Google Search Console: What should I do with old 404 errors?

Decoding 404s in Search Console: A Comprehensive Guide

Ever wondered what to do with 404s in Search Console that are from ancient versions of your site? This blog post provides a detailed guide on how to handle these crawl errors. It delves into the significance of 404 errors, the recommended practices for website restructuring, and how to manage these errors in Search Console. The post also offers insights on how to check for traffic and links to these URLs and what to do if you find any. It's a must-read for anyone looking to optimize their website for better search engine performance.

Key Takeaways

• 404 errors are normal when an invalid URL is opened.
• Redirecting from old URLs to new ones is recommended during website restructuring.
• Check for traffic and links to these URLs in your server logs or analytics and Search Console respectively.
• If there's no traffic or relevant links, having those pages return 404 is perfectly fine.
• If there's traffic or links, redirect them to the new URLs.
• Search Console prioritizes crawl errors, so if the top errors are irrelevant, there's nothing more important further down on the list.
• Crawl errors for 404s that you don't want to have indexed, don't negatively affect the rest of your site in Search.

Table of Contents

• Understanding 404s
• Website Restructuring
• Checking Traffic and Links
• Handling 404s
• Using Search Console
• Conclusion

Understanding 404s

When an invalid URL is opened, it's the right thing for a server to return a 404 page not found error. These URLs end up returning 404 and show up in Search Console as crawl errors. But what does that mean? This section delves into the significance of 404 errors and how they impact your website's performance.

Website Restructuring

When restructuring your website, it's recommended to redirect from old URLs to the new ones and update the links that go to the old URLs to point to the new ones directly. However, over time, you might decide to drop those redirects, maybe because of the maintenance overhead or just maybe you forgot about them. These URLs are now 404s in Search Console. This section provides insights on how to handle these situations.

Checking Traffic and Links

In your server logs or analytics, check for traffic to those URLs. If there's no traffic, that's great. In Search Console, check for links to those URLs. Are there no relevant links? That's great too. This section offers a step-by-step guide on how to check for traffic and links to these URLs and what to do if you find any.

Handling 404s

If you see nothing special in either the links or the traffic, having those pages return 404 is perfectly fine. If you do see traffic to those URLs or see links pointing at those URLs, check where they're coming from and have those links point at the new URLs instead. Or if it looks like a lot of traffic or links are going to those URLs, perhaps putting a redirect back in place would be more efficient. This section provides practical tips on how to handle 404s effectively.

Using Search Console

But what if you have a ton of s? Search Console makes this easy. It prioritizes crawl errors for you. If the top errors in the report are all irrelevant, you can rest assured that there's nothing more important further down on the list. Crawl errors for 404s that you don't want to have indexed, don't negatively affect the rest of your site in Search. This section provides a detailed guide on how to use Search Console to manage 404 errors.

Conclusion

Handling 404s in Search Console can seem daunting, but with the right approach, it's a manageable task. By understanding the significance of these errors, checking for traffic and links, and using Search Console effectively, you can ensure that these errors don't negatively impact your website's performance. Remember, crawl errors for 404s that you don't want to have indexed, don't negatively affect the rest of your site in Search. So take your time to find a good approach that works for you.