Soft 404 errors explained and how to fix them

The short answer

A soft 404 is a URL that shows a page saying the content does not exist, or shows almost no content, but returns a 200 success status code. Google reports these in Search Console and leaves them out of search. Fix one by returning a real 404 or 410, redirecting to a close replacement, or repairing the page if it was flagged wrongly.

What a soft 404 is

Every request to a web server gets a status code in reply. A 200 means the page was found and delivered. A 404 means it was not found. A soft 404 is a mismatch: the page looks like an error to a human, or is empty, but the server still says 200.

Google describes it as a URL that returns a page telling the user the content does not exist, or a page with no main content, while sending a success code. When Google's systems decide a page is really an error page, Search Console reports it as a soft 404 and the URL is not shown in search results.

Common causes are simple to list.

• A custom error page that was built to look friendly but was never set to return a 404 status.
• An internal search results page with no matches that still loads normally.
• A product or listing page for an item that is gone, left up with a message like unavailable and nothing else.
• A template that fails to load its content, for example because a database connection or a script broke.
• A rule that sends every unknown address to the home page.

If you need a refresher on what each code means, our guide to HTTP status codes covers the full set that matters for search.

How a soft 404 differs from a real 404

A real 404 is honest. The server says the page is not there, Google notes it, and over time the URL drops out of the index. A 404 is a normal part of a living site. Pages get removed, and removing them is not a penalty.

A soft 404 is the dishonest version, though usually by accident. The server says the page exists, so crawlers keep returning to it. Google then has to inspect the content, guess that it is an error and treat it that way.

A custom 404 design is fine. You can show visitors a helpful page with search and links, as long as the status code sent with it is 404.

How to find soft 404s

The first place to look is Search Console. The page indexing report lists URLs by reason, and soft 404 is one of those reasons. Open it and review the examples. The report is a sample, so fix the pattern behind the examples, not just the listed URLs.

Then check a few of them yourself.

1. Open the URL in a browser and read what it shows.
2. Use the URL Inspection tool to see what Googlebot received, including the rendered page and the HTTP response.
3. Look for what the listed URLs have in common: a folder, a template, a parameter or a type of product.

If you run an audit yourself, soft 404s belong on the checklist. Our walkthrough of a basic SEO audit shows where this check fits. For large sites, server log files show how often Googlebot keeps returning to these URLs.

How to fix each cause

The right fix depends on why the page is flagged. Work through the situations below.

The page is gone and has no replacement

Make the server return a 404, or a 410 if the removal is deliberate and permanent. Keep the friendly error page if you like. Only the status code changes.

The content moved

Use a permanent redirect from the old address to the new one. Redirect to the closest equivalent, not to the home page. Sending every missing page to the home page produces the same confusion a soft 404 does.

The page is thin but worth keeping

If the page has a genuine purpose but too little content, add the material it needs. Our guide to thin content pages explains how to decide, and search intent helps you judge what the page should contain.

A good page was flagged by mistake

Google's advice is that the page probably did not load properly for Googlebot. Use URL Inspection to check what was rendered and what status came back. Look for blocked scripts, failed data calls, slow responses or an error shown only to bots.

Internal search or filter pages with no results

Return a 404 when a search produces nothing, or add a noindex tag, and avoid linking to empty result pages from elsewhere on the site.

Out-of-stock products

If the product may return, keep the page with useful content: related items, an alert option and clear wording. If it is gone for good, redirect to the closest category or return a 410.

Why it matters on a small site

On a small site, a handful of soft 404s will not cause a crash in traffic. They do signal that something in the setup is returning the wrong code, and the same fault may also be affecting pages you do care about. They are also a tidy-up that costs little.

For larger sites, the effect is on crawling. Google's crawl budget guidance lists eliminating soft 404s among the steps for sites with many URLs, because those pages keep getting crawled. Site structure affects how many URLs a crawler meets, which is one reason to read subdomain versus subfolder before adding new sections.

Do not hunt for every last soft 404 as a ranking tactic. Fix the cause, then check the results over the following weeks. Search Console takes time to re-crawl and update its report. Our piece on measuring SEO results sets out sensible ways to confirm a fix worked without reading too much into daily changes.

A short checklist

1. Open the soft 404 list in Search Console and note the common pattern.
2. Inspect two or three URLs and confirm what Googlebot sees.
3. Decide for each pattern: 404 or 410, redirect, repair or noindex.
4. Test the change by loading a sample URL and checking its status code.
5. Ask Search Console to validate the fix, then check again after some weeks.
6. Build a habit of checking status codes whenever a template changes.

If your site has many templates and redirects, an SEO technical review can check status codes across every page type in one pass.

Related guides

• SEO services
• Search intent explained
• Broken links and 404 errors how to find and fix
• Custom 404 page how to design one

Questions and answers

What is a soft 404?

A soft 404 is a page that appears to be an error or has no real content but returns a 200 success status. Search Console reports it as a soft 404 and Google leaves the URL out of search. It is a status code mismatch, not a penalty.

How is a soft 404 different from a real 404?

A real 404 sends a not-found status code, so search engines know at once the page is gone. A soft 404 sends 200, so Google has to guess from the content. Real 404s are normal and harmless, while soft 404s waste crawling and cause confusion.

How do I fix a soft 404?

If the page is gone, return a 404 or 410. If the content moved, use a permanent redirect to the closest equivalent. If the page is useful but thin, improve it. If it was flagged wrongly, use URL Inspection to find out why Googlebot saw something different.

Do soft 404s hurt my SEO?

A few will not harm a small site, but they show that error handling is wrong. On large sites they waste crawling effort. The affected URLs are not shown in search, so the real loss is any page you wanted indexed that was flagged by mistake.

Should I redirect all deleted pages to the home page?

No. Redirecting unrelated pages to the home page can be treated as a soft 404 and does not help visitors. Redirect to the closest relevant page. If there is none, let the URL return a 404 or 410.

How long does Search Console take to clear a soft 404?

It depends on how often Google re-crawls the URL. You can ask for validation after fixing it, but the report may take weeks to update. Check the live status code yourself first so you know the fix is in place.