Handling 404 Error Pages from SEO & UX Perspective

Not long ago, a Savvy Blog visitor asked me whether they should redirect all pages that return a 404 error to the homepage. This question, along with other similar questions I encountered, made me realize that there is a misconception about dealing with 404 error pages.

And even though it is quite common and technically correct to call 404 pages “errors”, this terminology can be a bit problematic from our perspective, as 404 pages are the desired and intentional result (in most cases) when a website fails to return a specific request to the browser.

In other words, when a request is made to a URL that does not exist on the server.

You could say that 404 pages are not errors but an integral part of the user experience – and you (as well as users) should understand this.

You Can Relax. 404 (Error) Pages are Completely Fine

So, 404 pages are actually fine, and there is no need to panic. Also, there is no need to redirect every page that returns a 404 error to the homepage, or to the category page that contained the same product that went out of stock.

Many times I have heard SEO experts recommend implementing a 301 redirect for each of those 404 pages in order to preserve the same Link Juice, meaning the same Google ranking, for that page/address. However, this is not the right way to handle these pages.

It seems people tend to worry about 404 pages because they are concerned that Google might penalize their site if those pages exist. Conversely, they worry that the same strength an existing link possesses, the same Link Equity, will diminish when high-quality links point to 404 pages. The theoretical concern is valid (more on that later).

In general, despite some exceptions, 404 pages are entirely normal on websites. There is no need to worry about them, and there is no evidence that Google harms a site’s ranking simply because these pages exist.

Google confirms that 404 errors do not have any negative effect on your SEO ranking.

404 errors do not affect your site’s SEO or its performance on search engines. You can safely ignore these if you are sure that the URLs in question do not exist on your site*.

You should actually ensure that these and other invalid URLs return a proper 404 status code and, of course, that they are not blocked by the robots.txt file.

*So, in What Scenarios Are 404 (Error) Pages Problematic?

There are situations where your site’s ranking might be affected due to a high number of 404 pages. If there is an abnormally high number of 404 pages, whether you see it yourself or through tools like Google Search Console, it likely points to a more significant issue with site crawling and technical SEO.

Of course, this situation does not provide a good user experience, a state that probably affects your ranking across different search engines.

In many cases, continuously occurring 404 errors are not a positive sign. Forget about optimization and SEO for a moment – is it a good user experience for visitors on your site? Obviously not. Remember, search engines follow users. A good user experience significantly reflects on your site’s ranking.

Another potential negative implication of 404 pages is when there are high-value external links pointing to the same 404 page. Should you redirect to another page to preserve the link value? Here are two approaches:

• Redirect only when relevant: Only set up a 301 redirect if there is a relevant page in terms of content to redirect to. Do not redirect to an unrelated page or the homepage – Google treats this as a soft 404.
• Contact the linking site: Reach out to the site owner where those links exist and ask them to update the link to a relevant page on your site. You can also create new content that is relevant to the existing link.

Soft 404 Errors

The worst case with 404 errors is when they return a 200 status code. This condition is called Soft 404 and is problematic because search engines continue to index these pages, wasting crawl budget and confusing their understanding of your site.

Ensure that your server returns the correct status code for each type of page.

Take a look at the post that explains (in the context of 404) what to do with out-of-stock products in e-commerce stores.

How to Actively Identify and Find 404 Errors on Your Site

It is important to be aware of 404 errors on your site, as well as outbound links that direct to pages with these errors on other sites. There are several free tools that can help you find these broken links more easily:

• Google Search Console – Any 404 errors that Google’s bot finds on your site will be displayed in Google Search Console under the Indexing – Pages section. This is the most reliable source since it shows what Googlebot actually encounters.
• deadlinkchecker – Enter your site’s URL and the tool will scan and report on 404 pages and broken links.
• Broken Link Checker – This WordPress plugin will report broken links on your site, whether they are outbound or internal links.

Common Causes of 404 Errors in WordPress

While 404 pages are part of any website, WordPress sites have their own unique triggers for these errors. Things like plugin conflicts, broken permalinks, deleted pages or posts, and issues with multilingual setups can often lead to unexpected 404s.

If you are managing a WordPress site, it is important to understand the specific reasons why 404s may occur and how to properly resolve them. Check out our full guide on WordPress 404 error causes and solutions – it covers the most common triggers and how to fix them.

How to Track 404 Pages in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Tracking 404 error pages in GA4 can help you identify broken links or missing pages on your site. GA4 provides built-in features to track these pages without the need for additional code. Follow these steps:

1. Ensure Your 404 Page Has a Unique Title: To easily track 404 pages, make sure your 404 error page has a unique and descriptive title, such as “404: Page Not Found”. This title will help you filter and analyze 404-related data in GA4.
2. Set Up a Custom Exploration for 404 Pages: Create a custom exploration:
   • Navigate to Explore in GA4.
   • Select Blank Exploration.
   • Add Page referrer, Page path + query string and Page title as dimensions.
   • Add Active users and Sessions as metrics.
   • Move or drag the newly added dimensions to Rows and metrics to Values.
   • Filter the data by Page title and set it to contains “Page not found” (or your specific page title for the 404 page).
   • Analyze the Page path + query string to identify specific broken URLs.
     

     Tracking 404 Pages in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Using these built-in GA4 features, you can effectively track 404 pages and address any broken links or missing content to enhance user experience.

Create a User-Friendly 404 Page

Some people think that the appearance of 404 error pages is not relevant because it is the last place they want their website users to end up. However, creating a user-friendly or creatively designed 404 page can turn what might be a negative experience for the user into a positive one.

If you have not yet spent time on your website’s 404 page, now might be the time to do so, as it could be what encourages a user to continue navigating your site if they land on such an error page.

Sometimes it is hard to imagine why there would be 404 pages on our site, but even if we think our site operates flawlessly, 404 pages are much more common than we realize.

A well-designed 404 page should include:

• A clear, friendly message explaining the page was not found
• A search bar to help users find what they need
• Navigation links back to the main sections of the site
• A link to the homepage
• Visuals that match your brand’s personality

Here are a few examples of creative 404 error pages:

• 404 error page on dribbble.com
• 404 error page on spotify.com
• 404 error page on kualo.co.uk

FAQs

Common questions about 404 error pages:

Summary

So, in summary, there is no need to worry. 404 pages are entirely normal, as explained in this post. If you are looking for a concise summary, here are the key points regarding 404 pages that we discussed:

• Do not automatically redirect all 404 pages.
• Do not globally redirect 404 pages to the homepage.
• Redirect a specific 404 page to a relevant category or parent page only if this redirection provides the most relevant user experience for the visitor.
• It is perfectly fine and actually necessary to serve a 404 to the visitor when the page no longer exists.
• For permanently removed content, consider using a 410 (Gone) status code.
• Ensure that the robots.txt file does not block 404 page URLs or invalid URLs.
• If there are valuable links pointing to 404 pages, use one of the tactics we discussed earlier.
• Create a user-friendly 404 page.
• Read our detailed guide on WordPress-specific 404 errors to understand and prevent common issues.

For more information from Google. Good luck!