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You see a sudden spike in “Soft 404” errors. What could cause this and how would you troubleshoot?

A “Soft 404” error occurs when a page returns a 200 OK status (meaning it’s successfully loaded), but the content on the page suggests that the page is missing or broken (such as a 404-like message like "Page not found"). This is often a sign that something's wrong with your page's content or how it's being served, but it's not technically a 404 error in the HTTP response.

You see a sudden spike in “Soft 404” errors. What could cause this and how would you troubleshoot?

🔍 Possible Causes of Soft 404 Errors

1. Incorrectly Configured 404 Pages

If you have a page that serves a 200 OK status but displays a "Page Not Found" message (or a similar message indicating the page doesn't exist), Google can interpret this as a soft 404 error.

  • Example: You have a page that doesn't exist but still returns a 200 status and displays a "Sorry, this page was not found" message.

How to troubleshoot:

  • Make sure your server is correctly returning 404 or 410 HTTP status codes for non-existent pages.

  • Double-check your 404 page logic to ensure it's returning the correct status codes and is not accidentally returning a 200 OK.

2. Content Issues (Empty or Thin Content)

Pages with very little content or duplicate content can also trigger soft 404 errors because Google may view these pages as "useless" or "empty."

  • Example: A product page with no description, just an image, or an empty article page.

How to troubleshoot:

  • Ensure the page contains substantial, unique content (this could be text, images, or other engaging media).

  • Use Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool to check the status and content of these pages.

  • Check for 404s or 410s: Run a crawl of your website (using tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb) to check for empty pages or thin content that might not serve useful content to users or Google.

3. Redirects or Moved Pages (Incorrect or Missing Redirects)

If a page is supposed to redirect to another page but Google is still indexing it with a 200 OK status, this can result in soft 404s.

  • Example: A page that was moved but didn't receive a proper 301 redirect.

How to troubleshoot:

  • Check for missing redirects. If you’ve moved or deleted pages, ensure they properly redirect to relevant, live pages with a 301 status code.

  • Use the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console to inspect the affected URLs and see if any are redirecting incorrectly.

  • Check if the page is a redirect loop or a chain. Use Redirect Path or Screaming Frog to analyze your site's redirects.

4. Server or Resource Errors (Temporarily Unavailable Pages)

Sometimes, pages that return a 200 status when the content is unavailable due to server issues or resource loading errors could result in soft 404 errors.

  • Example: A page that loads a 200 OK status but doesn’t display its content due to a failed image load, JS errors, or server timeout.

How to troubleshoot:

  • Check your server logs for any errors or issues related to missing resources (like missing images, broken JavaScript, or CSS).

  • Inspect the page for JavaScript or CSS errors that might be preventing the page from rendering its content correctly.

  • Use the Google Search Console URL Inspection Tool to test if Googlebot can correctly fetch and render the page.

5. Temporary Pages with No Content (or Placeholder Pages)

If you have a page that temporarily serves no useful content or serves a placeholder (like a "coming soon" page), Google might see this as a soft 404, even if it returns a 200 status.

  • Example: A "Coming Soon" page that shows no useful content.

How to troubleshoot:

  • Ensure that temporary pages (like "under construction" or "coming soon") return a 404 or 410 status if they’re not meant to be indexed.

  • Consider adding a noindex tag to these pages if you don't want them to be indexed.

🛠️ How to Troubleshoot and Fix Soft 404 Errors

1. Review Google Search Console Soft 404 Report

  • Go to Google Search Console.

  • Navigate to Coverage > Excluded > Soft 404.

  • Here, you’ll see the list of pages that Google considers soft 404s. Inspect these pages and determine the root cause.

2. Inspect Affected URLs Using the URL Inspection Tool

  • In Google Search Console, use the URL Inspection Tool to check the status of the affected URLs.

  • Look at the HTTP status code returned by Google.

  • Check if the page has content and is displaying correctly to Googlebot (check the rendered page).

If the page has thin content, incorrect redirects, or returns a wrong status code, address those issues.

3. Update Content or Return Correct HTTP Status Codes

  • If the page contains thin or duplicate content, update it with valuable content or remove it and return the correct 404 status code.

  • If a page is moved, add a 301 redirect to point to the relevant content.

  • For temporary pages, make sure they return a 404 or 410 status code if they should not be indexed.

4. Recheck Crawling and Indexing After Fixing

After fixing, you can request indexing of the affected URLs using the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console to get Google to re-crawl the page.

5. Monitor the Issue

After applying the fixes, monitor the Soft 404 report in Google Search Console to make sure the issue is resolved and the pages are being indexed correctly.

🧠 Summary

Possible CauseHow to Fix
Incorrect 404 configurationEnsure correct 404/410 status codes are returned.
Thin or duplicate contentAdd more valuable content or remove the page entirely.
Missing or incorrect redirectsAdd proper 301 redirects if the page has moved.
Server/resource issuesFix server or resource errors (e.g., missing images).
Temporary placeholder pagesReturn 404/410 for "Coming Soon" or temporary pages.

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