Soft 404 Errors: What They Are, How to Find & Fix Them

In the world of SEO and website optimization, maintaining a healthy and user-friendly website is critical. One issue that often confuses website owners and marketers is the Soft 404 error. While it sounds technical, it's important to understand and address these errors, as they can significantly affect your site's performance in search engines.

In this blog, we'll break down everything you need to know about soft 404 errors — what they are, why they matter, how to detect them, and most importantly, how to fix them.

What Is a Soft 404 Error?

A soft 404 error occurs when a webpage displays a "not found" message (or lacks meaningful content) but returns a 200 OK HTTP status code instead of the correct 404 or 410 code. In simple terms, your server tells browsers and search engines that the page is working fine (200 OK), even though the content says the page doesn’t exist or is empty.

Example:

Imagine visiting a broken link on a website, and instead of getting a proper "404 Not Found" error page, you're redirected to a generic page with a message like “Page Not Found” — but the server still returns a 200 status. That’s a soft 404.

Why Are Soft 404 Errors Bad?

Soft 404 errors can confuse search engines like Google. Since the page returns a 200 OK response, Google assumes the page is valid and tries to index it. However, because the content is missing or meaningless, this wastes your site's crawl budget and may result in low-quality pages being indexed. Here’s why this is problematic:

- Hurts SEO rankings by diluting your site’s quality score.

- Wastes crawl budget, which could be spent crawling and indexing more valuable content.

- Frustrates users, as they may land on pages that appear broken or unhelpful.

- Skews analytics, making it difficult to accurately measure engagement or identify real broken links.

Common Causes of Soft 404 Errors

Soft 404s can arise for several reasons. Here are some of the most common:

1. Empty pages with little or no content.

2. Deleted pages that redirect to the homepage or another irrelevant page.

3. Typo-filled URLs that lead to a generic "Page not found" message without a proper 404 code.

4. Product pages for out-of-stock or discontinued items that still return a 200 status.

5. Thin content pages that lack sufficient value or are flagged by Google as unhelpful.

How to Find Soft 404 Errors

There are a few reliable ways to detect soft 404 errors:

1. Google Search Console

The most effective tool is Google Search Console.

- Go to the Pages report under the Indexing section.

- Look for the “Soft 404” category.

- Google will list all the URLs it thinks should return a proper 404 error instead of a 200.

2. Crawling Tools (like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, etc.)

Use a website crawler to analyze your site's pages and HTTP response codes.

- Identify URLs that are returning a 200 status but have titles like “Page Not Found” or contain very little content.

- You can configure crawlers to flag low word count pages or duplicate pages, which often coincide with soft 404s.

3. Manual Checks

Try entering incorrect or outdated URLs on your own website and observe the server response (using browser developer tools or tools like https://httpstatus.io/

How to Fix Soft 404 Errors

Fixing soft 404 errors involves ensuring your website returns the correct HTTP status code and provides a helpful user experience. Here are the most common ways to fix them:

1. Return Proper 404 or 410 Status Codes

If a page no longer exists, configure your server to return:

- 404 Not Found: If the page was removed or the URL is incorrect.

- 410 Gone: If the page is permanently removed and will never return.

This tells search engines clearly that the page is gone, helping them de-index it appropriately.

2. Redirect to Relevant Pages (Using 301)

If the removed page has a relevant alternative, implement a 301 redirect to point users and search engines to the new page.

Do not redirect all broken pages to your homepage — that’s one of the most common causes of soft 404s. Redirect only to relevant content.

3. Improve Content on Thin Pages

If the soft 404 is triggered because a page has very little or no content (like an empty product page), consider:

- Adding relevant content, images, and meta data.

- Hiding or deindexing the page until it's ready.

- Marking it as “Out of Stock” with useful suggestions for alternatives, rather than leaving it empty.

4. Customize Your 404 Page

Ensure that your website displays a custom 404 page for truly broken links. This page should:

- Explain the error in plain language.

- Include navigation options back to the homepage or relevant categories.

- Use the correct 404 status code.

- Offer a search bar to help users find what they need.

 5. Fix Internal Linking Issues

If your internal links point to pages that no longer exist, fix or remove those links. This not only reduces soft 404s but also improves user experience.

Best Practices to Avoid Soft 404 Errors

- Regularly audit your website for broken or low-value pages.
- Avoid redirecting all deleted pages to your homepage.
- Always provide value on every page — even if a product is out of stock.
- Monitor Google Search Console frequently.
- Use server logs to identify common 404 or malformed URL requests.

Conclusion

Soft 404 errors might seem like a minor technical detail, but they can have a major impact on your site’s SEO and usability. Search engines depend on correct status codes and meaningful content to evaluate and rank your pages. If you’re unknowingly serving empty or broken pages with a "200 OK" response, it’s time to clean things up.

By regularly auditing your website and properly handling non-existent or low-quality pages, you’ll not only improve your SEO performance but also deliver a better experience to your users.