404 Error
A 'page not found' error that occurs when a URL doesn't exist on the server.
A 404 error means the server can't find the page you're looking for. You've probably seen these before — you click a link and get a "Page Not Found" message. The page either never existed, was deleted, or the URL was typed wrong.
Every website gets 404 errors eventually. Pages get removed, URLs change, and external sites link to pages that no longer exist. A few 404s aren't a crisis, but a lot of them signal a poorly maintained site.
Smart websites have custom 404 pages that help visitors find what they were looking for. Instead of a dead end, you give people a search bar, popular links, or a way back to your homepage.
Soft 404s are trickier — these are pages that look like 404s to users (empty or "no results" pages) but return a 200 status code to search engines. Google specifically flags these as issues in Search Console.
Why It Matters for SEO
Too many 404 errors waste your crawl budget, frustrate visitors, and waste link equity from backlinks pointing to dead pages. Every 404 is a missed opportunity — a visitor who wanted your content but couldn't find it.
🔍 How to Check This
Use AuditMySite's Broken Links Checker to find 404 errors across your site before your visitors do.
Try Broken Links Checker →