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Soft 404

A soft 404 is a page that says there is nothing here, such as a removed product, yet returns a success code, so Google leaves it out of Search as an error.

How it works

A page that is really gone answers 404 (not found) or 410 (gone), and Google removes it from the index. A soft 404 answers 200 (success), but its content reads as an error: “not found”, a blank page, no main content. Google recognises this and excludes the page from Search. Google lists causes such as an empty internal search results page and scripts that fail to load.

In a store, pages that fit this description include a category page with no products left and a discontinued product’s page that only says it is unavailable. Google’s fix depends on the case: with no replacement, answer 404 or 410; with a close replacement, use a 301 redirect; if the page should be live, check in URL Inspection that it renders. For how to choose, see discontinued products and seasonal pages.

Where you see it

  • Search Console, Page indexing report: “Soft 404” is one of the reasons a page is not indexed.
  • Search Console, URL Inspection: the live test shows the status code and the page as Google rendered it.

Example

Example store, not client data.

The tableware shop stops selling 120 plates, but their pages still answer 200 OK with the line “This product is no longer available”. The Page indexing report lists them as Soft 404. Ninety have a close replacement and get a 301 redirect; the other 30 now answer 410. 90 + 30 = 120.

Not to be confused with

  • Availability “out of stock” — the product exists and will be back. Google advises keeping its page, marked out of stock.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “The page answers 200, so Google will index it.” Right: a success code doesn’t guarantee indexing; a page whose content reads as an error or is empty shows up as a soft 404.
  • Wrong: “A friendly ‘not found’ page with links to bestsellers is enough.” Right: keep the friendly page, but the server must still answer 404.

Sources