Googlers Gary Illyes and Cherry Sireetorn Prommawin recently explained that 404 errors aren’t an SEO problem to worry about. They recommended approaching 404s like a business problem instead, suggesting that a custom 404 error page is an ideal way to handle missing pages.
Four Key Takeaways About 404 Errors
The most interesting part of the podcast is how they contextualized 404 errors as a business and user experience issue rather than a strictly technical SEO problem that needs solving. They explained that a missing web page is not in itself a search problem. They also explained that whether a site owner needs to take action depends on the value that missing page does or does not provide to website visitors.
The podcast provided four takeaways about 404 errors:
- 404 errors are not an SEO problem
- Managing missing pages is a business and user experience decision.
- The appropriate response depends on whether a replacement exists.
- 404 errors do not consume crawl budget in the way server errors do.
Google Says 404 Errors Are Normal And Don’t Affect Rankings
Many people see 404 error reports in Google Search Console and the way it’s set up gives the impression that it’s an issue that needs taking care of. Naturally, if Google shows you something is in error the natural response is to fix it. But that’s actually not the right approach to this kind of error.
The first point they explained is that 404 errors are a natural part of the web. Pages disappear, events come and go, products are discontinued, topics become outdated and eventually URLs are deleted, usually for a good reason. Google’s Gary Illyes explained that 404 errors are generally not a problem.
Cherry Sireetorn Prommawin asked Ilyes:
“You open Search Console, see a list of 404 errors, and boom, instant panic. People think the domain will get a manual action or it will be cursed and never rank again.
Gary, a 404 is not that scary, is it?”
Illyes answered that Google does not care if a URL is gone and is now showing a 404 error response code.
He explained:
“No, we don’t care at all.
An HTTP 404 status code literally just means not found. It is a perfectly natural, healthy part of the web. Pages die, products sell out, old URLs get deleted.
Googlebot encounters a 404, realizes the page is gone, and eventually we drop it from the index. There is no penalty, no secret Google jail, and no negative impact on your other healthy pages.
From our perspective, it’s completely fine to just leave them be.”
Fixing 404 Errors Is A Business Decision, Not An SEO Requirement
What may be surprising to some SEOs is the idea that 404 errors are a business decision and not something that requires fixing for SEO purposes. What they did was remove 404 errors out of the context of SEO and recontextualized it as a business decision along the lines of whether removing a page makes sense for the website and business goals.
So rather than think of 404 errors as an SEO problem it’s actually more appropriate to think of them on the business level as in whether redirecting a URL or leaving it permanently gone makes sense for site visitors or whatever it is the website is trying to accomplish.
Illyes explained:
“Fixing a 404 is entirely optional, but it can be a smart business move, depending on your site. For example, if you run an e-commerce store and you delete a popular product page like ultimate deluxe chicken feed, leaving a blank error page means you might be dropping potential sales.”
Prommawin agreed, commenting that this is really about the user experience and less about Google Search.
She explained:
“If the dead URL still gets traffic from all links or social media, you might choose to guide those users to a newer product model using a redirect.”
She next added that if there’s no replacement then the proper response is to just let the server provide a 404 error response.
Prommawin offered this additional guidance:
“Also, don’t take the lazy shortcut if you’re thinking, let’s redirect all your dead pages to the home page. That just confuses humans and make your data very confusing.”
Google’s Three-Step Approach For Managing 404 Errors
Prommawin and Illyes provided a practical decision-making approach for dealing with content and URLs that have been removed.
Step 1: Redirect Only When A Relevant Replacement Exists
They recommended using one-to-one redirects for pages that have genuinely been replaced with another page. An updated article or newer model of the same product qualifies as a relevant replacement page. They both emphasized matching the original page with a specific replacement that makes sense.
Illyes explained:
“First, one-to-one relevant directs, but only if a true replacement exists. If that page has a direct natural replacement, like an updated version of the same article or a newer model of the exact same product, you set up a redirect only to that specific, highly relevant destination.”
Step 2: Return A 404 Or 410 When No Replacement Exists
They explained that permanently deleting pages because there is no natural replacement is fine and those should return a 404 or 410 status code. Allowing Google to remove these URLs from its index is normal and has zero effect on a website’s SEO status.
Prommawin explained:
“The next step applies if the page is permanently gone and there is no true successor, like you stop selling the item entirely and there is absolutely no natural replacement.
In that case, let it be 404. It’s fine. It is what we expect. Return a 404 or a 410 status code. The crawler drops the date URL from the index, and the website lifecycle stays completely healthy. …Let it go.”
Step 3: Make 404 Pages Useful To Visitors
Gary Illyes responded to Prommawin’s exhortation to “let it go” by asking about the user experience of humans who land on the missing pages and the dreaded 404 error response.
Prommawin recommended making the 404 error page useful for users. That’s actually good advice because a custom 404 page can help visitors find other content may be useful instead of abandoning the website. Prommawin recommend adding useful navigation features like a search bar and links to relevant sections. So rather than disguising the error, she recommends working with it to benefit users. What she’s advocating is swimming with the current, working with what you have to hopefully recapture that user visit and make it meaningful in some way.
She explained:
“Make the 404 page as helpful as possible. Instead of hiding the error from humans, embrace it. Design a custom 404 page with a friendly message, a search bar, and maybe links to your top categories or latest content. Don’t trick the user. Just give them a clean map to find their way back on their own terms.”
Takeaway
Google says 404 errors aren’t an SEO problem that needs fixing, but they can become a business problem when site visitors encounter missing pages. Google recommends using custom 404 pages to help visitors find relevant content, turning a poor user experience into a meaningful interaction and a new opportunity for the site owner.
Watch the podcast here:
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