What is a 404 page and how do you optimise it?

A 404 page is what visitors see when they try to open a URL that does not exist on your site. The number is an HTTP status code meaning not found, and it tells both browsers and search engines that the page is genuinely missing. Handled well, a 404 page is a normal part of a healthy website; handled badly, it can lose you visitors and waste link value.

What a 404 page is

A 404 is the standard response a web server sends when it cannot find the requested page. The visitor lands on a page not found message instead of the content they expected. The status code matters because search engines use it to understand that the page is gone, rather than having to guess.

When a 404 is the right answer

Not every missing page deserves a redirect. If you removed a page on purpose and nothing useful replaced it, leaving a 404 tells Google to stop listing it. That keeps your site honest and stops search engines crawling a dead address. A 404 is the correct, clean response for a page that is gone for good.

When to use a 301 redirect instead

If a page has moved to a new address, or you have merged two pages into one, set up a 301 redirect rather than leaving a 404. A 301 tells Google the old URL has permanently moved, and it passes most of the link value to the new page. The mechanics are covered in our article on 301 redirects, which explains when and how to set them up. The rule of thumb is simple: if useful content still exists somewhere, redirect; if it does not, 404.

How to build a good 404 page

• State clearly that the page could not be found, in plain language.
• Add a link back to your homepage so visitors have an obvious next step.
• Link to your most popular pages, or add a search box if your site is large.
• Keep the design consistent with the rest of your site so it does not look broken.

A visitor who hits a 404 is often one step from leaving, so the goal is to get them back onto your site quickly. A friendly, useful 404 page does that far better than a bare not found line.

How 404s affect SEO

A 404 page does not damage your rankings by itself. Google expects to find some dead pages on any site, and returning the correct status code is the right behaviour. The damage comes when a page with real traffic or backlinks disappears without a redirect, because the link value stops flowing and visitors bounce. That is when a 404 becomes a ranking problem.

How to find and fix 404s

Google Search Console lists pages that return errors in its Pages report, and a site crawl will surface broken links across your content. The free SEOSEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation — the practice of improving a website's visibility in search engine results pages. report checks your site for these issues and shows you where they are. For each 404 you find, ask three questions: did the page move, was it removed for good, or does it still have traffic and links worth saving? If it moved, it deserves a 301. If it is gone for good, update any internal links pointing at it and let it 404. If it is worth saving, redirect to the closest live page.

Keeping on top of dead links is part of ongoing technical SEOSEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation — the practice of improving a website's visibility in search engine results pages., and it is exactly the kind of maintenance we do for clients. SEOSEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation — the practice of improving a website's visibility in search engine results pages. plans start at GBP 980 a month. Start with a free SEOSEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation — the practice of improving a website's visibility in search engine results pages. report at https://victory.digital/run-a-seo-report, or talk to us about technical SEOSEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation — the practice of improving a website's visibility in search engine results pages. at https://victory.digital/technical-seo.