A page that displays a 'not found' message but returns a 200 HTTP status code, confusing search engine crawlers.
A soft 404 occurs when a webpage displays content indicating that the page doesn't exist or has no meaningful content, but the server returns a 200 (success) HTTP status code instead of the proper 404 (not found) status code. This creates confusion for search engine crawlers, which interpret the 200 status as a signal that the page contains valid, indexable content.
Common examples include pages displaying "No products found," "Search returned 0 results," or "This page is no longer available" while still returning a 200 status code. Unlike hard 404s, which clearly communicate to search engines that a page doesn't exist, soft 404s send mixed signals that can negatively impact crawl efficiency and site performance.
Why It Matters for AI SEO
Search engines, particularly Google, have become increasingly sophisticated at detecting soft 404s through content analysis and user behavior signals. AI-powered crawlers can now identify when page content doesn't match the successful HTTP status code, leading to wasted crawl budget and potential indexing issues. In the era of AI-driven search algorithms, soft 404s create particular problems because they can be interpreted as low-quality or thin content, potentially triggering algorithmic penalties. Google's helpful content systems and spam detection algorithms may view sites with numerous soft 404s as providing poor user experiences, impacting overall domain authority and rankings.
How It Works
Soft 404s typically occur due to technical implementation issues. E-commerce sites might display "No products found" pages with 200 status codes when category filters return empty results. Content management systems may show placeholder content instead of proper 404 pages when posts are deleted or made private. Tools like Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, and Sitebulb can identify potential soft 404s by analyzing page content, response codes, and crawl patterns. Google Search Console specifically flags pages it suspects are soft 404s in the Coverage report. To fix them, ensure your server returns proper 404 status codes for non-existent pages, implement meaningful content for valid pages with sparse results, or use 301 redirects to guide users to relevant alternatives.
Common Mistakes
The most frequent mistake is treating soft 404s as a minor technical issue rather than a significant SEO problem. Many site owners assume that because pages load successfully, there's no issue, not realizing the confusion this creates for search engines. Another common error is creating generic "page not found" content while maintaining 200 status codes, essentially creating more soft 404s instead of implementing proper error handling.