404 Error – What it is and How to Fix it?

A 404 error (also called broken links) is an HTTP status code that says the server couldn’t find the requested URL.

It typically means the page is either moved or deleted or the user might enter a wrong URL.

Now, while from a user standpoint it is a dead end, from an SEO standpoint, it is a red flag.

What are 404 errors bad for SEO?

While a few 404 errors is not an issue, excessive of them hurts the search ranking.

Google sees them as a sign of poor maintenance of the website.

Also, when users hit these pages, they don’t get any content and bounce back, which sends a negative engagement signal to the search engine.

What causes a 404 error?

Below are the reasons that contribute towards 404 errors:

1. Typos in URLs
2. Page deletion without proper redirection
3. Site Structure Change or Migrations
4. Outdated links in blogs, forums, or backlinks

How to Identify 404 error?

While there are different tools available out there through which you can identify the list of 404 pages present on your website.

I personally like the “Screaming Frog”.

How to Identify 404 Pages through Screaming Frog?

Open Screaming Frog and Enter your website URL.

Once the crawl completes, click on the “Responses Codes” tab

And then Click on the Filter tab by “Client Error (4xx)”.

Now, Click on the Inlinks Tab at the bottom to find out all the pages that are linking to these 404 pages.

Please refer to the screenshot below.

How to Fix 404 Error ?

Below are the steps you can follow to fix 404 errors present on the website.

1. First, if possible restore the deleted 404 pages to again regain the traffic or backlinks profit pointing to it.
2. If it is not possible to restore the 404 page, then replace them with the relevant existing page present on the website.
3. And, finally if none of these two are possible then remove the 404 internal links.

Creating a Custom 404 Page

While you can follow the above practice to fix the 404 errors, it is not always possible to resolve all the 404 errors in real time.

So, to keep this intact, it is good to have a custom 404 page on the website.

You can think of it as a backup plan for your 404 pages.

So, the basic idea is to give a 404 page a healthy user experience.

Instead of not giving anything to the user on the 404 page, you can provide them with helpful navigation, search bar, some general content they can select, or some humor.

Tips for creating custom 404 page

1. Use a friendly tone
2. Provide links to key pages of your website. For example, homepage, blog, contact page etc. Depends on what your website’s audience is looking for.
3. A search bar to help users find an alternative content they are looking for.

How to make your website in optimal condition for 404 pages?

1. Make sure to regularly crawl your website through screaming frog or you can monitor 4xx errors in Google Search Console.
2. Make sure to update the internal links as soon as you delete the associated URL.
3. You can use a redirection plugin or software to do the redirection spontaneously.

Final Thoughts

404 errors are inevitable but manageable.

With the right monitoring tool (i.e. Screaming Frog) and smart redirects, you can turn these broken links into opportunities.

Don’t let these dead pages break your SEO momentum. Fix them, learn from them and then give users a better way forward.

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