About this Issue
The “Not Found 404” error can be a significant roadblock for both users and search engines. When Google Search Console (GSC) reports these errors, it means that certain URLs on your website are leading to a dead end. This impacts user experience. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to fix 404 errors reported in GSC, ensuring that your website remains user-friendly and search engine optimized.
A 404 error signifies that the requested page (URL) cannot be found on the server. Common reasons include:
- The page has been moved or deleted.
- The URL is incorrect.
- Website configuration issues.
Impact of 404 URLs
1) User Experience: 404 errors can frustrate users and hinder their ability to find desired information, leading to a negative user experience.
2) SEO Considerations: 404 errors generally do not harm your website’s indexing or ranking if handled correctly. However, a high number of 404 errors can signal poor site maintenance, indirectly affecting SEO.
How to Fix
The fixes required for the reported URLs in this issue depend on the nature of the URLs. Here are four scenarios to match and fix the reported URLs accordingly:
1. Check if the URL Was Accidentally Deleted and Recover
If a URL was accidentally deleted or removed from the site and that reported URL should be accessible then you can recover the old page via backup or you can create a new page with the same URL so it will not return 404 status code any more. After creating the page you can do request indexing so, google can crawl that url again and know that the URL is working now and can be indexed.
2. Add Redirection to Relevant Pages
If the page has been permanently removed or moved, set up 301 redirects to relevant pages. This guides users to the right content and maintains SEO value:
- Identify Relevant Pages: Find pages that offer similar content or value.
Set Up 301 - Redirects: Implement 301 redirects to these relevant pages to ensure users and search engines are directed correctly.
3. Remove Internal Links to 404 URLs
Removing internal links that point to 404 URLs helps maintain a clean site structure and improves user experience:
4. Leave as It Is if There is No Relevant Page
If there is no relevant page to redirect to and the URL is not critical:
- No Further Action Needed: Allow the 404 error to remain as it is. Google will eventually drop the URL from its index.
- Use 410 Status Codes: For permanently deleted pages, consider using a 410 status code to inform search engines that the content is gone for good.
Here is a reference of google community chat showcasing the same scenarios:
Conclusion
Effectively managing 404 errors is crucial for maintaining a user-friendly and SEO-optimized website. By following these best practices, you can improve user experience and boost your website’s overall performance. Focus on the important URLs that were indexed by Google and later found missing. If the reported page is valid and important for the site, recover it from web archives or backups, or set up relevant 301 redirects to maintain a positive user experience. For permanently deleted pages, use 410 status codes to signal their removal to search engines.
FAQs
Properly handled 404 errors do not harm SEO. However, a large number of unresolved 404 errors can indicate poor site maintenance.
Use the Coverage report in Google Search Console to identify and address 404 errors.
Remove the ‘noindex’ meta tag from the HTML source or the ‘noindex’ HTTP header from the server response.
Yes, frequent 404 errors can frustrate users and reduce trust in your website.
A 301 redirect is permanent, whereas a 302 redirect is temporary.
It can take a few days to several weeks for Google to recognize and process a redirect.
