Everything You Need To Know About 404 vs Soft 404 Errors & How To Fix Them

In our daily lives, we all have encountered the infamous "404 error" while surfing across the web. It appears when you click on a link or type in a URL only to find that the webpage you're looking for is nowhere to be found. But have you ever heard of a "soft 404 error"? 

Web page errors, like 404 and soft 404 errors, are significant as they directly impact the user experience by guiding visitors to relevant content or frustrating them with dead ends. These errors influence search engine optimization (SEO) as search engines rely on error codes to determine a website's quality and relevance. In this blog, we will explore 404 and soft 404 errors, what they mean, how they differ, why they matter, and how to handle them effectively.

Understanding of 404 Errors

A 404 web error is an HTTP status code that indicates a server or web browser cannot locate or find the requested web page. When a user requests a page that doesn't exist on a website, the server responds with a 404 error. Custom 404 pages can be designed to provide a user-friendly experience, offering suggestions, search options, or navigation links to help visitors find the information they seek, enhancing the overall user experience on the website. 

404 errors negatively impact user experience by irritating visitors who cannot find the desired content, potentially leading to site abandonment. In terms of SEO, they harm rankings as search engines devalue pages with frequent 404 errors, affecting a website's overall visibility in search results.

Exploring Soft 404 Errors

Soft 404 errors are web page responses that appear as valid pages to users but are empty or irrelevant, often lacking the standard "404 Not Found" status code. Search engines may misinterpret them as valid content, potentially causing SEO issues, as they don't accurately reflect the absence of the requested page.

It occurs when a web server returns a "Page Not Found" status code (404) for a page that exists but does not contain meaningful content, often due to thin or irrelevant content. Search engines may treat these pages as errors, impacting SEO, as they lack substantial user value.

SEO Implications of 404 Errors and Soft 404 Errors

404 and soft 404 errors can have significant SEO implications for a website. SEO implications for 404 Errors are :

User Experience

404 errors can frustrate the users who land on a non-existent page. Poor user experience can cause high bounce rates, affecting your search engine rankings.

Ranking Effect

404 errors negatively impact your website's search engine rankings because they indicate that the page is not found, and search engines may devalue or remove it from their index.

Indexing Effect

When a page returns a 404 error, search engines eventually remove it from their index, making it inaccessible to users through search results.

Broken Links

External websites may link to pages on your site that no longer exist, leading to broken links. It can affect your website's reputation, user experience, and SEO rankings.

SEO implications of Soft 404 Errors are :

Ranking Issues

Soft 404 errors can also harm your website's rankings as they mislead search engines into thinking that a page exists, potentially leading to indexation issues and reduced visibility.

Crawl Budget Waste

Identification of 404 and Soft 404 Errors

400 Errors is typically displayed to users as "404 Not Found" and is accompanied by a standard error page. It can be identified in web server logs or by using online tools to check the status of specific URLs. They often result from broken links, deleted pages, or mistyped URLs. Monitoring for 404 errors is essential for maintaining a user-friendly and functional website.

A Soft 404 error can mislead search engines and users into thinking the page is valid, potentially harming SEO and user experience. Detecting Soft 404 errors involves reviewing server responses, and content and ensuring that appropriate status codes are returned for non-existent or irrelevant pages. Webmasters often use tools like Google Search Console to identify and address Soft 404 issues.

Common Causes of 404 Errors

Some of the major factors that cause 404 Errors are the following :

Broken Links

404 errors occur when links on a website lead to non-existent pages or resources.

Outdated URLs

When URLs are no longer valid due to changes in a website's structure or content, 404 errors are triggered.

Custom Error Pages That Mimic Success

Some error pages are designed to look like successful pages, potentially confusing users when a 404 error occurs.

Misconfigured Server Responses

Incorrect server configurations can result in 404 errors instead of delivering the expected content.

The User Experience Aspect of 400 and Soft 404 Errors

The user experience aspect of these errors denotes how visitors interact and look at the website. Both 400 Error and Soft 404 Errors hurt users. 

