P0Issue #9
Soft 404 Pages
❓ What does it mean?
What does it mean?
A Soft 404 occurs when a page looks like a 404 (not found) error to users or Google but still returns a 200 OK status code instead of the correct 404 or 410.
In other words:
The page says “Not Found” or shows thin/empty content
But technically, the server reports “This page is valid” (200 OK).
This confuses search engines because they can’t tell whether the page is real content or an error.
🚨 Why is it important for SEO?
Why is it important for SEO?
Index Bloat → Google may index useless pages (like empty search results, product not found pages).
Wasted Crawl Budget → Bots waste resources crawling non-valuable URLs.
Lower Rankings → Too many soft 404s reduce overall site quality signals.
User Experience → Visitors see error-like content instead of meaningful pages.
✅ How to Fix It
✅ How to Fix It
Return proper status codes:
Use 404/410 for missing pages.
Use 301 redirects if the page has a relevant alternative.
Improve thin pages: Add meaningful content instead of serving empty results.
Handle expired products: Redirect to category page or suggest alternatives.
Fix internal links: Don’t link to pages that return soft 404s.
Monitor regularly in Google Search Console → Coverage report.
❌ Bad Example
📌 Example
❌ Bad (Soft 404):
URL: https://example.com/product/12345
Status: 200 OK
Content: "Sorry, this product does not exist."
Google thinks it’s a valid page (200 OK) but it has no value → flagged as a soft 404.
✅ Good Example
✅ Good (Fixed):
Option 1 – If page is permanently gone:
Status: 404 Not Found
Content: "Sorry, this product is no longer available."
Option 2 – If an alternative exists:
https://example.com/product/12345 → 301 → https://example.com/category/shoes
⚡ Result
⚡ Result
Cleaner index (only valuable pages).
Better crawl efficiency (bots focus on useful content).
Improved SEO signals & user satisfaction.