Google is not indexing https

user_5949213 0
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I have used the http protocol for a long time. After years I implemented a domain certificate. Now I am trying to get the website with the https:// protocol indexed but Google still indexes the http protocol.

I have tried several things. I enabled the 'Force SSL with https redirect' option in DirectAdmin.

I changed my .htaccess so the browser redirects every option to the https protocol:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^[^.]+\.[^.]+$
RewriteCond %{HTTPS}s ^on(s)|
RewriteRule ^ http%1://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
RedirectMatch permanent index.php/(.*) https://www.***.com/$1
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^[A-Z]{3,9}\ /index\.(php|html) [NC]
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ https://www.***.com/ [R=301,L]
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /.*/index\.(php|html)\ HTTP
RewriteRule (.*)index\.(php|html)$ /$1 [R=301,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.domain\.com$
RewriteRule ^home\.html$ "https\:\/\/www\.domain\.com\/" [R=301,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.domain\.com$
RewriteRule ^home$ "https\:\/\/www\.domain\.com\/" [R=301,L]

I have created a sitemap.xml that contains only the https:// protocol.

In the Google Search Console I see that the website is indexed today and that the 'Google selected canonical URL' is still the http protocol.

Does someone know what I need to do to fix this problem?

.htaccess https redirect mod-rewrite http
1 Answers

I changed my .htaccess so the browser redirects every option to the https protocol:

Actually, you've not.

You don't have an HTTP to HTTPS redirect at all and the first rule (a non-www to www redirect) specifically maintains whatever protocol has been requested (HTTP or HTTPS).

Try the following two rules instead, replacing your first (non-www to www) rule:

# non-www to www (and HTTPS)
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^[^.]+\.[^.]+$
RewriteRule ^ https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

# HTTP to HTTPS (already www)
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

The remaining directives can also be simplified...

# Redirect to path-info (removing "index.php")
RewriteRule ^(.+/)?index\.php/(.*) /$1 [R=301,L]

# Remove "index.php" from the end of the URL
RewriteRule ^(.+/)?index\.php$ /$1 [R=301,L]

# Redirect "home" and "home.html" to the document root
RewriteRule ^home(\.html)?$ / [R=301,L]

You don't seem to need to target the domain name in the later directives, so I've removed the seemingly superfluous conditions.

I've simplified/reduced the two rules that removed index.php into a single directive. Unless you have a front-controller whereby you are routing all requests to index.php then you don't need the additional condition that checks against THE_REQUEST. (There is no front-controller in the directives you've posted.)

(Although the rule that removes and redirects to the path-info is a little out of place if you don't have a front-controller?)

I've changed the mod_alias RedirectMatch to the corresponding*1 mod_rewrite rule. mod_alias directives are processed after mod_rewrite, despite the apparent order of directives in the config file, so it is advisable to avoid mixing redirects from both modules to avoid unexpected conflicts.

(*1 I've also "corrected" this so to avoid matching URLs of the form <anything>index.php, rather than <anything>/index.php, which I assume is the intention.)

Clear your browser cache and test first with 302 (temporary) redirects to avoid any potential caching issues.

I also tried to delete the canonical link element

You should not delete the "canonical link element" providing you are linking to the correct canonical URL, ie. HTTPS + www.

You've not actually stated how long it is since you've "switched to HTTPS", but this can take some time. Google naturally favours HTTPS, but you are likely to have many HTTP backlinks due to the age of your site. It is important that you 301 redirect HTTP to HTTPS.

You should register both properties: HTTP and HTTPS in GSC and monitor the index status of both.

NB: Questions of this nature are generally better asked on the Webmasters stack: https://webmasters.stackexchange.com/

user_3694340
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