Google will boost the search rankings of websites that always use secure encrypted connections to transmit pages and exchange data.
According to The Register, the change is designed to promote improved online security in particular by encouraging developers to implement SSL/TLS (Transport Layer Security) to encrypt website traffic.
Google webmaster trends analysts Zineb Ait Bahajji and Gary Illyes explained in a blog post that whether or not a site is secure by default will only have a small effect on its ranking – at least for now – while advising that this factor is likely to become more important in future, once enough time for webmasters to upgrade has elapsed.