How many websites pass the Security Headers check?
Based on 596 audited sites · Updated 2026-07-16
95% confidence interval: 33.6%–41.4%
Why This Matters
LLM Discoverability
Strong security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options) indirectly signal to AI systems that the site is professionally maintained. They don't affect content extraction but contribute to overall domain trust.
SEO Impact
HTTPS and security headers are part of Google's page experience framework; sites with strong security signals are treated as more trustworthy, particularly in YMYL categories.
What To Do Next
62.6% of audited sites need attention on security headers (373 of 596 sites are warning or failing).
- Prioritize security headers on templates that create many URLs, because one template fix can improve a large share of trust & security.
- After changing the page, re-run the audit and compare the observed value for this check instead of relying on visual inspection alone.
- Use the 37.4% pass rate as a benchmark: if your site fails here, passing the check moves it closer to the visible majority of crawlable, AI-readable pages.
Status Breakdown
Compliance Trend
Daily pass, warning, and failure rates across benchmark snapshots (up to 90 days).
Industry Breakdown
How different industries perform on this check.
53.3% of audited E-Commerce sites pass this check (n=30), compared with 23.3% of Education sites (n=30).
| Industry | Pass rate | Avg score | Sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-Commerce | 53.3% | 69.6 | 30 |
| Finance & Banking | 51.3% | 72.8 | 39 |
| Technology | 38.8% | 72 | 278 |
| Media & Entertainment | 29.8% | 73.8 | 84 |
| Travel & Hospitality | 23.5% | 74.8 | 51 |
| Education | 23.3% | 71.8 | 30 |
| Energy & Utilities | 100% | 69.7 | 3limited |
| Government | 64.3% | 73.1 | 14limited |
| Food & Beverage | 54.5% | 71.1 | 11limited |
| Professional Services | 50% | 80.8 | 4limited |
Related Checks
Run a free audit to see whether your site passes this check, or browse the leaderboard and the audited-sites directory.