A 404 error occurs when a server can’t find the resource requested at a particular URL. It can happen because a page was deleted, a URL was changed, a link was entered incorrectly, or an old page was never redirected.
A few 404 errors aren’t necessarily a problem. The real issue is when important pages, internal links, or URLs with valuable backlinks start returning 404 responses.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to find 404 errors, identify which ones matter, and fix them without creating unnecessary redirects.
What Is a 404 Not Found Error?
A 404 Not Found error is an HTTP status code that tells a browser or search engine that the requested page or resource could not be found on the server.
For example, imagine your website has this URL: “example.com/seo-guide”
You later change it to: “example.com/seo-guide-2026”
If someone visits the old URL without a redirect, the server may return a 404 status code.
You’ll often see messages such as:
- 404 Not Found
- Page Not Found
- HTTP 404 Error
- The requested page could not be found
A 404 doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong with your entire website. It simply means that a particular requested resource isn’t available at that URL.
Are 404 Errors Bad for SEO?
Not necessarily. Google can handle 404 pages. If you’ve intentionally removed a page that has no useful replacement, allowing it to return a 404 can be completely appropriate.
Problems arise when important URLs return 404 errors.
For example, a 404 can become an SEO concern when:
- An important page was accidentally deleted
- Internal links point to a missing URL
- A high-traffic page was removed without a replacement
- A page with valuable backlinks now returns 404
- A website migration creates hundreds of broken URLs
- Old URLs should have been redirected but weren’t
So, the goal isn’t to eliminate every 404 on your website.
The goal is to find the 404 errors that matter and handle each one correctly.
How to Find 404 Errors on Your Website
Before fixing anything, you need to find the broken URLs.
Method 1: Check Google Search Console
Google Search Console can help you identify URLs Google has encountered that aren’t available.
Review your site’s indexing and crawling reports for URLs returning errors. When you find a 404, first determine whether the URL is supposed to exist.
Don’t automatically redirect every URL you find. Some may be old, intentionally removed pages that don’t need any action.
Method 2: Crawl Your Website
A website crawler can scan your site’s URLs and identify broken pages and links. A crawl can reveal:
- Pages returning 404 responses
- Internal links pointing to 404 pages
- Broken redirects
- Redirect chains
- Broken internal links
- Other crawl-related problems
This is particularly useful for larger websites where manually checking URLs isn’t practical.
Method 3: Check Your Analytics
Look at your website analytics to identify URLs that previously received meaningful traffic.
If an important page suddenly returns a 404, its organic traffic can drop because users and search engines can no longer access the content at that URL.
A URL that receives no traffic and has no useful links may be a lower priority than a deleted page that previously generated significant traffic, leads, or sales.
Method 4: Check Your Backlinks
A deleted page may still have links from other websites.
If a valuable external link points to a URL returning 404, investigate whether the old page should be restored or redirected to a relevant replacement.
This is why fixing 404 errors isn’t just about the number of broken URLs. Context matters.
How to Find Broken Links on Your Website
A broken link is a link that sends users to a page or resource that cannot be reached successfully.
For example, your blog might contain an internal link to:
“example.com/technical-seo-guide”
If that page has been deleted, the link may lead users to a 404 page.
Tools like Dead Link Checker, Ahrefs’ broken link tool, or a general site crawler can help you find broken links. Pay particular attention to broken internal links because they affect how visitors move around your website and can make important pages harder to discover.
When auditing broken links, check:
- Where the broken link appears
- Which URL it points to
- Whether the destination page still exists
- Whether a relevant replacement exists
- Whether the linking page itself is important
Fixing the link may be as simple as changing the destination URL.
How to Fix 404 Errors
The right way to fix a 404 depends on why the URL is broken. Restore accidentally deleted pages, redirect permanently moved pages, update broken internal links, and leave intentional 404s alone when there is no relevant replacement.
1. Restore the Page
If a valuable page was deleted accidentally, restoring it is usually the simplest solution.
This is especially important when the page has existing organic traffic, backlinks, rankings, or conversions.
2. Add a 301 Redirect
If the page has permanently moved to a new URL, a 301 redirect can send visitors and search engines from the old URL to the new one.
For example: /old-seo-guide → /technical-seo-guide
The destination should be genuinely relevant to the original page.
Avoid redirecting unrelated URLs simply to remove 404 errors.
3. Update Internal Links
If your website contains links to an outdated URL, update those links to the correct destination.
This is particularly important when you’ve recently changed your URL structure.
For example: /seo-tips → /seo-tips-for-beginners
Instead of leaving internal links pointing to the old URL, update them throughout the website.
4. Remove the Link
Sometimes there isn’t a useful replacement. If an old resource is no longer relevant and doesn’t need to exist, remove internal links pointing to it and let the URL return a 404. In this case, the 404 is an intentional outcome, not an error that needs to be eliminated.
How to Design a Helpful Custom 404 Page
Some 404s are unavoidable, so a good custom 404 page limits the damage. It should:
- State clearly that the page wasn’t found, without technical jargon
- Include a search bar so visitors can find what they wanted
- Link to the homepage and a few popular or relevant pages
- Match your site’s design and tone
- Avoid auto-redirecting after a few seconds; it’s disorienting and has no SEO benefit
The goal is keeping visitors on your site instead of losing them at a dead end.
What Is a Soft 404?
A soft 404 occurs when a URL appears to show a missing or nonexistent page but returns a successful status code, such as 200 OK, instead of an appropriate 404 or 410 response. This can cause search engines to interpret the URL differently from how it appears to users.
For example, a URL might display:
“Sorry, we couldn’t find this page.“
But the server still returns an HTTP 200 response code instead of an appropriate error status.
Check your soft 404s and decide whether each should return a proper 404, return a 410, redirect to a relevant page, or serve the intended content.
404 vs 301 vs 410: What’s the Difference?
Understanding these responses makes it easier to decide what to do with broken URLs.
- 404: The resource isn’t available, and there is no relevant replacement.
- 301: The page has permanently moved to another relevant URL.
- 410: The resource has been intentionally and permanently removed.
The important thing is to choose the response based on what happened to the original content, rather than using redirects simply to eliminate error reports.
How to Prevent 404 Errors
You can’t prevent every 404. Websites change, pages get removed, and users sometimes type incorrect URLs.
However, you can reduce unnecessary errors by:
- Auditing internal links regularly
- Crawling your website after major changes
- Testing redirects after website migrations
- Updating internal links when URLs change
- Monitoring important URLs in Search Console
- Reviewing backlinks before deleting valuable pages
- Maintaining a consistent URL structure
- Checking new pages and links before publishing
Regular technical SEO checks can help catch broken links before they become bigger problems.
Conclusion
404 errors are a normal part of managing a website. The mistake is treating every 404 as either an emergency or something that should automatically be redirected.
Instead, look at why the URL is returning a 404 and whether the page has value.
Restore important pages if they’re accidentally deleted. Redirect them if they’ve permanently moved. Update outdated links. And if a page was intentionally removed with no relevant replacement, a 404 may be exactly right.
This is also why regular technical SEO audits, including the kind of audits performed at Crawl Vision, focus on understanding the cause behind an error rather than simply counting how many errors exist.
The simplest approach is: Find → Evaluate → Fix → Monitor.
That way, you’re not just reducing the number of 404 errors on your website. You’re making sure the errors that actually affect users, search visibility, and website performance are handled properly.
