A page that looks like a 404 to users or search engines but returns 200 OK.
Soft 404s serve a success status (200) for pages that have no useful content, are empty, or indicate the item is missing. They can confuse crawlers, waste crawl budget, and clutter indexes. Correct handling involves returning 404/410 where appropriate or redirecting to the most relevant alternative.
| Criteria | Recommended | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Intent Alignment | Map $soft 404 to user journeys and topics | Validate with SERP and on-site behavior |
| Consistency | Encode in components and content standards | Use CMS validations and preview QA |
| Measurement | Track internal CTR, sync signals, conversions | Set guardrails to catch regressions |
Out-of-stock product pages showing “not found” but returning 200
Empty search results pages with thin content
Improves index quality
Reduces user confusion and pogo-sticking
Conserves crawl resources
Return proper 404/410 for missing items
Redirect to relevant categories when suitable
Avoid showing thin “placeholder” pages with 200
The number of pages search engine bots will crawl on your site within a given timeframe.
The process of indicating the preferred URL among duplicate or similar pages.
Removing, consolidating, or improving low-value pages to strengthen overall site quality.
User experience metrics focused on loading, interactivity, and visual stability.
A file submitted to search engines to ignore specific backlinks for ranking purposes.
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust signals used to assess content quality.
A file that instructs search engine crawlers which URLs they can or cannot access.
RankVectors uses AI-powered semantic analysis to help you implement intelligent internal linking strategies automatically.
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The structure and organization of pages, content, and navigation on a website.
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