Google Inc. has updated its transparency report to include a new section on HTTPS. This now adds data about how HTTPS usage has been increasing over time, proving Google’s point that migration to HTTPS is happening now, and not in the future.
This move comes in order to ensure that the rest of the web begins the migration over to HTTPS from HTTP. This migration has been called a “no-brainer” by Google due to how much more secure HTTPS is over the former.
This is just the latest move by Google to ensure the migration over to HTTPS. This September, Google announced that Chrome will being adding security warning to HTTP pages when a user visits that site.
“Don’t wait to get started moving to HTTPS. HTTPS is easier and cheaper than ever before, and enables both the best performance the web offers and powerful new features that are too sensitive for HTTP,” wrote Chrome’s Emily Schechter in September.
In October, nearly 70 per cent of Chrome users have loaded pages via HTTPS. At least half of the users on Mac, Linux, or Windows are also loading pages through HTTPS. Android has the furthest to go with only 40 per cent of users.
For sites concerned about losing traffic when making the shift, Google is reminding those concerned that the company has “seem many sites successfully transition with negligible effect on their search ranking and traffic.” This was echoed by retailer Wayfair who made the transition with no meaningful impact to Google rankings or Google organic search traffic.