A 404 error (404 Not Found) is the HTTP status code a server returns when it finds nothing at the requested URL. RFC 9110 notes that a 404 doesn’t say whether the resource is missing temporarily or for good. It belongs to the 4xx class of client errors.
At a glance
- Class
- 4xx (client error)
- Duration
- open, temporary or permanent
- In Google
- not indexed, indexed URLs are removed
- Caching
- heuristically cacheable
- Specification
- RFC 9110, section 15.5.5
Last checked:
What does a 404 mean for SEO?
Google doesn’t index URLs that return a 4xx code. Pages that were indexed before are removed, and Googlebot requests those URLs less often over time. Google’s Search Console help states that 404s don’t harm a site’s indexing or ranking.
A 404 is the correct response when a page is deleted and has no replacement. It becomes a problem when important pages are affected, when internal links or the XML sitemap still point to missing URLs, or when old URLs lead nowhere after a relaunch. Visitors and links pointing to those pages are lost. Google recommends fixing 404s for URLs submitted in a sitemap and redirecting common misspellings of URLs.
For content removed on purpose with no plans to bring it back, 410 Gone is the more precise code. Google handles 404 and 410 the same way in Search.
| Response | Status code | Meaning per RFC 9110 | What Google does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Found (this term) | 404 | no current representation found; doesn't say whether this is temporary or permanent | doesn't use the content, removes a previously indexed URL and gradually crawls it less often; newly found 404 URLs aren't processed | Page removed with no replacement |
| Gone | 410 | no longer available, likely permanently | same as 404 | same as 404; per the RFC preferred when the removal is known to be permanent |
| Soft 404 (error message or empty page) | 200 | request succeeded | detects an error page from its content, excludes it from Search and reports a soft 404 in the Page indexing report | avoid; depending on the case, return 404/410, redirect to the replacement or fix the loading problems |
| Redirect to replacement | 301 | moved permanently | follows the redirect; a strong signal that the target should be processed | Content has moved or has a clear replacement |
| Page with content | 200 | request succeeded | passes the content on to indexing; inclusion isn't guaranteed | Page exists and shows real content |
A designed error page with search and links is useful according to Google, as long as the server still returns 404 or 410. 4xx codes other than 429 don't change the site's crawl rate. Google can also flag good pages as soft 404 if they render empty or broken for Googlebot, for example because resources are blocked by robots.txt. Sources: Google Crawling Infrastructure: How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers (last updated 2026-02-04); Google Search Central: Troubleshoot Google Search crawling errors, soft 404 errors (last updated 2025-12-18); RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics, 15.3.1 200 OK, 15.4.2 301, 15.5.5 404, 15.5.11 410. Last checked: .
Example
Server response for a deleted product page:
HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
The error page itself can be designed freely, with a search box and links to main categories, as long as the status code stays 404.
Common mistakes
- Soft 404: The page says “not found” but the server returns 200 OK. Search Console reports these URLs as soft 404s.
- Redirecting all 404s to the home page: Visitors don’t find what they were looking for, and Google says mass redirects to an irrelevant page may be treated as soft 404s.
- Blocking 404 URLs in robots.txt: Google advises against it because it makes the site structure harder to read.
- Single-page apps: An app that renders the home page for unknown paths returns 200. Google suggests a JavaScript redirect to a URL that returns 404, or a
noindexrobots meta tag.
FAQ
How do I fix a 404 error? If the content moved or has a close equivalent, redirect the old URL there with a 301. If it was deleted without a replacement, keep the 404 or use 410 and remove internal links to the URL.
Is a 404 error my fault? As a visitor, usually not. The link may be outdated, or the page was moved or deleted. A typo in a manually entered address also causes a 404.
More on the searchVIU blog
Sources
- RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics, 15.5.5 404 Not Found – IETFrfc-editor.org
- 404 Not Found – MDN Web Docsdeveloper.mozilla.org
- How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers – Google crawling documentation (updated Feb 4, 2026)developers.google.com
- 404 errors – Search Console Helpsupport.google.com
- Site moves with URL changes – Google Search Central (redirects to irrelevant destinations as soft 404)developers.google.com
- Understand the JavaScript SEO basics – Google Search Central (soft 404s in client-side apps)developers.google.com
Last updated: