Soft 404 in Google Search Console: What It Means and How to Fix It

You open Search Console and see "Soft 404" under the pages Google did not index. The page opens fine in your browser, so what is wrong? The short version: Google thinks the page has nothing useful on it, even though your server says everything is OK.

This guide explains what a soft 404 means, how to find the cause, and the right fix for each type of page.

What does "Soft 404" mean in Google Search Console?

Every time Google requests a page, your server sends back a status code. 200 means "here is the page". 404 means "not found". 410 means "gone for good".

A soft 404 happens when the server says 200, but the page content looks like an error, an empty page or a "not found" message. Google's documentation on HTTP status codes says that when content on a 2xx page suggests an error or an empty page, Search Console will show a soft 404 error.

Google's help page on 404 errors says soft 404s can confuse both users and search engines. It also says normal 404s for pages that really do not exist do not harm your site's indexing or ranking. So the goal is not to remove every error. It is to send the honest signal.

Soft 404 vs real 404 vs redirect

How to find soft 404 pages

1. Open Google Search Console and select your property.
2. Go to Indexing > Pages.
3. Under Why pages aren't indexed, click Soft 404.
4. Look at the example URLs. Export them if the list is long.
5. Open a few in a private browser window and note what you see.

Then click a URL and use Inspect URL to see how Google last crawled it. Our guide on requesting indexing in Search Console walks through the URL Inspection tool.

Common causes of soft 404 on blogs and small sites

1. Deleted posts that show a "not found" message with a 200 code

Some themes and scripts show a friendly "Sorry, this page does not exist" message but forget to send a 404 code. To Google, that looks like a normal page with almost no content.

2. Empty category, tag or archive pages

A category with zero posts, or a tag used once, gives Google a page with a heading and nothing else.

3. Internal search result pages with no results

URLs like /search?q=xyz that say "No results found" are a classic soft 404.

4. Out-of-stock or deleted products

On online stores, a product page that only says "unavailable", with no description or options, can be treated as empty.

5. Very thin pages

A post with one image and two lines, or an auto-generated page with only a title, may look empty to Google.

6. Redirecting everything to the homepage

If old URLs all redirect to your homepage, the homepage is not a real replacement for the old page. Google advises against this, and these URLs can end up reported as soft 404s.

How to fix soft 404 errors step by step

Pick the fix that matches the page. Google's 404 help page gives the basic rule: if content is deleted with no replacement, let the old URL return a 404 or 410; if it has moved, add a redirect.

Fix 1: The page is gone. Return a real 404

1. Check the status code. In Chrome, open the page, press F12, go to the Network tab, reload, and click the first row. Look at Status Code.
2. If it shows 200 on a "not found" page, the theme or script is wrong. In PHP, the error page should send the code before any output, for example: http_response_code(404);
3. On WordPress, a proper theme sends 404 automatically for missing URLs. If yours does not, test with a default theme to confirm, then contact the theme developer.
4. Make sure the 404 page itself is useful: a search box and links to your main categories.

Fix 2: The page moved. Add a 301 redirect

Redirect the old URL to the closest matching page, not the homepage. On Apache hosting, you can add a line to .htaccess like:

Redirect 301 /old-post/ https://yourdomain.com/new-post/

On WordPress, a redirect plugin does the same thing from the dashboard. Take a backup first; our guide on backing up your website in cPanel shows how.

Fix 3: The page should exist. Add real content

• Empty categories: add posts, merge the category into a bigger one, or delete it.
• Thin tag pages: stop creating a tag for every post. Many sites set tag archives to noindex and remove them from the sitemap.
• Thin posts: expand the post so it fully answers the search, or merge it into a stronger related post and redirect.
• Out-of-stock products: keep the full description, show "out of stock" clearly and suggest similar items. If the product is gone forever, use 404 or redirect to a close replacement.

Fix 4: Search result pages

Internal search pages usually should not be in Google at all. Do not link to them in your sitemap, and add a noindex meta tag to the search template if your platform allows it.

After fixing: validate in Search Console

1. Go back to Indexing > Pages > Soft 404.
2. Click Validate fix.
3. Wait. Validation can take days or weeks. Do not click it again while it is running.
4. Pages you fixed with real 404s will move into "Not found (404)". That is correct and expected.

Also update your sitemap so it lists only pages you want indexed. See our guide to submitting a sitemap in Search Console.

Is soft 404 bad for AdSense?

A soft 404 report is not an AdSense policy problem on its own. But a site full of empty pages, broken categories and "nothing found" screens looks unfinished to visitors and reviewers. Cleaning these up makes your site better for both Google Search and anyone checking your site before approval.

Final word

A soft 404 is Google telling you a page looks empty. Be honest with your status codes: 404 or 410 for gone pages, a 301 to the nearest match for moved pages, and real content for pages you want indexed. Fix the pattern, validate, and move on.

Next step: open the Soft 404 list today and sort the URLs into "gone", "moved" and "needs content". If you want a clean, SEO-ready base for a new site, browse the GeniusGuru marketplace, or learn the full workflow in our Pro courses.