404 errors infographic: a 404 banner with Google's view that 404s are normal, which status to return in four cases, three facts on how Google treats 4xx and soft 404s, a checklist for a good custom 404 page, and three steps on what to do.

Oct 6, 2026

Do 404 Errors Hurt SEO? 404s and Soft 404s (Infographic)

Do 404 errors hurt SEO? How Google treats 404s, why soft 404s are the real problem, which status code to return, and how to build a good custom 404 page.

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<a href="https://searchinsider.io/infographics/404-errors"><img src="https://searchinsider.io/research/404-errors/404-errors-infographic.png" alt="404 errors infographic: a 404 banner with Google's view that 404s are normal, which status to return in four cases, three facts on how Google treats 4xx and soft 404s, a checklist for a good custom 404 page, and three steps on what to do." style="max-width:680px;width:100%;height:auto;" /></a><p>Source: <a href="https://searchinsider.io/infographics/404-errors">404 errors infographic</a> by Search Insider.</p>

Do 404 errors hurt your SEO?

The short answer: No. 404s are a normal part of the web, and a URL that 404s doesn't count against the rest of your site. Google drops 404 pages from its index and crawls them less. The real problem is soft 404s: missing pages that return 200.

Based on Google Search Central.

What it shows

Google doesn't index URLs that return 4xx codes (except 429), and removes already-indexed ones.
Crawling of 404 URLs gradually decreases.
A soft 404 is a not-found page that returns a 200 status code.
Soft 404 pages keep getting crawled and waste crawl budget.
Removed pages should return 404 or 410; moved pages should 301 to the replacement.
Custom 404 pages must return a real 404 status code.

What to do

Removed pages: Return 404 or 410, or 301 if replaced.
Soft 404s: Fix the status code.
404 page: Make it helpful and keep the 404 status.

The walkthrough

Do 404 errors hurt SEO?

No. Google has said 404s are a perfectly normal part of the web, and that some URLs returning 404 doesn't hurt a site or count against it in search results (Google Webmaster Central Blog, 2011) ^[3].

How does Google treat 404 pages?

Google treats all 4xx errors except 429 the same way: it doesn't index those URLs and removes already-indexed ones from the index ^[1]. Crawling of those URLs gradually decreases ^[1]. Google says a 404 is a strong signal not to crawl a URL again ^[4].

Is there a difference between 404 and 410?

Google's current documentation treats 404 and 410 under the same 4xx rule ^[1]. In 2011, Google said it treated 410s the same as 404s, so it didn't matter which one you returned ^[3].

What is a soft 404?

A soft 404 is a URL that shows a page telling the user it doesn't exist while returning a 200 success status code ^[2]. Soft 404 pages continue to be crawled and waste crawl budget ^[4].

How do you fix a soft 404?

If the page is gone with no replacement, return a 404 or 410 ^[2]. If it moved or has a clear replacement, use a 301 redirect ^[2]. If a good page is flagged, it may not have loaded properly for Googlebot; check it with the URL Inspection tool ^[2].

What makes a good custom 404 page?

Tell visitors clearly that the page can't be found, use friendly language, keep the same look and navigation as your site, link to popular pages and your homepage, and offer a way to report broken links ^[2]. Make sure the server still returns a 404 status code ^[2].

Sources

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