Official statement
To prevent a page from being classified as a soft 404, make sure it does not contain text indicating a lack of content ('no products in this category', 'no results'). Instead, display descriptive text explaining the nature and usefulness of the page.
Other statements from this video 33 ▾
- □ How should you configure canonical tags for multilingual websites?
- □ Does translated content really count as unique by Google?
- □ Do multilingual backlinks really build themselves?
- □ Should you really worry about localized URLs for SEO?
- □ Why is active promotion essential for new websites in SEO?
- □ Why is using nofollow in press releases crucial for your SEO?
- □ Should you really worry about negative SEO?
- □ Why is submitting entire domains for disavowal more effective?
- □ Is it true that Google overlooks suspicious links without penalizing SEO?
- □ What’s the relationship between Core Web Vitals and soft 404 errors in SEO?
- □ Why does Google sometimes rewrite your meta descriptions without warning?
- □ How does Google tailor your meta descriptions for every search query?
- □ Should you automate meta descriptions for SEO on a large scale?
- □ How does placing key text at the top of HTML enhance your SEO?
- □ Is it true that Core Updates are actually independent of Core Web Vitals?
- □ How will the gradual rollout of Core Web Vitals impact your SEO strategy?
- □ How does hreflang really affect your SEO strategy?
- □ Should You Rethink Your Geographic Content Strategy Due to Doorway Pages?
- □ Why does Google recommend a gradual approach for local pages?
- □ Why Does Google Penalize Published Automatic Translations As They Are?
- □ Why doesn’t Google guarantee the display of rich results?
- □ What Factors Truly Influence Rich Results Quality?
- □ Do Dashes in Domain Names Really Affect SEO?
- □ Is it true that migrating your domain for keywords could backfire on your SEO efforts?
- □ How does the Search Console's URL Inspection Tool change the game for SEO?
- □ Is it true that the HTML lang attribute doesn’t matter for SEO?
- □ Is it true that Google ignores certain lang attributes in your templates?
- □ Is it true that Google treats product pages and articles the same in SEO?
- □ How does Google My Business enhance your local SEO efforts?
- □ How can you effectively optimize your pages for 'near me' searches without complicating your strategy?
- □ How can you leverage free Google Shopping to boost your product visibility?
- □ Is selective internal linking more effective than a massive approach for SEO?
- □ Should You Focus on Profitable Products in Your Internal Linking Strategy?
Official statement from
(5 years ago)
⚠ A more recent statement exists on this topic
Is returning HTTP 200 on a 404 page really cloaking or just a soft 404?
View statement →
TL;DR
Google marks a page as 'soft 404' if it indicates a lack of content. Replace messages like 'no results' with explanatory and useful text for SEO.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Qu'est-ce qu'une page soft 404 ?
C'est une page que Google interprète comme introuvable ou sans valeur, bien qu'elle ne renvoie pas un code d'erreur 404.
Puis-je empêcher les soft 404 avec des redirections ?
Seules redirections vers des pages pertinentes peuvent aider, mais variez votre approche selon le contexte.
Les soft 404 affectent-ils mon classement SEO ?
Oui, potentiellement, car Google peut choisir de ne pas indexer ces pages, les rendant quasi-invisibles pour les utilisateurs.
Comment Google identifie-t-il une page soft 404 ?
Google analyse le contenu de la page et son utilité apparente pour décider si elle mérite l'indexation.
Quelles options si ma page n’a pas de contenu fixe ?
Ajoutez des descriptions riches, détaillées et engageantes pour indiquer sa pertinence même sans contenu courant.
🎥 From the same video 33
Other SEO insights extracted from this same Google Search Central video · published on 23/07/2021
🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube →
💬 Comments (0)
Be the first to comment.