Https Implementation - Weird Redirection After Putting 's' in http://

[Malika1]

Hi Mozers,

I have come across some websites with their https version going to a totally different website.

For example, http://www.samplesite1.com will load fine but when the protocol is changed to https (https://www.samplesite1.com) it will go to a total different domain say, https://www.samplesite2.com

How does this happen, in technical sense?

In the warning from browser, it says the the security certificate is from the other website but I would like to understand how this happens and how it impacts SEO. I seem to be not able to understand the relationship of this error and SEO impact.

Thanks in advance for your response.

Malika

[ChrisAshton]

I can't say I've seen an instance of that happening before but chances are it's just being redirected via the htaccess file.

Through htaccess you can essentially say if the URL is prefaced with https://, redirect to the other domain.

As far as SEO benefits, there really are none that I'm aware of. Looking purely at rankings, the only value this will pass is ~90% of link juice from any links that explicitly point to the https version. From a legitimate SEO point of view (ie actually caring about users) it's more than likely going to give them a very confusing experience!

There are instances where it makes sense to push users to a https version and maybe a new subdomain or something (from www.store.com to https://www.store.website.com) but even then, there aren't too many instances where that would be ideal.

[Malika1]

Thanks Chris Ashton for your response. Yes, I agree with you on the benefit bit. I dont think there is any sort of impact apart from confusing the users.