If you’re diving into SEO, you’ve probably heard about 4xx status codes—and if you’re wondering, “What’s the impact of 4xx status codes in SEO?” you’re in the right place! These seemingly small error codes can make a big difference when it comes to how search engines interact with your site.
But don’t worry, you don’t need to panic over the technical jargon. Together with GetFound, let’s break down what these codes mean and why they could be silently sabotaging your website’s SEO performance.
Plus, if you want to avoid any nasty surprises, we’ll dive into how you can address them to protect your rankings.
Why 4xx Status Codes Matter for SEO
Before we get deep into the impact of 4xx status codes, let’s quickly recap what they are. These are client-side error responses (think: errors caused by the request itself).
So if you’ve ever clicked on a link and been greeted with a 404 error, that’s a 4xx status code in action. But, what’s the impact of 4xx status codes in SEO?
In short, 4xx errors are bad for SEO because they block search engines from crawling and indexing your pages. When search engines like Google encounter these codes, they interpret them as roadblocks to the content, which can lead to your pages being removed from their index, losing their rankings, or wasting valuable crawl budgets.
Essentially, 4xx errors can make it harder for your site to be found by search engines—and if search engines can’t find your pages, users won’t either.
The Impact of 4xx Status Codes on Crawl Budget
Every website has a crawl budget—this is essentially how many pages search engines are willing to crawl on your site during a given timeframe.
If you’ve got 4xx errors scattered throughout your site, search engines will waste their crawl budget trying to access those broken links, rather than crawling your valuable, content-rich pages.
This means your most important pages might not get crawled as often, or at all. And when your pages aren’t crawled, they won’t get indexed, which means they won’t show up in search results. Over time, this could result in lower rankings for your site as a whole.
To check how your site is performing with Google, make sure to use tools like Google Search Console to monitor crawl errors and fix issues fast.
The Negative Impact of 4xx Errors on User Experience
Now that we’ve talked about how 4xx errors affect search engines, let’s take a look at how they influence user experience—and, by extension, your SEO.
Imagine you’re a user browsing your site, and you click on a link, only to encounter a 404 error. Frustrating, right? It’s like a dead end, and no one likes running into walls when they’re trying to find something online.
This poor user experience has ripple effects on SEO. Users who encounter broken links may bounce off your site quickly, signaling to search engines that your site might not be providing valuable content or functioning well.
High bounce rates and low engagement metrics can be damaging to your site’s rankings.
How 4xx Status Codes Affect Link Equity
Link equity, or “link juice,” is a critical part of how pages gain authority and rankings. If your website has external or internal links pointing to pages that return a 4xx error, those links lose their value. Essentially, the link equity that could have been passed from one page to another is wasted.
For instance, imagine you’ve spent time building quality backlinks to a page on your website. If that page starts returning a 404 error, those backlinks stop contributing to your SEO efforts.
It’s like spending a lot of time building connections only to watch them crumble. This could lead to a drop in rankings for that page, and for any other pages depending on it for link equity.
Also Read: What’s the Importance of Google Hummingbird in SEO? The Key to Smarter Search Results
Impact of Different 4xx Codes on SEO
Not all 4xx codes are created equal when it comes to SEO.
Let’s break down the key codes and their specific impact:
1. 404 Not Found
The classic 404 error is the most common 4xx code, and it’s usually a sign that a page no longer exists. While 404 errors don’t always have an immediate impact on SEO, if left unchecked, they can lead to link equity loss, wasted crawl budget, and potential deindexing of the page.
For example, if a page 404s and is ignored by Google for too long, it can disappear from search results altogether.
2. 410 Gone
A 410 Gone error indicates that a page has been permanently removed. From an SEO perspective, this is better than a 404 error because search engines like Google treat it as a direct signal to remove the page from their index more quickly.
While this is helpful if the page has been intentionally deleted, it can hurt SEO if it’s used incorrectly on pages that still offer value to users or the website.
3. 403 Forbidden
The 403 error means that the server is refusing to fulfill the request, typically due to permissions issues.
For SEO, this is problematic because it prevents search engine crawlers from accessing content they need to index. If search engines can’t crawl a page due to a 403 error, it won’t be indexed, and you’ll lose any opportunity to rank for it.
4. 429 Too Many Requests
A 429 error means the server has received too many requests in a short amount of time, often because of rate limiting. While this error is temporary, if it occurs frequently, it could slow down crawlers’ ability to access your site.
The result? A drop in crawl efficiency and potentially missed opportunities for search engines to index your pages.
Fixing 4xx Errors: An SEO Priority
Now that we know what’s the impact of 4xx status codes in SEO, it’s clear that these errors can significantly affect your site’s performance.
But don’t worry—there are steps you can take to resolve these issues and keep your SEO efforts on track.
Here’s a quick action plan:
- Audit your site for 4xx errors
Use tools like Ahrefs or Screaming Frog to crawl your site and spot any 4xx errors.
- Fix broken links
If you find any 404 errors, update them with redirects or correct the URLs if the pages still exist.
- Redirect old URLs
If you’ve permanently moved a page, implement 301 redirects to ensure that any link equity is passed to the new location.
- Monitor regularly
Use tools like Google Search Console to stay on top of crawl errors and fix them quickly before they snowball.
Let’s Get Your Site in Shape with GetFound!
Learning what’s the impact of 4xx status codes in SEO is just the first step. If you are serious about optimizing your site and boosting your rankings, it is time to take action!
Fixing 4xx errors is not just about cleaner technical SEO; it is about providing a better user experience, maximizing your link equity, and making sure search engines can crawl all the right pages.
If you need help navigating this process and ensuring your site is in tip-top shape, get in touch with GetFound today! Let our experts guide you in eliminating these pesky errors and improving your SEO strategy.
