Do 404 Errors Hurt SEO and Best Practices to Follow

404 errors can significantly impact your website's user experience and search engine rankings. A single 404 error can drop your website's overall performance by up to 12%.

Having a high number of 404 errors can lead to a decrease in search engine rankings, as search engines like Google may view your website as having low-quality content or a poorly maintained website.

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A 404 error page is what the user sees when they attempt to visit a page that doesn’t exist on a website, it’s the computer’s way of saying that the requested page is not found.

But what if the server can’t find the page anywhere? That’s when the 500 series errors and 404 error occurs.

A 404 status code in your browser will look something like this: "There are other response codes there that you might have heard of."

A 404 status code basically means that the page or whatever resource was requested cannot be found at that particular address.

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It is really important for a page/resource that doesn’t exist to return a 404 status code, if it returns a 200 code, Google might index it.

You can check the response code of a page by right clicking anywhere on the page in your browser, hitting Inspect and then going to the Network section.

You can also use tools like Google Search Console, Semrush Site Audit Tool, Screaming Frog and more to identify and fix 404 errors, especially when you update parts of your website or revamp it entirely.

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404 errors can indeed impact your website's SEO, but not always in a negative way. Google says that a few 404 pages don't affect your site's overall performance and rankings, but it can harm your rankings if found in abundance and if the pages that return with 404 are integral to your website.

In some cases, 404 errors can actually benefit your website. For instance, if your website suffers a malware attack, resulting in hundreds or thousands of pages being wrongly indexed on Google, it's better to leave these corrupted pages as 404s rather than automatically redirecting them to your homepage. This allows Google to recognize these pages as non-existent and remove them from its index.

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If you're dealing with a hacked website, use the Temporary Removal tool in the search console to remove the hacked pages from appearing on Google search. It's also essential to implement a 301 redirect only for those pages that have contextually relevant and similar content.

Here are some scenarios where 404 errors can harm your website's SEO:

On the other hand, if you're dealing with a low-traffic page, 404 errors won't lead to a negative impact on your overall website's rankings.

A 404 error occurs when a user tries to access a webpage that doesn't exist, causing a significant increase in bounce rates.

This can lead to a decrease in user engagement and a negative impact on search engine rankings.

The frequency of 404 errors can also impact page loading times, which is a key factor in search engine algorithms.

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To identify 404 errors on your website, you need to know where they exist in the first place. You can use tools like Google Search Console, Semrush Site Audit Tool, Screaming Frog, and more to identify and fix 404 errors.

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Monitoring your site from time to time is essential, especially when you update parts of your website or revamp it entirely. This will help you catch visible 404 errors at the earliest.

To check the response code of a page, you can right-click anywhere on the page in your browser, hit Inspect, and then go to the Network section. Pressing the F5 key or refreshing the page while the inspector is still open can also help.

A 404 status code in your browser will look like a bunch of status codes, which can include 200, 301, 302, 500, 501, and 503. These status codes indicate different types of errors, such as server errors or redirects.

If a page/resource that doesn’t exist returns a 200 code, Google might index it, which can lead to crawl errors. This is why it's essential to return a 404 status code for non-existent pages.

You can find soft 404s, which are labeled as such by Google, in Google’s Search Console (Former Webmaster Tools), under Crawl Errors.

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A 404 error can be a real pain for your website, and it's essential to know what causes them. One of the most common causes of 404 errors is deleting or moving pages without updating the links that point to them.

Broken links can also lead to 404 errors, especially if they're internal links within your site. This can happen if you update your website's structure or remove pages without fixing the links.

A website with numerous 404 error pages can exhaust its allocated crawl budget, which may result in significant pages being overlooked during crawling, delaying their indexing.

Redirect chains can also cause performance issues and lead to 404 errors. This occurs when a URL is redirected multiple times before reaching its final destination.

404 errors can be triggered by a variety of issues, including incorrect URLs, deleted or moved pages, and broken links.

