You’ve likely encountered the classic 404 error page. You click a link, and a page pops up saying “Page Not Found.” It’s annoying, but at least it’s honest. The server is telling you clearly that the content you’re looking for doesn’t exist. But there is a sneakier, more confusing cousin to this error: the Soft 404.
A Soft 404 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It looks like a real page to search engines, but it offers no value to users. It tells Google “I’m here!” while simultaneously telling the user “I’m empty.” This disconnect can quietly undermine your site’s SEO performance.
Understanding this technical issue is critical for maintaining a healthy website. If left unresolved, Soft 404 errors can drain crawl budget, weaken site quality signals, and suppress rankings. Let’s break down what they are, why they happen, and exactly how to fix them.
Key Takeaways
- Pages that return a 200 status code without meaningful content confuse search engines, leading to wasted crawl resources, diluted site authority, and missed ranking opportunities.
- Empty category pages, improper redirects, internal search results, and partial page loads are common causes, and each requires a specific fix rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.
- Ongoing monitoring through Google Search Console, site crawlers, and structured SEO audits helps catch Soft 404s early, keeping your index clean and ensuring search engines focus on your highest-value pages.
What Exactly Is a Soft 404 Error?
To understand a Soft 404, it helps to know how servers communicate with browsers and search engines through HTTP status codes:
- 200 OK – The page exists and loads successfully
- 404 Not Found – The page does not exist
- 301 Redirect – The page has permanently moved
A Soft 404 occurs when a page displays a message indicating the content doesn’t exist, such as “Product Not Found” or an empty listing, but still returns a 200 OK status code.
To search engines, this sends mixed signals. Googlebot sees a valid response code and attempts to index the page, even though the content itself provides little or no value. Over time, this leads to wasted crawl activity and low-quality URLs entering the index.
While Google can sometimes identify these pages and flag them in Search Console, relying on detection alone is risky. Proactive fixes are always the better approach.
The Impact of Soft 404 Errors on SEO Performance
Soft 404s don’t just clutter your site; they actively interfere with how search engines evaluate and prioritize your content.
A strong internal structure plays an important role here. Effective internal linking helps boost SEO & authority, and helps understand which pages matter most while reinforcing authority across your site. When high-quality pages are well connected, it becomes easier for crawlers to bypass low-value URLs that might otherwise resemble Soft 404s. A thoughtful internal linking strategy strengthens page relevance and keeps crawl resources focused on meaningful content rather than empty or thin pages.
1. Wasted Crawl Budget
Search engines allocate a limited amount of crawl resources to each website. When bots repeatedly encounter Soft 404 pages, they spend time crawling URLs that offer no SEO value. This slows down the discovery and indexing of important pages, especially on large or frequently updated sites.
2. Poor User Experience
Landing on an empty page or a vague error message creates frustration. Users often leave immediately, leading to higher bounce rates and pogo-sticking behavior. These engagement signals suggest that the page failed to satisfy search intent, which can negatively affect rankings over time.
3. Diluted Site Authority
When a large number of low-value or empty pages are indexed, overall site quality signals suffer. Search engines favor websites with concentrated value. A pattern of Soft 404s increases the ratio of thin pages, weakening domain authority and trust.
Common Causes of Soft 404 Errors
Soft 404s typically result from CMS behavior, automation, or misconfigured responses rather than intentional actions.
Empty Category or Tag Pages
Common on blogs and e-commerce sites, category or tag pages may remain live even after all associated content is removed. These pages often display “No products found” messages while returning a 200 status code, making them appear valid despite having no substance.
Missing Content Due to Server Errors
Database failures or broken scripts can prevent the main content from loading while headers and footers still appear. Since the server technically delivers a page, it returns a 200 OK status even though the page is incomplete.
Redirecting to the Homepage
Redirecting deleted URLs to the homepage is a frequent mistake. While it may seem user-friendly, it creates a relevance mismatch. When a specific page request leads to a generic destination, search engines often interpret this behavior as a Soft 404.
