Hi i want to change my site from http to https Basically i need some info on what to do on webmaster tools so the rankinks i have will no disapear Plus: the backlinks i have as http will work on the https version? Please advise, thank you
If you do this using .htaccess then without https links will automatically redirect to https. I guess it won't harm your SEO or current ranking on different keywords.
You need to add the https version of the site as separate entity on Google Webmaster Tools. Unfortunately you can't this do as 'site move' through Google, so you just need to 301 the http version site to the https. There are plenty of tutorials out there on how to do this.
Add the https version of your site to Google Webmasters tool and don't remove the non https. make sure that all your non http redirects to https.
First, you need to purchase a SSL certificate for your domain name. Once it's installed, add this to your .htaccess file right after RewriteEngine On: RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule (.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} Code (markup): Make sure you don't have image links or URLs that start with http within your pages or they may throw a "your connection is not secure" error. Lastly, change your domain name from http to https in your webmaster tools admin panel (I had to literally remove the old property and add a new one that starts with https). Your old backlinks should still work. I changed all my sites from http to https didn't lose any rankings or traffic.
Any changes you make may initially lower your rankings, but in a few days they usually go back to where they were. I wonder if your friend's site lost its ranking for another reason.
Having https is a positive ranking signal. Suggesting that it will actually kill your rankings is absurd. It may flop around for a day or so.