WordPress - How to stop both http:// and https:// pages being indexed?

[Clicksjim]

Just published a static page 2 days ago on WordPress site but noticed that Google has indexed both http:// and https:// url's. Usually I only get http:// indexed though.

Could anyone please explain why this may have happened and how I can fix? Thanks!

[EvolveCreative]

I actually just did a wealth of research on this topic a few days ago. Without going into the nitty gritty details, if the https is site-wide Google recommends a Rel="canonical" attribute (http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=139394) pointing to the non-secure http version. Google claims it can index https fine, but Matt Cutts said he would "lean towards pointing the canonical to the http version." Also, on the Rel="canonical" page Google says:

If you publish content on both http://www.example.com/product.php?item=swedish-fish and https://www.example.com/product.php?item=swedish-fish, you can specify the canonical version of the page. Create the element:

Add this link to the section of https://www.example.com/product.php?item=swedish-fish.

Make sure the canonical is on every page of your site.

Not sure why this may have happened, but it is creating duplicate content, which is why the canonical is necessary.

Hope that helps!

Thanks

[Clicksjim]

Thanks David, I feel like going out to buy some Swedish Fish for some reason now.

[Dr-Pete]

Just one adjustment to this - although I think David's right that the canonical tag can be a good solution. Although Google can index https: fine, the issue is whether you're creating duplicates. If you have duplicates, then it's possible that the https: version could be the one you want as canonical. In this case, it doesn't sound like it, but I just wanted to point that out.

Of course, long-term, you should sort out why these are being created. A desktop crawler like Xenu or Screaming Frog may be the best bet, but I'd hit the WordPress forums, too. Odds are it's a common issue. Typically, it happens when some deeper page (like a shopping cart) on a site is secure, and then the links are all relative ("/about.php", for example). Then, those links get crawled as both secure and non-secure.

Unfortunately, I'm not a WordPress expert, so I can only speak in generalities.