How to fix a 404?
-
I had to delete a page of my site, now when I search for it I see it's showing a 404. How to I get that page to stop showing on Google?
Thank you in advance!
-
Hey There!,
Deleting a page of a site is always tricky, so I would always consider looking at other factors that may be causing this page to still show in Google results.
Firstly I would check the sitemap. The sitemap is an easy way to tell Google what pages you want indexed. I would remove the page in question from the sitemap if you haven't already, then I would log into Google Search Console and upload the new one. This should provide Google with a fresh new sitemap without the 404 Page hopefully preventing the page being indexed.
Another consideration when removing a page from the site, is to ensure there are no other sites still linking to that page, if Google can access your site from another page or another site, chances are it will index it.
For this I would implement a 301 re-direct to redirect users(and bots) visiting that page to a relevant equivalent.
Hope this helps!
Thanks,
Ian
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Getting 404 Errors on Fonts After Website Redesign
Hi, I recently redesigned my website and I changed a few URLs so I have been keeping an eye on 404 errors and setting up redirects as needed. However, my 404 error log keeps getting filled font related URLs like this: <colgroup><col width="960"></colgroup>
On-Page Optimization | | DohenyDrones
| /fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.otf), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.woff), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.eot), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.eot? |
| /fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Black.otf), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Black.woff), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Black.eot), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Black.eot? |
| /fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.otf), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.woff), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.eot), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.eot? |
| /fonts/AvenirLTStd-Book.otf), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Book.woff), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Book.eot), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Book.eot? |
| /fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Bold.otf), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Bold.woff), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Bold.eot), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Bold.eot? |
| /fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Bold.otf), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Bold.woff), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Bold.eot), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Bold.eot? |
| /fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Black.otf), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Black.woff), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Black.eot), url(/fonts/FrutigerLTStd-Black.eot? |
| /fonts/AvenirLTStd-Book.otf), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Book.woff), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Book.eot), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Book.eot? |
| /fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.otf), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.woff), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.eot), url(/fonts/AvenirLTStd-Heavy.eot? | Any idea what is causing these 404 errors? Is this something that might hurt my SERP?0 -
How to fix this URL?
Moz crawl test only show one URL indexed for the website - http://ravisharrma.com/ Site:http://ravisharrma.com/ shows 3 URLs and how to fix URLs for the website?
On-Page Optimization | | Dan_Brown10 -
404 Error to homepage
Is there any risk of forwarding 404 links directly to homepage. I already have 404 page but now google showing you have lots of 404 links and some of them i can't control to fix this issue. Is there any problem if i do so for SEO ?
On-Page Optimization | | chandubaba0 -
404 crawl errors with all url+domain
We have 187 crawl 404 errors. All urls on web make a 404 error that this http://www.domain.com/[.....]l/www.domain.com all errors added to the url, the url domain I put an example gestoriabarcelona.com/www.gestoriabarcelona.com
On-Page Optimization | | promonet
gestoriabarcelona.com/tarifas/www.gestoriabarcelona.com
gestoriabarcelona.com/category/noticias/page/7/www.gestoriabarcelona.com
gestoriabarcelona.com/2012/08/amortizacion-de-unaconstruccion/
www.gestoriabarcelona.com
[..] I don't know where can i find to solve errors Anyone can help me? Thanks0 -
We have 5 postions on page 2 in a google search, but none on page 1\. How can we fix this?
For one of our most important key phrases we have 5 listings on page 2 but none on page 1. We are an ecommerce company, the key phrase we're trying for is a Top Level Category name for us, so the 5 links we have on googles second page for the key phrase (in order) are the appropriate top level category page, the sites home page and than three sub categories of that top level category. So while that all makes sense, can't we convince google to concentrate all that link power/juice into just the top level category page? Hopefully bumping it to first page rank? The 5 ranks are 11-15
On-Page Optimization | | absoauto0 -
How to fix keyword self-cannibalization?
page in question: www.bison-builders.com/lots-plans/bison-meadows-lots-1-6/ This page is the landing page for 6 custom home lots, available via Bison Builders. I fixed the overstuffing of 'Bison Meadows', it was on all image title, alt, etc. Should be right around 15. We are using 'Bison Meadows' as a keyword, because that's the name of the custom community. I don't want to change the names of the links, and I don't want to change the name of the keyword. How do I fix this self-cannibalization? FYI, I was thinking of directing all canonical URLs for individual pages to this page, but will wait til I know how to fix this first... Thank you! Avoid Keyword Self-Cannibalization Easy fix <dl> <dt>Cannibalizing link</dt> <dd>"Bison Meadows Lot 1", "Bison Meadows Lot 2", "Bison Meadows Lot 3", "Bison Meadows Lot 4", "Bison Meadows Lot 5", and "Bison Meadows Lot 6"</dd> <dt>Explanation</dt> <dd>It's a best practice in SEO to target each keyword with a single page on your site (sometimes two if you've already achieved high rankings and are seeking a second, indented listing). To prevent engines from potentially seeing a signal that this page is not the intended ranking target and creating additional competition for your page, we suggest staying away from linking internally to another page with the target keyword(s) as the exact anchor text. Note that using modified versions is sometimes fine (for example, if this page targeted the word 'elephants', using 'baby elephants' in anchor text would be just fine).</dd> <dt>Recommendation</dt> <dd>Unless there is intent to rank multiple pages for the target keyword, it may be wise to modify the anchor text of this link so it is not an exact match.</dd> </dl> <a class="more expanded">Minimize</a>
On-Page Optimization | | IngridWood0 -
My report also notes that I have 176 Rel Canonical. What does this mean and how do I fix it. Thanks
My report also notes that I have 176 Rel Canonical. What does this mean and how do I fix it. Thanks http://pro.seomoz.org/campaigns/95663/issues/18
On-Page Optimization | | cyaindc0 -
In my report of my website it was indicated that I had 19 links/locations blocked by meta-robots. What does this mean and how do I fix it. My website is a Wordpress website.
In my report of my website it was indicated that I had 19 links/locations blocked by meta-robots. What does this mean and how do I fix it. My website is a Wordpress website.
On-Page Optimization | | cyaindc0