• Frustration: Visitors encounter a dead-end, causing frustration and a negative impression of the website.

• Confusion: Users may wonder if they made a mistake or if the website is at fault, leading to confusion.

• Lost Trust: Frequent 404 errors can erode trust in the website's reliability and credibility.

• Abandonment: Some visitors may abandon the site, seeking information or products elsewhere.

• Search Engine Impact: 404 errors can harm SEO rankings if incorrectly handled.

• Lost Opportunities: Potential conversions, such as sales or subscriptions, may be lost due to inaccessible content.

Soft 404 Errors:

• Misleading Content: Soft 404s may display a custom error page resembling a regular page, confusing visitors.

• False Hope: Users might think the content is still available, only to find out it's not, leading to disappointment.

• SEO Impact: Soft 404s can also harm SEO efforts, as search engines may not recognize them as true errors.

• Perceived Poor Quality: Soft 404s can give the impression of a poorly maintained or outdated website.

• User Engagement: Users may interact less with a site frequently presenting soft 404 errors.

Strategies to Improve User Experience

• Custom 404 Pages: Create 404 error pages that maintain the website's branding, offer clear navigation options, and provide helpful information or suggestions for finding relevant content.

• Clear Messaging: Ensure that 404 and soft 404 error pages communicate the issue. Use user-friendly language and guide on how to get back on track or find the desired content.

• Redirects: Implement proper redirects (e.g., 301 redirects) for permanently moved or renamed content. It ensures that users are seamlessly redirected to the correct page instead of encountering an error.

• Regular Checks: Regularly monitor your website for broken links and employ tools or plugins that automatically detect and report 404 errors. Fix broken links promptly.

• Custom Soft 404 Pages: Create custom soft 404 error pages that are more informative than the default server-generated pages. Clearly state that the content is unavailable and provide relevant links or search options.

• User-Friendly Design: Design your website with user experience in mind. Ensure intuitive navigation, organized content, and a responsive layout to minimize the chances of users encountering errors.

• Educational Content: Consider including educational content, such as FAQs or guides, to help users understand and troubleshoot common issues they might encounter on your website.

Addressing 404 Errors

To fix 404 errors, you must identify the root cause and take appropriate actions to resolve them. You can fix the error in the following ways :

Set up a Custom Page

Develop a custom 404 error page with a unique design and content that aligns with your website's branding and style to help improve user experience. 

Use Correct HTTP Status Code 

Ensure your server returns an accurate HTTP 404 status code to indicate the page is not found.

Helpful Navigation

Insert links to important sections of your website on the 404 page to guide users back to relevant content.

Regular Monitoring

Check for 404 errors frequently using tools like Google Search Console to identify broken links.

Implement Redirects

Use 301 redirects to guide search engines and users to the new location for permanently moved or renamed pages.

User Input Validation

Check for common URL typos in user-generated content or search queries and provide suggestions or autocorrections.

XML Sitemap

Maintain an up-to-date XML sitemap to aid search engines in indexing your site and reduce 404 errors for critical pages.

Using Redirect to Handle Errors

To manage and fix errors, you must determine the appropriate type of redirect based on the error and your website's needs:

301 Redirect (Permanent)

Use a 301 redirect when a page has permanently moved to a new location. It informs search engines about the old URL that should be replaced with the new one in their indexes. Read more...

302 Redirect (Temporary)

Use a 302 redirect for temporary situations. It informs both browsers and search engines that the redirection is temporary and the original URL should still be indexed.

Other redirect codes like 303, 307, 308, 410, and many more are used to manage errors like redirecting users to another URL or permanently redirecting to preserve the original HTTP method.

Handling Soft 404s with Content Improvements

Handling soft 404s with content audit and enhancement strategies involves identifying pages incorrectly categorised as soft 404 errors and improving their content to provide a better user experience. For pages that are incorrectly categorized as soft 404s, improve their content to make them more informative and valuable to users. Add relevant text, images, and multimedia content to ensure the page provides useful information.

