404 errors are a common issue that can negatively impact your site’s SEO and user experience. When a page returns a 404 error, it means the server could not find the requested page, frustrating visitors and signaling to search engines that your site has broken links or missing content. Fixing these errors promptly is essential for maintaining a healthy website and improving search engine rankings.
What Are 404 Errors and Why They Hurt SEO?
A 404 error occurs when a user tries to access a page on your website that no longer exists or has been moved without a proper redirect in place. These errors are problematic for SEO because they create a poor user experience, increase bounce rates, and cause search engines to view your site as less trustworthy. Broken pages lead to lost traffic and can prevent search engines from properly crawling your site, which ultimately affects your rankings. Ensuring all pages are reachable and redirecting outdated URLs to relevant content is key to maintaining a good SEO foundation.
How to Identify 404 Errors in GSC
Google Search Console (GSC) makes it easy to identify 404 errors through the Coverage Report. This report highlights pages that Google has tried to crawl but encountered errors, including 404s. Simply log in to your GSC dashboard and navigate to the „Coverage” section under „Index”. Here, you’ll find a list of errors, including URLs that have returned 404 errors. GSC also shows details about when Google last attempted to crawl the page, helping you prioritize which issues to fix first. Additionally, the URL Inspection Tool allows you to check individual URLs for errors, providing real-time feedback on whether a page is accessible to Google’s crawlers.
Steps to Fix 404 Errors for Better SEO
To fix 404 errors, start by identifying the root cause of the broken links. Often, they are the result of incorrect URL changes, deleted pages, or users manually typing in an incorrect URL. The best approach is to set up 301 redirects, which automatically send users from the outdated URL to a relevant page on your site. This ensures that both users and search engines are directed to the correct content, preserving your link equity and preventing a loss in traffic. You can use a plugin like Redirection for WordPress, or set up redirects directly in your site’s .htaccess file if you’re using Apache. For cases where you have no equivalent content to redirect users to, it’s a good practice to customize your 404 error page, offering helpful links or a search bar to guide users back to relevant areas of your site.
Preventing Future 404 Errors
To prevent 404 errors in the future, it’s important to implement a few best practices. First, ensure that any time you remove or move a page, you set up a proper 301 redirect. Additionally, regularly monitor your site’s internal and external links to ensure they all lead to active pages. A broken internal link structure can not only frustrate users but also limit how Google crawls your site. You can use tools like Screaming Frog to regularly scan your site for broken links and correct them before they lead to 404 errors. Lastly, ensure your content management processes are clear: always check for broken links before publishing new pages or making major changes to the site architecture.
Monitoring Fixes and Recovering Lost Traffic
After fixing 404 errors, it’s crucial to monitor the improvements. Google Search Console allows you to track whether your corrections have been successful. After implementing fixes, use the Validate Fix feature in the Coverage Report to notify Google that the issues have been resolved. This prompts Google to re-crawl the pages and update the status. Additionally, keep an eye on your Performance Report in GSC to monitor any traffic recoveries after fixing 404 errors. If you’ve correctly set up 301 redirects, you should see improvements in rankings and a decrease in bounce rates, ultimately leading to the recovery of lost traffic.
To learn more about mastering Google Search Console and solving technical SEO issues like 404 errors, consider taking our Google search console course. This comprehensive course covers advanced GSC features, helping you fix common errors and improve your site’s performance.
By using Google Search Console to identify and fix 404 errors, you can ensure your site remains user-friendly, properly crawled by search engines, and optimized for SEO success. Regularly checking for broken links, setting up redirects, and validating fixes will help you maintain a healthy website that delivers consistent traffic and high search engine rankings.