Google: Large Number of 404s Doesn't Hurt You

Mar 29, 2010 - 7:38 am 2 by

A Google Webmaster Help thread has Googler, JohnMu, replying to some concerns about using 404s, page not found commands.

JohnMu said:

Having a large number of 404's on a site is generally not a problem for us, especially if the 404 page helps the user to find related entries within your site.

Of course, Google likes when webmasters return proper http header codes, especially in the page not found case. JohnMu explains:

Using a 404 (or perhaps, if you're certain that the page will be gone forever, a 410) is a good idea because it helps us to remove the old entries from our index over time.

Some people feel 404s are a bad thing. They are not. Use them properly and they can be extremely helpful to the health of a whole web site in a search engine.

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: April 3, 2025

Apr 3, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Updates

Google April Post Core Update Ranking Volatility Heats Up

Apr 3, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Tests Show More Overlay To Load More Ads

Apr 3, 2025 - 7:41 am
Bing Search

Microsoft Bing Copilot Answers Serving Product Results

Apr 3, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

Google Maps Desktop Promoting Mobile App

Apr 3, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Maps

Google AI Summaries Now In Local Knowledge Panels

Apr 3, 2025 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Long AdWords Display URLs Messing Google Results