Links

Notice

Internal links to http://

This notice appears when your site runs on https but some internal links point to your own pages with http://. Here we explain why it happens and how to fix it for good.

What this error means

An internal http:// link is a link to a page on your own site written with the old, unencrypted address instead of https://. The target page exists and the link works, but it sends visitors to a version of the address your site no longer uses. These links are almost always left over from old content. When a site moves from http to https, posts and pages written before the switch keep their links exactly as they were typed, with the full address. The same happens with text copied from an older version of the site, custom menus, or templates with the address hardcoded. What happens next depends on your server. If it redirects http to https, every click goes through a redirect before reaching the page. If it doesn't, visitors and Google land on a second, unencrypted copy of the page that only the canonical tag ties back to the right one.

Why it matters to fix it

It isn't a serious error, but each of these links adds an unnecessary step and contradicts what the rest of your site tells Google about each page's correct address.

Unnecessary redirects

Every click on one of these links forces the browser and Google through a redirect before reaching the page. That extra hop slows loading and spends crawl budget for nothing.

Duplicate copies of your pages

If your server doesn't redirect http, the same page exists at two addresses. You depend on Google honouring the canonical tag so signals aren't split between the two.

"Not secure" warnings in the browser

If the http version does open, the browser marks it as not secure. For someone arriving from your own content, that warning undermines trust, especially on pages with forms.

Mixed signals for Google

Google uses internal links to decide which address is the main one for each page. If your links point to http and your canonical to https, you're giving it two different answers.

How to fix it step by step

Fixing this means finding every link written with http:// and changing it to its https:// version.

Step 1

Find the affected links

This notice's table lists each link, its visible text and the page it appears on. The text makes it quick to spot inside the content.

Where to apply it: In the audit report, opening each affected page.

Step 2

Change http:// to https://

Edit each link and change the start of the address. You can also turn it into a relative path (for example /contact/), which always uses the same protocol as the page.

Where to apply it: In the post or page editor. If the link is in a menu, a widget or the footer, edit it in that part of your CMS.

Step 3

If there are many, fix them all at once

On WordPress, a database search-and-replace plugin can change http://yourdomain to https://yourdomain across all your content in one go. Take a backup first.

Where to apply it: In the WordPress dashboard, with a plugin such as Better Search Replace.

Step 4

Check that http redirects to https

Even after fixing the links, any http address should 301-redirect to its https version. That way, old links to your site from elsewhere also reach the right page.

Where to apply it: In your server or hosting settings (.htaccess, hosting panel or an SSL plugin). To test it, open http://yourdomain in your browser.

If you want to understand it even better

To help you better understand this type of error and why it happens, we include additional materials that expand the explanations, guide with examples, or show alternative methods.

Consolidate duplicate URLs (Google Search Central)

How Google chooses the main address of a page, and the role of redirects, canonical tags and internal links.

View resource

Better Search Replace

WordPress plugin to search and replace text across the whole database, handy for changing every http link at once.

View resource

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