Soft 404 issues: fix thin pages and retarget backlinks

What soft 404s are (and why they hurt)

A soft 404 is a page that loads normally (often with a 200 status code), but feels like a dead end. It might say "no results found," show an empty category, or display a generic message with almost no real content.

A real 404 is different. The server clearly tells browsers and search engines that the page doesn't exist. And a low-traffic page isn't automatically a problem either. A page can be valid and helpful even if it doesn't get many visits yet.

Soft 404 issues happen when a page is technically live, but looks misleading, empty, or not worth indexing.

Google tries not to send searchers to pages that waste their time. If your site has lots of pages that look empty, copied, or irrelevant, Google may treat them as low quality and reduce their visibility.

Soft 404s also waste crawl attention. Googlebot can spend time crawling near-empty URLs instead of your important pages. That can slow down how quickly changes get picked up and make indexing signals less reliable.

A simple example: a store removes a product but keeps the URL live with a short "out of stock" note and nothing else. People bounce, and Google may treat the page as effectively gone. At that point, you either rebuild the page into something useful or redirect it to the closest match.

Pages that often get treated as soft 404s

Some pages return 200 OK but still look unhelpful to a real person. Google may treat these as soft 404s even though your server says the page exists.

This shows up most often on:

• Empty category, tag, or collection pages.
• Expired listings (jobs, rentals, events, coupons) where the main item is gone.
• Internal search and filter results that produce lots of "no matches" variations.
• Auto-generated pages with little unique content (thin profiles, pagination, parameter URLs).
• Near-duplicate local or service pages where only the city name changes.

A common trap is the "No results found" template. It often returns 200 OK, has a headline and a search box, and not much else. To users, it feels like a dead end. To Google, it can look like a missing page.

Another frequent cause is content that isn't visible to crawlers. If the main content only appears after heavy scripts run, or it's blocked behind a login, age check, or cookie wall, Google may see a mostly blank page even if it looks fine in your browser.

How to find likely soft 404 URLs

Soft 404 issues hide in plain sight. The server returns 200 OK, but the page tells users (and Google) that nothing useful is there.

Start in Google Search Console. In Indexing reports, look for patterns like "Crawled - currently not indexed" and sudden drops in indexed pages. Then use URL Inspection on a few examples and read the notes: if Google discovered the URL but chose not to index it, that's often a hint the page looks thin, duplicated, or unhelpful.

Next, use your own data to spot pages users don't engage with. Server logs are ideal because they show what bots and users actually request, but analytics can also help. Watch for URLs that get visits but have very short time on page, low engagement, or high exits. Common culprits are old campaign pages, expired listings, and internal search results that were accidentally crawlable.

Then do a quick "human check" on suspicious URLs. Look for pages that return 200 OK while the page itself says things like "Page not found," "No results," or "This item has expired." Also flag pages where most of the visible text is boilerplate and the main content is missing.

If you want faster decisions later, keep a simple spreadsheet: URL, status code, what users see, indexed (Y/N), traffic, backlinks (if any), and your recommended action (rebuild, redirect, remove).

Quick tests to confirm a page looks thin

Before you rebuild or redirect anything, check the page the way a new visitor would.

Open it in a fresh browser (incognito/private mode) and ask: would a first-time visitor understand what this page is for within 10 seconds?

A quick set of checks usually catches the problem:

• Purpose: the headline and first screen should explain what the page offers and what to do next.
• Above the fold: if the main content is tiny or pushed far down by banners and navigation, it reads as low value.
• Consistency: compare it with similar URLs. If only one word changes (city name, product code, date), it can look like boilerplate.
• Access: reload without filters, location settings, or a session. If content only appears after sorting, selecting options, or logging in, crawlers may see a near-empty page.

One more gut-check: if you mentally remove the header, footer, and sidebars, is there still enough unique content to justify the URL? If not, it's probably thin.

Choose the right fix: rebuild, redirect, or remove

When Google hits a URL and sees little value, it may treat it like a "not found" page even if it returns 200. The fix depends on whether the page should exist and what a searcher expects to find.

Ask one simple question: if someone lands here from search, will they feel helped within 10 seconds?

Use a straightforward decision rule:

• Rebuild the page if the topic still matters and you can add real, unique value.
• Consolidate if several pages cover the same intent and none is strong on its own.
• Redirect if the content moved or a better equivalent already exists.
• Return a real 404 or 410 if the page is truly gone and shouldn't come back.

If you rebuild, focus on intent first, not word count. A short page can still be strong if it answers the query clearly.

A good rebuild usually includes a clear purpose, unique details (steps, specs, examples, FAQs), and internal links that help people continue their journey.

If you redirect, avoid sending everything to the homepage. Redirect to the closest match by intent. An expired product should go to the successor product or the most relevant category, not the front page.

If a page is truly gone, return 404 or 410 and remove it from your sitemap.

Step-by-step: clean up soft 404s without breaking your site

When you fix soft 404 issues, the goal is to stop sending Google and people to pages that look empty, and move signals to pages that will stay useful.

