What Is a Soft 404?
A soft 404 occurs when a URL returns an HTTP 200 "OK" status code but presents content that is essentially empty or meaningless. From a technical standpoint the server says "yes, this page exists," but the content itself signals to Google that there is nothing of value here. Common examples include: a WordPress page template that loads without any post data, an e-commerce product page showing "item out of stock - no information available," an empty search results page with a URL like /search-q=nonsense, and a database-driven page where the underlying record has been deleted but the URL and template still load.
Google has been identifying soft 404s for many years, and they are reported in Google Search Console under the Pages (previously Coverage) report. The reason Google flags them is that they represent wasted crawl budget and, more importantly, indexing resources. If Google indexes a soft 404, it may consume an indexing slot that could have been used for a genuinely useful page on the same site.
The distinction between a soft 404 and a genuine 404 lies entirely in the HTTP response code. A proper 404 returns status code 404, which tells Googlebot definitively that nothing lives here and to stop coming back. A soft 404 returns 200, which keeps Googlebot returning and attempting to index content that serves no purpose. Over time, a site with many soft 404s can develop indexing problems as Google's systems deprioritise crawling after repeatedly finding unhelpful pages. This is an important consideration for larger SEO projects and e-commerce sites in South Africa that handle large product catalogues.
Soft 404 In Practice
The scenario below is an illustrative example, not a Juicy Designs client result. It shows how soft 404 problems typically arise and get fixed, so treat it as indicative rather than measured.
Picture a South African e-commerce fashion retailer running a WooCommerce store with hundreds of product pages for seasonal items that are no longer available. If those products are set to "out of stock" or simply have their data removed without the URL being redirected or the response code changed, every one of those product pages becomes a soft 404. Google would crawl each one, find no meaningful product information, and identify them as soft 404s.
In this scenario, the correct fix depends on the business decision about those URLs. If the product will return next season, add an informative page that explains the item is temporarily unavailable, provide estimated availability, and link to similar products. If the product is permanently discontinued, implement a 301 redirect to the most relevant category page. If neither is practical for a very large number of SKUs, return a genuine 404 status code so Googlebot stops crawling those URLs entirely.
Another common soft 404 source is URL parameter combinations on sites with faceted navigation. Filters like /category/-colour=red&size=XL generate unique URLs that may return empty results. These should be handled with noindex tags or consolidated through canonical tags to prevent Google from indexing thousands of low-value parameter URLs.
What a soft 404 is
A soft 404 is a situation where a page returns a successful HTTP status (200 OK, indicating the page loaded fine) but its content indicates that the page is effectively not found or has no real content, so it behaves like a not-found page while not returning the proper 404 status. In other words, the server tells browsers and search engines the request succeeded, but the page is actually a not-found, empty, or error page in substance, a mismatch between the status code (success) and the content (effectively missing). Common causes of soft 404s include: a page that shows a not-found or error message to users but returns a 200 status instead of a proper 404; empty or near-empty pages with no substantive content (which Google may judge as effectively having nothing there); pages for products or content that no longer exist but still load a thin or placeholder page with a 200 status; and mis-configured pages that should be 404s but are not returning the correct status. Google flags soft 404s in Search Console because they are problematic: they waste crawl budget (Google crawls pages that have no real content), can clutter the index with valueless pages, and indicate a configuration issue where not-found situations are not being handled correctly. Understanding soft 404s matters because they are a common technical-SEO issue where the site is not correctly signalling not-found or empty pages, so knowing what a soft 404 is, a page returning success but effectively having no real content, and why Google flags them, helps a business identify and fix these mismatches so that genuinely missing or empty pages are handled correctly and do not waste crawl resources or clutter the index.
Fixing soft 404 errors
Fixing soft 404 errors means resolving the mismatch between a page's success status and its lack of real content, by handling each case correctly according to what the page should be. The right fix depends on the cause: if a page genuinely does not exist or has no real content and should be a not-found page, it should return a proper 404 (or 410 Gone) status rather than a 200, so that search engines correctly understand the page is not there, this corrects the status-content mismatch for genuinely missing pages; if the content that was expected has moved or been replaced, and there is a relevant alternative, the URL should be redirected (with a 301) to the appropriate replacement page, so users and search engines are sent to real content rather than a thin or empty page; and if the page should exist and have content but is empty or thin (a soft 404 caused by lack of substance), the fix is to add genuine, substantial content so the page is no longer effectively empty, or, if it should not exist, to remove it and return a 404 or redirect. So the handling is: proper 404/410 for genuinely non-existent pages, 301 redirect for moved/replaced content with a relevant alternative, and adding real content (or removing the page) for empty pages that should not be thin. A common specific cause is a custom not-found page that displays a not-found message but returns a 200 status; the fix is to configure it to return a proper 404 status while still showing the helpful not-found page to users. As to why Google flags a soft 404 even though the page loads fine: Google looks at the content, not just the status code, and if the content indicates the page is effectively not found or empty (a not-found message, or no substantive content) while the status says success, Google treats it as a soft 404 because the page provides no real value despite claiming success, which is exactly the mismatch to fix. Finding soft 404s is done through Google Search Console, which reports them, and by reviewing the flagged pages to determine the correct handling. For a South African business, fixing soft 404s means using Search Console to find them, then for each, returning a proper 404 (or 410) where the page genuinely does not exist, redirecting (301) where content has moved to a relevant replacement, and adding real content (or removing/404-ing) where a page is empty or thin, and ensuring custom not-found pages return the correct 404 status. Resolving soft 404s this way ensures the site correctly signals not-found and empty situations, stops wasting crawl budget on valueless pages, and keeps the index clean, which is why addressing soft 404s flagged in Search Console is a worthwhile technical-SEO housekeeping task.
FAQ
How do I fix soft 404 errors on my website?
Either add substantive content to the page so it provides genuine value, redirect it with a 301 to a relevant live page, or return a proper 404 status code so search engines stop attempting to index it. The correct fix depends on whether the URL should exist at all.
Why does Google Search Console flag soft 404s if the page loads fine?
Google evaluates content quality, not just HTTP status. A page that loads with a 200 code but shows 'product not found' or blank template HTML is identified as a soft 404 because it provides no value to users. Google may exclude these pages from its index.
How do you fix soft 404 errors on your website?
Handle each case by its cause: for pages that genuinely do not exist or have no real content, return a proper 404 (or 410) status instead of 200; for content that has moved or been replaced, 301-redirect the URL to the relevant replacement; and for pages that should have content but are empty or thin, add genuine, substantial content (or remove them). A common fix is configuring a custom not-found page to return a proper 404 status while still showing users the helpful page. Search Console reports soft 404s to address.