Common causes#
- A custom “not found” page that returns 200.
- Empty category, tag or search pages (“No products found”).
- Out-of-stock product pages stripped of all content.
- Many deleted pages redirected to the homepage — Google often treats these as soft 404s.
- JavaScript apps that show an error view but the server returned 200.
- Pages that fail to load content because an API call failed.
How to find them#
Search Console → Indexing → Pages → Soft 404. Inspect a few examples to see what Google saw.
How to fix them#
| If the page… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Really doesn’t exist | Return a real 404 or 410 |
| Has a close replacement | 301 redirect to the relevant page (not the homepage) |
| Should exist but looks empty | Add meaningful content, or noindex until it has some |
| Is an out-of-stock product | Keep the page with details, “notify me” and alternatives |
Related: 404 error, HTTP status codes, thin content.