Start by pulling a list of suspected thin URLs from a crawl, Search Console reports, analytics landing pages, and any "no results" or expired-item templates.

Don't treat them one by one. Group them by pattern, such as "out of stock products," "empty tags," "city pages," or "filters with zero items." Fixing one pattern usually fixes hundreds of URLs.

For each group, choose one stable target URL you can keep live long-term with clear content and a real purpose. Then work in this order:

1. Rebuild pages that deserve to exist.
2. Redirect pages that shouldn't exist anymore (use a 301 to the best match, not the homepage).
3. Update internal links so menus, breadcrumbs, and "related" sections point directly to the stable target.
4. Request re-crawls where it makes sense, then watch indexing for a few weeks.

After changes go live, spot check in a browser. If the page still reads like a dead end, it will likely get treated as thin again.

Backlinks: retarget them to stable URLs

Backlinks should point to your best pages. When they point to thin, expired, or almost empty URLs, they stop helping because Google may decide the destination isn't worth indexing.

Start by finding which weak URLs actually have inbound links. Export linked pages from Search Console (or another backlink tool), compare that list with your soft 404 candidates, and focus on URLs that still get crawled or still earn impressions. Those are the fastest wins.

Prioritize links that are both valuable and active: strong referring sites, links that are still crawled regularly, and links that send real visits.

For each linked URL, choose between redirecting and updating the backlink:

• Use a 301 redirect when the old page is truly gone and there's a clear replacement that matches the same intent.
• Ask to update the backlink when a redirect would feel like a mismatch, such as sending a specific guide URL to a generic category.

Once you pick the new destination, keep it consistent. Choose one canonical, long-term URL and send reclaimed links there so signals don't get split across multiple "almost the same" pages.

Common mistakes that keep soft 404s coming back

Soft 404 issues often return because the fix looks fine in a quick check but still feels unhelpful to users and Google.

Redirecting everything to the homepage is a big one. It's usually a relevance mismatch, and Google can treat it as a soft 404 in disguise. Redirect to the closest alternative instead, or rebuild a page that explains what changed and points to the right next step.

Redirect chains are another repeat offender. If URL A goes to B and later B goes to C, you've added extra hops that waste crawl attention and increase error risk. Keep it to one clean hop whenever possible.

"No results" pages cause problems when they return 200 OK but offer no next step. If you keep them, make them useful by suggesting popular items, related categories, or guidance on what to try next.

Also avoid deleting pages that still have strong backlinks without a plan. Before you remove a URL, decide where its value should go.

5-minute checklist before you call it fixed

Pull a short list of the URLs you changed (or plan to change) and confirm they behave the way you intended.

• No dead-end 200s: "no results" and "expired" pages shouldn't return 200 with a blank state.
• One stable URL per topic: avoid three near-duplicates competing for the same intent.
• Relevant 301s only: redirect when the intent matches. If it doesn't, rebuild or consolidate instead.
• Internal links updated: don't rely on redirects for navigation, breadcrumbs, or site search.
• Linked URLs handled: any URL with good backlinks has a clear destination.

Over the next few days, watch three signals: indexed pages, soft 404 reports, and organic visits to the stable targets you picked. If traffic lands on redirected URLs more than the final pages, you probably missed internal links.

Example scenario: cleaning a site with expired pages

An ecommerce store sells phone cases. Over time, hundreds of products get discontinued, but the site keeps the old URLs live. The store also generates lots of filter URLs like "brand" or "color".

When a filter has no matching items, the page still loads with a header, a short sentence, and a big "0 items" message.

Google often reads pages like this as "not really useful" even if they return a 200 status. That's how soft 404 issues pile up: lots of indexable URLs that look empty, repetitive, or abandoned.

The fix is to create fewer URLs, each clearly useful:

• Keep and improve top category pages with real copy, FAQs, and featured products.
• Consolidate or block empty filter combinations so "0 items" pages aren't indexable.
• Redirect discontinued products to the closest equivalent (successor model or relevant category). If there's no close match, redirect to a rebuilt category hub.

After that, the store cleans internal links so the site stops pointing to expired items and dead-end filters.

For backlinks, they export links pointing to discontinued products and empty filters, then retarget the most valuable ones to the rebuilt hub page that will stay stable.

Next steps: keep URLs stable and build links safely

The fastest way to prevent soft 404 issues from returning is to treat URLs like long-term assets. If a page might disappear, change purpose, or get rebuilt every few months, it's a risky link target.

Create a short "stable URL list" for future link targets and actually stick to it. Good stable targets are tied to ongoing needs (core services, key guides, main categories), aren't seasonal, have enough content to stay useful after updates, and are linked from important navigation areas.

Add a monthly review to catch thin pages early. Look for new URLs with low engagement, pages that lost internal links after a redesign, and Search Console signals like "crawled, not indexed".

If you're investing in authoritative placements, this stability work matters even more. For example, SEOBoosty (seoboosty.com) is designed to place premium backlinks on top-tier sites, so it's worth making sure those links point to pages you plan to keep and improve over time.