You must identify and remove low-quality content from the website. Here are the tips you can follow to remove such content -

• Schedule regular content audits to review and assess the quality of all pages on your website.
• Define specific criteria for what constitutes high-quality content on your website. It may include factors like accuracy, relevance, uniqueness, and readability.
• Use plagiarism detection tools to identify duplicate or copied content, which can harm your site's SEO and user experience.
• Pay attention to user comments, feedback forms, and reviews to understand if visitors are dissatisfied with certain content.
• Examine the search engine ranking and organic traffic of your pages. Pages with consistently poor performance may need content improvements or removal.
• Ensure that content remains relevant to your target audience and industry trends. Outdated information can lead to low-quality
• Assess the length and depth of your content. Thin, shallow, or overly brief content may not provide enough value to readers.
• Evaluate the quality of images and multimedia elements on your pages. Low-resolution or irrelevant visuals can diminish content quality.
• Make sure your content is mobile-friendly and displays correctly on different devices. Poor mobile optimization can lead to a low-quality user experience.

Tools and Plugins for Error Handling

Various tools and plugins are available in different programming languages and frameworks to handle errors.

WordPress plugins for error handling can help website owners detect and manage issues like broken links, 404 errors, and database problems, enhancing the overall site performance.

Server-side tools designed for large websites offer load balancing, content delivery networks (CDNs), and database optimization to ensure smooth operation and efficient handling of high-traffic volumes.

Measuring the Success of Error Fixes

You can measure the success of error fixes by monitoring crawl behavior after fixes and tracking improvements in rankings and user engagement.

Monitor Crawl Behaviour after Fixes

Crawl Frequency

Monitor how often search engine crawlers revisit and index the fixed web pages.

Crawl Depth

Analyze the depth to which crawlers access your website post-fixes.

Crawl Errors

Keep an eye on the reduction in crawl errors reported in Google Search Console or similar tools.

Indexing Rate

Track the rate at which fixed pages are added to the search engine index.

Sitemap Updates

Ensure that sitemaps are regularly updated to reflect the changes made after error fixes.

Track Improvements in Rankings and User Engagement

Keyword Ranking Improvement

Observe if fixed pages move up in search engine results for target keywords.

Increased Organic Traffic

Measure if there's a noticeable uptick in the number of visitors arriving from search engines.

Higher Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Check if more users are clicking on your improved search listings.

Lower Bounce Rates

Look for a decrease in the percentage of users leaving your site immediately.

Extended Dwell Time

See if users spend more time on your pages after clicking through.

Improved Conversion Rates

Track whether error fixes lead to more user actions like purchases or sign-ups.

Enhanced Engagement Metrics

Monitor metrics like pages per session and return visitor rates.

Positive User Feedback

Gather and analyse user feedback to ensure fixes align with user expectations.

How to Prevent Future Errors?

You can prevent future errors by -

Establishing Ongoing Error Monitoring

Regularly implement systems and processes to monitor your software, infrastructure, and operations for errors, anomalies, and issues to ensure timely detection and response.

Educating Team Members on Error Prevention

Provide training and resources to educate your team members about best practices and techniques for proactively preventing errors and improving system reliability.

Advanced Techniques for Error Handling

• Design systems to continue functioning with reduced features or performance in the presence of errors.
• Implement backup systems that automatically take over in case of primary system failures.
• Distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers to prevent overload and reduce the risk of errors.
• Use scripts or tools to detect and recover from common errors automatically.
• Employ data analytics to anticipate and prevent errors before they occur.
• Set up robust systems to log errors and monitor system health in real-time.
• Customise error pages for better user engagement
• Use canonical tags to prevent duplicate content.

Understanding the distinction between 404 and soft 404 errors is vital for maintaining a user-friendly and SEO-optimised website. By learning how to identify, address, and prevent these errors, you can ensure a smoother online experience for your visitors while boosting your site's search engine rankings.

Discover the key differences between 404 and Soft 404 errors and how to fix them for a seamless website experience. Contact Webzyro to dominate search engine rankings and outrank your competitors.