Google may boost search ranking for HTTPS sites

A report in the Wall Street Journal says that Google is considering a boost in search ranking for sites that use encryption.

The story cites Google Distinguished Engineer Matt Cutts, who is in charge of the company's webspam program for removing spam results from search. It says Cutts "hinted" at the possibility at a recent conference.

A Google spokesperson said the company had no announcements at this time.

Google's page ranking algorithm is famously complex, with many variables to reward and punish sites. It's possible that such a change would, at least in the short term, reward sites that attempt to game the Google ranking.

But many experts have been pushing for greater use of SSL/TLS encryption on web pages and Google has been at the forefront of this push for many years.