404 pages

A 404 page is what a web server returns when someone requests a URL that doesn't exist. Beyond just informing users, the "404" HTTP status code serves a specific purpose in telling search engines the requested page does not exist.

Why 404s happen

• A page was deleted without a redirect.
• A URL was changed (e.g., during a site migration or restructure).
• A user mistyped the address.
• An external site links to a page that no longer exists.
• An external site attempted to link to a page, but mistyped the URL.
• A staging or testing URL was indexed by mistake before being deleted.

Soft 404s vs. real 404s

A real 404 returns the 404 Not Found HTTP status code, not just the message shown to users on the page. It is this status code that search engines see, causing them to remove the URL from the index.

A soft 404 is when a page tells the user it doesn't exist (e.g., "Sorry, this page is gone") but the server still returns a 200 OK status. Google flags these in Search Console because they confuse crawlers — the server's response looks fine, but the page is functionally empty. Soft 404s waste crawl budget and can dilute site quality signals.

SEO considerations

• 404s are not inherently bad. They're a normal part of the web, and do not automatically harm rankings.
• Don't 301 every 404 to the homepage. Google treats these as a soft 404 because the destination has no topical relevance to the original URL.
• Do 301 redirect removed URLs that had valuable backlinks or traffic to the closest relevant live page.
• Monitor 404s. A sudden spike usually indicates a failed migration or a CMS issue.

When to fix vs. leave

Leave a 404 alone if the page never existed, had no inbound links, and no traffic. For 404s resulting from removed content, fix them (with a 301) by redirecting them to an appropriate replacement.

Indexing

Disclaimer: All information contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not advice or instructional.