Not found (404)
Not found (404)
The URL is gone. Restore it or stop linking to it.
A 404 is the right response for a URL that should not exist. It becomes a coverage problem when the sitemap, internal links, or ads still point at it.
If the page moved, redirect to the new URL with a 301. If it should exist, restore the route and the HTML. If it should stay gone, remove every reference.
Soft 404s are the opposite problem: a 200 that looks empty. A real 404 is honest and easier for Google to process.
What to check
- Decide whether the URL should exist.
- If it moved, add one 301 and update internal links.
- Drop 404 URLs from the sitemap.
Fix prompt
Example prompt
This URL returns 404. Restore the page with HTTP 200 if it should exist, or 301 it to the replacement and remove it from the sitemap. Do not call an indexing API.
Check a URL · Crawlers · Glossary