Dealing with Soft 404s Using Google Search Console
Dealing with Soft 404s Using Google Search Console
Soft 404 errors occur when a web server returns a status code of “200 OK” but the page itself doesn’t have any relevant content. Soft 404s are a type of error that can have a negative impact on a website’s SEO performance, and can be difficult to identify and fix. Fortunately, Google Search Console (GSC) can help you monitor and resolve soft 404 errors quickly and easily. In this article, we’ll discuss how to use GSC to deal with soft 404s.
What is a Soft 404 Error?
A soft 404 error occurs when a web server returns a “200 OK” status code but the page itself does not contain any content that is relevant to the user’s query. For example, if a user searches for “shoes” and the page that is returned is a page about “clothing”, this would be a soft 404 error. The server returns a “200 OK” status code because technically the page exists, but the page does not provide any relevant content to the user’s search query.
Why are Soft 404s Bad?
Soft 404 errors can have a negative impact on a website’s SEO performance because they can lead to a poor user experience. When a user is presented with pages that do not contain relevant content, they may become frustrated and leave the website. This can lead to increased bounce rates, lower rankings, and fewer conversions. In addition, soft 404s can lead to wasted crawl budget, as search engine crawlers can waste time and resources attempting to index pages that are irrelevant to the user’s query.
How to Use Google Search Console to Deal with Soft 404s
Google Search Console (GSC) is a powerful tool for website owners, and it can be used to identify and resolve soft 404 errors easily. Here’s how to use GSC to deal with soft 404s:
1. First, log into GSC and select the “Coverage” report from the left-hand menu.
2. On the Coverage report, click on the “Excluded” tab.
3. Here, you’ll see a list of URLs that GSC has identified as soft 404s.
4. Review each URL and determine whether it should be indexed or excluded.
5. If the page should be excluded, click the “Exclude URL” button to add the URL to GSC’s exclusion list.
6. If the page should be indexed, click the “Request Indexing” button to add the URL to GSC’s index queue.
By using GSC to identify and resolve soft 404s, website owners can ensure that their pages are correctly indexed and optimized for search engine results pages (SERPs).
Conclusion
Soft 404 errors can have a negative impact on a website’s SEO performance, but fortunately, Google Search Console can help website owners identify and resolve these errors quickly and easily. By using GSC to identify and resolve soft 404s, website owners can ensure that their pages are correctly indexed and optimized for search engine results pages (SERPs).