How to Handle 404 Errors to Improve SEO in WordPress

The best way to fix 404 errors is by redirecting users to a new location. You should also inform search engines about the new location of those posts and pages by adding a 301 redirect header message. This allows you to offer a great user experience and not lose your search engine rankings.

1. How do I fix Error 404 SEO?
2. How do I fix 404 error in WordPress?
3. Do 404 errors hurt SEO?
4. How do I redirect a 404 page in WordPress?
5. How do I trigger a 404 error?
6. Why do I get 404 error page?
7. How do I avoid 404 error?
8. How do I view 404 errors in WordPress?
9. Why does permalink not work in WordPress?
10. How do I know if I have 404 errors?
11. Does Google remove 404 pages?
12. What can I do with 404 pages?

How do I fix Error 404 SEO?

Here are four ways to do it:

1. Redirect the 404 error: Redirecting users to another relevant page is the easiest way to fix 404 errors on your site. ...
2. Restore the page: If you find there's still a lot of demand for a page you've deleted and there's no suitable page to redirect users to, consider restoring the original page.

How do I fix 404 error in WordPress?

Go to Settings » Permalinks, and simply click on Save Changes button. This will update your permalinks settings and flush rewrite rules. In most cases this solution fixes the WordPress posts 404 error. However, if it does not work for you, then you probably need to update your .

Do 404 errors hurt SEO?

404 error pages don't really hurt your SEO, but there's definitely a lot you can miss out if you don't fix them. If you have backlinks pointing to pages on your website that return a 404, try to fix those backlinks and 301 redirect your broken URLs to relevant location.

How do I redirect a 404 page in WordPress?

How to redirect 404 error page to homepage in WordPress

1. In Tools > Redirection > Add new redirection.
2. In the Source URL box, type or paste the broken/old/altered URL.
3. In the Target URL box, type or paste the new URL.
4. Opt for URL and referrer in the match drop down.
5. In the Action box, chose Redirect to URL.

How do I trigger a 404 error?

The typical trigger for an error 404 message is when website content has been removed or moved to another URL. There are also other reasons why an error message could appear. These include: The URL or its content (such as files or images) was either deleted or moved (without adjusting any internal links accordingly)

Why do I get 404 error page?

The HTTP error 404, or more commonly called "404 error", means that the page you are trying to open could not be found on the server. This is a client-side incident which means either the page has been deleted or moved, and the URL has not been modified accordingly, or that you have misspelled the URL.

How do I avoid 404 error?

Avoid the 404!

1. Redirect on-site.
2. Redirect from the host.
3. Submit new pages to the search engines.
4. Keep an eye on your page listings.
5. Get organised with updates.

How do I view 404 errors in WordPress?

To find it, login to your WordPress Admin dashboard. In the left-hand menu, go to Appearance -> Theme Editor. On the right side of the screen, you should find a 404 template (404.

Why does permalink not work in WordPress?

Reasons Why a Permalink Might be Broken

While restoring your backup files or during migrating WordPress to a different server or domain can result in a broken permalink. Once you have updated a plugin, there might be a compatibility issue resulting in a 404 error. ... htaccess file can result in a broken permalink.

How do I know if I have 404 errors?

To find the list of all 404 pages, you can log in to the Google search console account and click on Crawl errors under diagnostics. Click on not found, and you will see a list of all the links resulting in the 404 error. Click on any URL, and you will find all the pages where the broken link is linked.

Does Google remove 404 pages?

Google Remembers 404 Pages. Although Google may not keep a web page in its index, if the page used to exist, Google will remember that a web page used to exist at that URL and will crawl that old URL to see if it returned. ... 410 typically means gone, as in the page is not found and we do not expect it to come back.

What can I do with 404 pages?

Often, it's best to not show a 404 page at all, and instead simply redirect people to a different page. If you update a page and change the URL, make sure you redirect the old URL to the new page so visitors don't wind up on a 404 page.