How to Fix 404 Errors on Your Website
Fix 404 errors quickly and improve your website’s SEO performance using this simple free guide.
Fix 404 errors is one of the most important technical SEO tasks for any website. Broken pages waste crawl budget, frustrate visitors, and cause you to lose valuable SEO rankings.
In this guide you will learn how to find and fix 404 errors step-by-step using free tools.
What Is a 404 Error?
A 404 error is an HTTP status code meaning a page cannot be found on the server.
According to the official documentation from HTTP status code reference, a 404 response tells the browser that the requested resource does not exist.
- Deleted pages
- Changed URL without redirect
- Broken internal links
- Site migration errors
- Typo in the link
How 404 Errors Hurt SEO
| Problem | Impact |
|---|---|
| Crawl budget waste | Search engines crawl broken pages instead of real content |
| Lost backlinks | Links pointing to 404 pages lose SEO value |
| Poor user experience | Visitors hit dead ends and leave the site |
| Index confusion | Search engines struggle to understand site structure |
How to Find 404 Errors
The best free way to find broken pages is using Google Search Console.
- Open Google Search Console
- Select your website property
- Go to Indexing → Pages
- Find the report called “Not Found (404)”
- Export the URLs
You can also scan your site using the SeobilityCheck 404 Error Tracker to detect broken pages automatically.
How to Fix 404 Errors on Your Website
Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new URL.
2. Page deletedRedirect to the closest relevant page or recreate the content.
3. Broken internal linkEdit the incorrect link inside your CMS.
4. Typo in URLCorrect the spelling of the link.
Prevent Future 404 Errors
- Always create redirects before changing URLs
- Check backlinks before deleting pages
- Run monthly broken link scans
- Use consistent URL structure
- Monitor crawl errors regularly
Conclusion
Fix 404 errors regularly to keep your website healthy and improve SEO rankings. By monitoring broken pages in Google Search Console and setting proper redirects, you can recover lost traffic and provide a better experience for visitors.