A 404 error means a visitor — or Google — tried to reach a page on your website that no longer exists. Left unfixed, they quietly drain your SEO and drive visitors away.
What Exactly is a 404 Error?
A 404 error — officially called “404 Not Found” — is an HTTP status code. It means the server received the request just fine, but it can’t find the page that was asked for. The page either never existed, was deleted, or its URL was changed without a proper redirect being set up.
When a visitor hits a 404, they see an error page instead of content. When Google’s crawler hits a 404, it stops indexing that page and any links pointing to it lose their value.
Not All 404 Errors Are Equal
There are different types of 404 errors and they each carry a different level of SEO impact. Understanding which type you have helps you prioritize what to fix first.
| Type | What It Means | SEO Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Broken Internal Links | A link on your own site points to a page that no longer exists | High |
| Deleted Pages With Backlinks | A page you deleted still has other websites linking to it | High |
| Mistyped URLs | Someone typed a wrong URL — no page ever existed at that address | Low |
| Changed URL Structure | You redesigned your site and URLs changed without redirects | High |
| Moved Product / Category Pages | E-commerce pages renamed or reorganized without redirects | Medium |
| Soft 404s | Page loads but returns no real content — Google treats it like a 404 | Medium |
How 404 Errors Hurt Your Website
404 errors cause three separate problems that compound over time if ignored:
Wasted Crawl Budget
Google allocates a fixed number of pages to crawl on your site per day. Every 404 it hits wastes one of those crawls — meaning important pages get crawled less often.
Lost Link Authority
If other websites link to a page that returns a 404, all that link authority (PageRank) disappears into a dead end instead of helping your site rank.
Frustrated Visitors
Visitors who land on a 404 page almost always leave immediately. This behavior increases your bounce rate and signals to Google that your site delivers a poor user experience.
Lost Rankings
Deleting pages that previously ranked well results in a complete loss of their ranking power. Without a redirect, that SEO equity is gone — sometimes representing months of work.
How to Find All 404 Errors on Your Website
Before you fix 404 errors, you need to find them. Here are the best free ways to discover every broken page on your site.
Google Search Console — Pages Report
Log into Google Search Console → go to Indexing → Pages. Filter by “Not found (404)”. This shows every URL Google has tried to crawl that returned a 404 — including pages Google discovered from external links. This is the most important list to fix first because these are real crawl issues Google has already flagged.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free for up to 500 pages)
Download Screaming Frog (free version crawls up to 500 URLs). Enter your domain and let it crawl. Filter results by “Response Codes → Client Error (4xx)” to see every 404 across your site. This finds internal broken links that Search Console might not have caught yet.
Broken Link Checker Plugin (WordPress)
Install the Broken Link Checker plugin on WordPress. It continuously scans your site and emails you when a broken link is found. Good for ongoing monitoring once you’ve fixed the initial batch of errors.
How to Fix 404 Errors (Step by Step)
Once you have your list, here’s how to fix each type properly. The right fix depends on whether the page is gone permanently, moved, or needs to be recreated.
Set up a 301 Redirect (Most Common Fix)
If the page moved to a new URL, or you have a similar page that covers the same topic, set up a 301 permanent redirect from the old broken URL to the new one. This tells Google “this content has moved here” and passes all the link authority to the new page. On WordPress, use the Redirection plugin (free). On other platforms, add redirect rules in your .htaccess file or hosting control panel.
Recreate the Page (If It Had Value)
If the 404 page had backlinks from other websites or ranked well previously, the best fix is to rebuild the page at the exact same URL. Even a basic version of the content restores the ranking potential and stops the link authority from being wasted.
Set a 410 Gone Status (For Truly Deleted Pages)
If a page is permanently gone with no replacement and no external links, set it to return a 410 Gone status code. This tells Google to remove it from the index immediately rather than continuing to check back. It cleans up your crawl budget faster than a plain 404.
Fix Internal Links Pointing to 404 Pages
Even after setting up redirects, update any links on your own site that point to the old broken URL. Linking directly to the final destination is cleaner than relying on a redirect chain. Search your site’s content and navigation for the old URL and update each one manually.
Validate in Google Search Console
After fixing your 404 errors, go back to Search Console → Pages → Not Found and click “Validate Fix” on the URLs you’ve corrected. This tells Google to re-crawl those URLs sooner rather than waiting for its regular schedule.
Pro Tip: Always redirect 404 pages to the most relevant page — not just your homepage. A 301 redirect to the homepage is better than nothing, but Google gives more weight to redirects that send visitors to genuinely related content.