404 Error
A 404 error is the HTTP status a server returns when a requested URL does not exist. It tells users and crawlers the page was not found, which is normal for genuinely removed pages but harmful when it hits pages that should exist.
A 404 error is the status code a server sends back when someone, a person or a crawler, requests a URL that does not exist. The label is literally Not Found. It is one of the most familiar errors on the web, and despite its bad reputation, it is not automatically a problem. Sometimes a 404 is exactly the correct, healthy response.
The trick is knowing the difference between a 404 that should be there and a 404 that should not. A page you deliberately deleted and never plan to replace returning a 404 is fine. A page that still has links pointing to it, still gets traffic, or that you accidentally broke during a deployment returning a 404 is a problem you need to fix fast.
A 404 on a genuinely dead page is healthy. A 404 on a page that should exist, or that other pages still link to, is a leak you need to plug.
Good 404 versus bad 404
| Situation | Is the 404 okay? |
|---|---|
| A page you permanently removed with no replacement | Yes, a clean 404 is correct |
| A URL that was never real, hit by a bad bot or typo | Yes, ignore it |
| A page that moved but was not redirected | No, add a 301 to the new URL |
| A live page broken by a deploy or CMS change | No, restore the page |
| A page with backlinks and traffic, now removed | No, redirect to the closest relevant page |
How to handle 404s properly
- 1Pull the list of 404s from the Pages report in Google Search Console and from your server logs.
- 2Sort them by which URLs have backlinks or recent traffic, since those matter most.
- 3For pages that moved, add a 301 to the closest relevant live page.
- 4For pages that are truly gone with no equivalent, let them return a clean 404.
- 5Fix or remove the internal links that point at broken URLs so you stop generating new 404s.
warningWATCH OUT
Do not redirect every 404 to your homepage to make the report look clean. Google often classifies homepage-dumped redirects as soft 404s, which is its own kind of error, and you gain nothing while confusing the index. Redirect only to genuinely relevant pages, and otherwise let the 404 stand.
targetThe soft 404 trap
A soft 404 is when a page returns a 200 success status but shows a not found or empty message to the user. Search engines hate this because the status code lies about the content. If a page is gone, return a real 404 or 410. If it moved, return a 301. Never serve not found content under a 200.
Custom 404 pages help users
A genuine 404 should still return the 404 status code, but pair it with a helpful page: a search box, links to popular sections, and a clear path back. That keeps a lost visitor on your site without lying to the crawler about the status.
There is a close cousin worth knowing: the 410 status, which means Gone. A 404 says not found, which leaves room for the page to maybe come back. A 410 says this is permanently removed, do not expect it to return. Search engines tend to drop 410 URLs from the index a bit faster than 404s. For most situations a clean 404 is perfectly fine and you do not need to fuss over the distinction, but if you are deliberately purging a large batch of dead URLs and want them out of the index quickly, 410 is the sharper tool.
404s are a normal part of a living website, and a small number is nothing to panic about. What matters is catching the ones that hit pages people and links still expect. For how 404s, redirects, and broken links fit your overall cleanup, see my technical SEO guide, and the site migrations guide for avoiding them during a move.
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