been done. However, I would like to check a few things to ensure it was done right.

1) Before https, the domain URL was http://example.com/category/page
Now it is: https://example.com/category/page

Searching on Google, some of the pages seem to be ranked with the new https and some with the old http. But when I click on any of the http page in the search I land on https. Does this mean the redirecting had been done correctly?

2) I am definitely getting less traffic from Google since the switchover. Very noticeably so. This is especially in mobile traffic. Mobile traffic used to account for 60% or more of the traffic but now sometimes less than 50%.

Could this be due to the rollout of the mobile index? My site has been using a responsive theme for a long time now and the pages look absolutely fine on mobile. According to the Google page load speed tool, mobile varies from 60 to 90 and desktop the high 60s to 90.

Normally, I get a 1-minute average session on mobile on Analytics (give or take a few seconds), but the last couple of days its been more like 20 seconds. I cannot explain such a drop.

[justpassing]

Does this mean the redirecting had been done correctly?

Yes. (be sure this is a 301 redirect)

Which protocol are you using for your HTTPS? If you are still in HTTP 1.1 , the switch to HTTPS will slowdown your site, which "might" explain a downgrading, especially for the mobile index. In HTTP/2 your site will be slightly faster in HTTPS than it was in non-HTTPS, in piste of the encryption payload.

You can use the Lighthouse tool from Chrome (Wed Dev > Tab Audit) , to test your pages. It will give you lot of valuable information to help you optimize it for mobile devices.

[keyplyr]

If you are still in HTTP 1.1 , the switch to HTTPS will slowdown your site

It's extremely minimal. There are many other factors that play a more significant role in speed.

I would say that HTTPS on a HTTP/1.1 protocol server is *not* something to worry about when it comes to the speed metric used in page ranking by Google.

[tryingtogrowsite]

Actually, my host took care of the SSL implementation. It took a while but we got there in the end. They tell me the redirect code isn't needed because it is a managed WordPress site. I added the redirect code in the htaccess file anyway. Should I remove this? I don't think it makes any difference. The site was directing to https fine before I added the redirect code to htaccess.

How can I be sure if it is a 301 redirect? I am sure it is. Under settings in Wordpress, the domain shows up as https:// now.

I am assuming the protocol used would be HTTP/2 since they would likely use the latest version. But how do I check this to be sure? I will use the Chrome web dev tool and update the thread later.

[keyplyr]

Test your HTTPS config here [ssllabs.com]

You don't want to redirect twice.

[lucy24]

Belated comment:

purposely don't tell Google to index

“don’t tell G to index” != “tell G not to index”

How can I be sure if it is a 301 redirect? I am sure it is.

Well, what makes you sure, then?

The two basic ways are:
#1 use a Show Headers feature in your chosen browser--different browsers call it by different names, and they hide the command in different places--to see what numerical response you get, and how many of them there are.
#2 look at the numerical response in your raw access logs and, again, see whether there's more than one redirected request before it arrives at a successful 200. (Access logs by themselves won't say what was wrong with the first request--protocol and/or hostname--but they will say how many requests there were.)