How to fix 404 http issues for SEO

What is an error 404?

The 404 code is an issue returned by the web server of your website. This error indicates that the page you want to display doesn't exist or doesn't exist anymore.

You absolutely need to fix these issues because they lead to useless scans of your website and can lead to a  penalty for your SEO. 

How to fix an error 404?

1. If this is a page deleted by mistake

If this URL corresponds with a missing page, you just need to put it online again. Ensure that the page online has the same URL. 

2. If this a page deleted voluntarily or it has never existed. 

If the URL has never existed, you need to fix the links of your website pointing to this page.

Two solutions: 

  • You can modify or delete all the links of your website pointing to this page. If no link exists towards this page, nobody will have an error 404 anymore. You can find all your pages making a link towards your page 404 from your page analysis > Links > Incoming links. 
  • You configure a 301 redirection towards another page. If delete links from all the pages of your website is a too time-consuming work, you can create a redirection from this URL to an existing page. Thus, links to this page 404 will be redirected to another existing page and the error won't exist anymore. Contact your technical partner to configure a 301 redirection.