Internal Search Results
Internal search pages that return zero results frequently generate Soft 404s. These pages usually return 200 OK status codes despite offering no content value and should not be indexed.
How to Detect Soft 404 Errors
Soft 404s can be harder to identify than standard 404s because they technically load successfully.
It’s also worth noting that unchecked Soft 404s often contribute to index bloat, a condition where unnecessary or low-value URLs accumulate in search engine indexes. Index bloat dilutes a site’s SEO strength by spreading crawl attention across pages that don’t deserve visibility. Addressing index bloat ensures that search engines focus on your most valuable content, improving crawl efficiency and ranking potential.
Google Search Console (GSC)
- Navigate to the Pages (or Coverage) report
- Review the Excluded section
- Look for URLs labeled Soft 404
Google lists pages it believes behave like errors despite returning success codes.
Site Crawling Tools
Tools like Screaming Frog can help identify Soft 404 patterns by highlighting:
- Pages with 200 status codes
- Extremely low word counts
- Page titles containing terms like “Not Found” or “Error.”
Actionable Steps to Fix Soft 404 Errors
Each Soft 404 requires a solution tailored to its cause. Applying the wrong fix can create additional problems, especially with redirects.
Proper redirect management is essential. Poorly implemented redirects and long redirect chains can confuse users and search engines alike, reducing crawl efficiency and contributing to Soft 404 behavior. Clean, direct redirect paths help preserve link equity and maintain a clear site structure.
Scenario 1: The Page Is Permanently Removed
The Fix:
Return a proper 404 (Not Found) or 410 (Gone) status code. Use a helpful custom 404 page that offers navigation options so users don’t hit a dead end.
Scenario 2: The Content Has Moved
The Fix:
Implement a 301 redirect to the most relevant replacement page. Redirects should always point to content that closely matches the original intent, never default to the homepage unless it genuinely serves as an equivalent.
Scenario 3: Empty Categories or Tags
The Fix:
Apply a no-index meta tag to temporarily empty pages. This keeps them accessible without allowing them into search results. If the category will never be reused, returning a 404 is the cleaner solution.
Scenario 4: “Product Not Available” Pages
The Fix:
If the product is temporarily unavailable, keep the page live and enhance it with alternatives, related products, or notifications. This added value prevents the page from being interpreted as thin content. If the product is discontinued permanently, redirect it to the most relevant category or alternative.
Scenario 5: Technical Errors
The Fix:
Server-side issues should return appropriate 500 or 503 status codes when content fails to load. Developers should address underlying errors to prevent partial pages from returning misleading 200 responses.
Final Thoughts
Soft 404 errors may seem minor, but they can quietly undermine your website’s performance if left unchecked. As content evolves, pages are added, removed, or modified, and without proper technical oversight, low-value or empty URLs can slip into the index. Preventing Soft 404s comes down to maintaining clarity for both users and search engines, ensuring every indexed page serves a real purpose.
At The Ocean Marketing, our SEO services are approached as a balance between strong content and a solid technical foundation. Regular checks using tools like Google Search Console and site crawlers help identify issues early, allowing search engines to focus their crawl budget on your most valuable pages. This proactive approach ensures that keywords, content, and backlinks can perform at their full potential instead of being weighed down by hidden technical errors. If you want to uncover Soft 404s and other issues affecting crawl efficiency and rankings, a comprehensive SEO audit can reveal what’s happening beneath the surface. If technical SEO issues are holding your site back, contact us to discuss how we can help strengthen your site’s foundation and improve long-term search visibility.
Marcus D began his digital marketing career in 2009, specializing in SEO and online visibility. He has helped over 3,000 websites boost traffic and rankings through SEO, web design, content, and PPC strategies. At The Ocean Marketing, he continues to use his expertise to drive measurable growth for businesses.
