Should I redirect every 404?

Only if there is a highly relevant alternative. If the page is gone and has no equivalent, a 410 (Gone) or 404 is technically correct, but you must remove all internal links to it.

Do broken pages hurt my whole site?

A few 404s are normal, but a high volume of errors signals poor site maintenance to Google, which can negatively impact overall crawl efficiency.

How to fix broken pages (4xx/5xx)

Broken pages occur when a server returns an error status code instead of the requested content. These represent dead ends for both users and search engine crawlers.

What is wrong

A 4xx error (like 404 Not Found) means the page is missing on the client side, while a 5xx error (like 500 Internal Server Error) indicates a failure on the server side. You can identify this by checking the HTTP response header of any URL that fails to load.

If a page returns these codes, search engines will eventually drop it from the index, and users will see a generic error message, likely leading them to leave your site immediately.

Why it matters

Broken pages waste crawl budget, as bots spend time hitting dead ends rather than indexing valuable content. They also destroy 'link equity'; any external sites linking to a broken URL provide zero ranking value to your domain.

For AEO and GEO, broken links prevent AI models from verifying facts or sourcing your site as a credible reference, as the destination provides no data.

How to fix it

1. Identify the cause

Check if the URL was deleted or if the server is experiencing a temporary outage. For 5xx errors, review your server logs or contact your hosting provider to resolve infrastructure issues.

2. Restore or redirect

If the content should exist, restore the page. If the page was intentionally removed, implement a 301 redirect to the most relevant live page to preserve link juice and guide users.

3. Update internal links

Find every internal link pointing to the broken URL and update the 'href' attribute to the new destination. This prevents users from ever encountering the error.

Platform notes

In WordPress, plugins like Redirection can manage 301s, while tools like Yoast SEO Premium automate redirects when slugs are changed.

Common questions

Should I redirect every 404?: Only if there is a highly relevant alternative. If the page is gone and has no equivalent, a 410 (Gone) or 404 is technically correct, but you must remove all internal links to it.
Do broken pages hurt my whole site?: A few 404s are normal, but a high volume of errors signals poor site maintenance to Google, which can negatively impact overall crawl efficiency.