404 Error

In short

A 404 error is the HTTP status a server returns when a requested page doesn't exist. Some 404s are normal; 404s on pages with traffic or backlinks should be fixed with redirects.

Last reviewed October 18, 2026 · Iftikhar Qureshi

On this page

What is a 404 error?#

“404 Not Found” means the server is reachable but has no page at that URL — usually because it was deleted, moved without a redirect, or the link was mistyped.

Do 404s hurt SEO?#

A normal number of 404s doesn’t harm a site; Google expects them. Problems arise when important pages return 404, when pages with backlinks disappear (their link value is lost), or when internal links point to dead pages.

How to handle 404s#

Find them in Search Console (Pages report) and with a site crawler.
Redirect URLs with traffic or backlinks to the most relevant live page using a 301 redirect.
Fix internal links pointing to 404 pages.
Let genuinely obsolete URLs return 404 or 410.
Create a helpful 404 page with search and popular links.

Soft 404s#

A page that shows “not found” or almost no content while returning status 200 is a soft 404. Return a real 404 status instead.

SEO Library Technical SEO 1 min read