What Is a 404 Error?
A 404 error is an HTTP status code that a server returns when it cannot locate the page that has been requested. The code "404 Not Found" is part of the HTTP standard and communicates to browsers and search engine crawlers that the requested resource does not exist at the given URL. This can happen for several reasons: the page was deleted, the URL was restructured without a redirect being set up, or the visitor typed the URL incorrectly.
From a user experience perspective, landing on a 404 page is frustrating. Visitors who click a link from a Google search result or a backlink and arrive at a 404 page typically leave the site immediately, which increases bounce rate and wastes any advertising or organic traffic investment that brought them there in the first place.
From an SEO perspective, it is important to distinguish between 404 errors that matter and those that do not. A 404 on a URL that never existed, received no traffic, and has no backlinks pointing to it is of negligible concern. Google itself has stated that 404 errors are a normal part of the web. However, a 404 on a page that previously ranked in search results, received traffic, and accumulated backlinks represents real lost value. Every backlink pointing to a dead URL is link equity that is not reaching the live site, and every ranking position that the original page held is gone.
A well-designed custom 404 page can mitigate user frustration by presenting navigation options, a search bar, and clear messaging that guides visitors towards useful content rather than simply displaying a generic server error message.
404 Error In Practice
A South African law firm that migrated its website and removed its old "practice areas" page structure may find, months later, that several backlinks from reputable local directories still point to those old URLs. Each of those backlinks now returns a 404, meaning the firm is not receiving any link equity from those citations. A 301 redirect from each old URL to the most relevant current page would recover that link value immediately.
An e-commerce retailer in Johannesburg that deleted discontinued product pages without redirecting them may also see a rise in 404 errors in Google Search Console. If customers or other websites shared those product page URLs, those links now lead to dead ends. The recommended resolution is to redirect each deleted product page to the closest available alternative, such as the product category page, so that both users and Googlebot reach a relevant live page.
Regularly monitoring Google Search Console's Coverage or Pages report for 404 errors is good practice. Sorting by "Not found (404)" and cross-referencing with backlink data from tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush allows you to prioritise which errors to fix based on their link equity and historical traffic value.
What a 404 error is
A 404 error (Not Found) is the standard HTTP response a web server returns when a requested page or resource cannot be found at the given URL, telling the browser (and user) that the page does not exist there. A 404 typically appears when someone follows a broken or outdated link, mistypes a URL, or requests a page that has been deleted or moved without a redirect, so the server, finding nothing at that address, returns the 404 Not Found status and usually a 404 error page. A 404 is a normal, expected part of how the web works, not every URL exists, and requests for non-existent pages should return a 404, which correctly signals that the page is not there. 404s become a concern when they affect pages that should exist or that people and search engines are trying to reach: if an important page has been deleted or moved and now returns a 404 (rather than redirecting to a replacement), users hit a dead end and search engines find the page gone, which loses the page's value and gives a poor experience; and many broken internal or external links leading to 404s indicate maintenance problems. Understanding 404 errors matters because, while a 404 for a genuinely non-existent page is normal and fine, 404s on pages that should be reachable, or large numbers of broken links causing 404s, represent lost content, poor user experience, and untidy site health, so knowing what 404s are, when they matter, and how to find and address them is part of good site maintenance and technical SEO.
404 errors, SEO and how to handle them
404 errors relate to SEO and user experience in ways worth understanding, and handling them well is a matter of addressing the ones that matter rather than eliminating every 404. On SEO impact: a 404 for a page that genuinely does not exist is normal and does not harm SEO, Google expects non-existent URLs to return 404s, and having some 404s is natural. The problems arise in specific cases: when a page that has value (traffic, links, rankings) is deleted or moved and left as a 404 instead of being redirected, its value is lost and users and search engines hit a dead end, so important removed or moved pages should be redirected (with a 301) to a relevant replacement to preserve their value; when internal links on your own site point to 404 pages, creating broken links that waste crawl budget and harm user experience, so these should be found and fixed (updating or removing the broken links); and when many external links point to pages that now 404, you may lose the value of those inbound links, which can sometimes be recovered by redirecting the old URLs to relevant content. So the handling depends on the case: for genuinely non-existent pages, a proper 404 (with a helpful 404 page that guides users back into the site) is correct; for valuable pages that were removed or moved, a 301 redirect to a suitable replacement preserves value and experience; and for broken internal links, fixing the links resolves the 404s. A good custom 404 page (clear, on-brand, with navigation or search to help users find what they need) improves the experience when a 404 does occur. Finding 404s is done through tools: Google Search Console reports 404s Google encounters, and SEO crawling and audit tools find broken links and 404s across the site. For a South African business, handling 404s means using these tools to find them, then redirecting valuable removed or moved pages to relevant replacements (301), fixing broken internal links, and providing a helpful custom 404 page for the genuine not-found cases, so that 404s on pages that should be reachable are resolved and the experience of any genuine 404 is as helpful as possible. This targeted approach, fixing the 404s that lose value or harm experience while accepting normal 404s for truly non-existent pages, keeps the site healthy, preserves SEO value, and serves users well, which is the sensible way to manage 404 errors.
FAQ
Do 404 errors hurt my SEO?
404 errors on pages that never had value or inbound links are generally harmless. However, 404s on pages that had backlinks or ranked in search results waste link equity and lose traffic. Redirect those pages to relevant live alternatives using a 301 redirect.
How do I find 404 errors on my South African website?
Google Search Console's Coverage report flags 404 errors found during crawling. Tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs also identify broken internal and external links. Fix high-priority 404s first, particularly those on pages with backlinks or significant historical traffic.
Do 404 errors hurt your SEO?
A 404 for a page that genuinely does not exist is normal and does not harm SEO, Google expects non-existent URLs to return 404s. The problems come in specific cases: valuable pages deleted or moved and left as 404s (rather than redirected) lose their value, and broken internal links causing 404s waste crawl budget and harm experience. So handle those, redirect valuable removed pages (301) and fix broken links, while accepting normal 404s for truly non-existent pages.
How do you find 404 errors on your website?
Google Search Console reports 404s that Google encounters when crawling your site, and SEO crawling and audit tools find broken links and 404 errors across your site by crawling it. These reveal which URLs return 404s and where broken links point to them, so you can then redirect valuable removed or moved pages (with a 301) to relevant replacements and fix broken internal links, addressing the 404s that matter.