What is a soft 404?
A soft 404 is one of the sneakiest SEO problems because the page looks fine to visitors but confuses search engines. Here's exactly what a soft 404 is, why Google flags it, and how to fix it.
What is a soft 404?
A soft 404 is a page that doesn't really exist but returns an HTTP 200 (OK) status code instead of a proper 404 (Not Found). To a browser it may show a 'page not found' message or a thin/empty page, but because the server reports 200, search engines are told the page is valid — a contradiction Google labels a 'soft 404' in Search Console.
Why soft 404s are bad for SEO
Search engines waste crawl budget repeatedly crawling pages that add no value, real 'not found' situations aren't communicated correctly, and thin soft-404 pages can dilute site quality signals. In Search Console they show up under Indexing as 'Soft 404', keeping those URLs out of the index while still consuming crawl resources.
Common causes of soft 404s
- A custom 'not found' page that returns 200 instead of a 404 status code.
- Redirecting every broken URL to the homepage (or a generic page) instead of a relevant one.
- Empty or thin pages — a category with no products, an expired listing, an out-of-stock item with no content.
- JavaScript apps that render a 'not found' view client-side while the server still returns 200.
How to find soft 404s
- Google Search Console → Indexing → Pages → 'Soft 404' report lists the URLs Google flagged.
- Crawl your site and look for thin/empty pages returning a 200 status where a 404 is expected.
- Check any custom error page and confirm the server response code it returns.
How to fix a soft 404
- If the page should not exist: return a real 404 (or 410 Gone) status code.
- If there's a relevant replacement: 301-redirect the URL to the closest live page — not the homepage.
- If the page should exist but is thin: add real content so it's genuinely useful.
- Make sure your custom 'not found' template returns a 404 status, not 200.
Automate 404 recovery with Redirect Mapper
One frequent cause of soft 404s is dumping every broken URL onto the homepage. Redirect Mapper avoids that by matching each 404 to the closest genuinely relevant live page — a real, specific redirect that both users and search engines are happy with.
Frequently asked questions
A hard 404 correctly returns the HTTP 404 status code, telling search engines the page doesn't exist. A soft 404 returns a 200 (OK) status for a page that's actually missing or empty, sending a contradictory signal. Hard 404s are handled correctly by search engines; soft 404s should be fixed by returning the right status or redirecting to a relevant page.