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Fixing 404 errors is a crucial step in maintaining a healthy website. There are two types of 404 errors: incoming and outgoing.

Incoming 404s are more challenging to fix because you're not in full control. If someone misspells a link pointing to your website, you'll have to convince them to fix it. A good alternative to this is to redirect that broken link to the right resource, but some equity can be lost in the process.

To find incoming broken links, use cognitiveSEO's Site Explorer. Type in your website, hit enter, then go to the Broken Pages tab. This will show you what links are pointing to your 404 URL, including the number of total domains pointing to it.

Fixing outgoing 404s is easier because you have full control over them. They're on your site, so you can change them. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Xenu Link Sleuth to find outgoing 404s.

Here are the steps to fix outgoing 404s:

Regularly checking for broken links is a vital aspect of maintaining a healthy website. Use tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, or Ahrefs to monitor for broken links and 404 errors.

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A custom 404 page is a must-have for any website. It helps users understand that they've reached an error page and provides them with useful options to continue browsing.

A great custom 404 page should include a clear error message, such as "Oops! This page doesn’t exist" or "Sorry, we couldn’t find that page." It's essential to make the error message concise and easy to understand.

A search bar on the 404 page enables users to search for relevant content on your site. This is a great way to keep users engaged and encourage them to explore more of your website.

Here are some key elements of a great 404 page:

Creating a custom 404 page is essential to handle 404 errors properly. It's a great opportunity to provide users with useful options to continue browsing, such as a search bar, links to popular pages, and a call-to-action encouraging visitors to explore other parts of your site.

A clear error message, like "Oops! This page doesn’t exist" or "Sorry, we couldn’t find that page", is a must-have on a custom 404 page. This helps users understand that they've reached an error page and can take action accordingly.

Consistency is key, so make sure your custom 404 page aligns with your branding. This will make it easier for users to recognize that they're still on your site, even if they've reached an error page.

Here are some essential elements of a great 404 page:

It's also worth noting that Google says the existence of a few 404 pages doesn't affect your site's overall performance and rankings. However, if you have too many 404 pages, especially if they're integral to your website, it can impact your rankings.

To avoid a 404 dead end, use 301 redirects to automatically redirect users to the new destination when they land on a page that doesn't exist anymore.

301 redirects are useful for redirecting users (and search engines) to a new, relevant page when a page is deleted or moved. This ensures that the deleted or moved page doesn’t result in a 404 error and also helps retain the organic traffic associated with the original URL.

To implement 301 redirects, you can install a trusted free redirection plugin for WordPress and navigate to the 404 tab in Settings. Check for issues and enter the URLs from which you want to redirect users in the Redirect section.

A 301 redirect tells search engines that the content has permanently moved, passing along the SEO value and link equity from the old page to the new one.

To avoid redirect chains, ensure that your redirects go directly to the relevant page and not through multiple intermediary pages. This can slow down your site, increase load times, and cause search engines to devalue the content.

Here are some key things to keep in mind when implementing 301 redirects:

Monitoring and Maintenance is a crucial step in keeping your website healthy and SEO-friendly. Monitoring your site from time to time is essential, especially after updates or revamps.

You can use tools like Google Search Console, Semrush Site Audit Tool, and Screaming Frog to identify and fix 404 errors. It's good to take steps to fix visible 404 errors at the earliest, even if not root them out completely.

Regularly checking Google Search Console reports can help you identify issues with your URLs. These reports provide valuable insights into crawl errors, including 404 errors.

By monitoring crawl errors, you can ensure that there are no broken links or pages that are returning 404 errors.

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It usually takes anywhere from a few days to weeks for Google to deindex a 404 page.

Google can't be customized to handle 404 error pages, but following best practices helps create a user-friendly 404 page and address issues related to 404 errors.

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Redirecting all 404 errors to your homepage can confuse visitors and lead to a bad user experience.

Setting up 301 redirects to direct users to a new page that answers their queries is a better practice.

Here are some best practices for handling 404 errors on your website: