404 Errors: How to Detect and Fix Them?

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404 Errors: How to Detect and Fix Them
You've probably been browsing a website and come across a 404 error , right? Dealing with an unfindable page error is very frustrating and you don't want that to happen to your website's users.

Even if the impact on your natural ranking is almost non-existent, you need to maintain a good user experience and ensure that Internet users maintain trust in your site.

That’s why it’s essential to know how to detect 404 not south africa phone number data errors and fix them.

Table of Contents view
What is a 404 error?
The 404 error is often accompanied by the message “Page not found” and corresponds to an HTTP error code returned by the website server.

In this type of situation, the user tries to access a page that the server cannot find: he cannot therefore view any content.

Google Error 404
Depending on the browser, an HTTP 404 error can take on different terminologies, for example:

404 error Not Found
The requested URL was not found in this server
HTTP error 404
HTTP 404 Not Found
404 04 File or Directory Not Found
Error 404: the causes
There are several situations that can lead to a 404 error :

The link a user is trying to access has been removed, it no longer exists
The link, when inserted directly by the user, contains a syntax error
The link has a redirect , but it has not been configured correctly
The problem comes from the server, but it is very rare
It is very important to resolve 404 errors , because the quality of navigation on your site is an aspect that should not be overlooked. As already mentioned at the beginning of this article, not being able to access a web page is very frustrating. Your visitors may leave your site to go to a competitor to find the desired content.

As far as your SEO is concerned, it probably won’t be affected. Google recognizes that it’s difficult to keep track of all its links, so it’s “normal” for all sites to have a certain amount of broken links that lead to 404 errors .

On the other hand, too many errors can generate a high bounce rate and therefore have consequences on visitor behavior. In the latter case, your site could be judged of lower quality, thus compromising your visibility on search engines.

Tools to Detect 404 Not Found Errors
To fix 404 errors , you first need to know where they are.

If you have a Google Search Console account , you can start with this first free tool. By going to “Coverage”, you will see all the errors present on your site.

To find 404 errors, take a closer look at the “Details” section.

404 errors on google search console
You can also use Dead Link Checker , a free tool.

Enter your site URL and you will see all the errors appear. Pages that cannot be found are highlighted in red with the message “ 404 Not Found “.

Dead link checker to find 404 errors
Finally, SEMRush which remains one of the most effective tools. In “Site Check” you can see the 404 errors by clicking on “Broken” in the “Total Score” block.

404 Errors on SEMrush
How to Fix a 404 Error Code
Now that you have identified all your broken links, it's time to fix them to eliminate as many 404 errors as possible.

You have several solutions available:

Remove broken link
Replace the broken link: The new URL must lead to relevant content
Perform a 301 redirect if you change the URL
Whatever you do, it is essential to create a custom 404 page in parallel . This should reflect your brand image and contain at least one link (ideally your main menu) to take the user back to, for example, the home page. The idea is to offer a solution to the problem and keep the visitor on your site.