In a recent development from Google’s web ecosystem, Martin Splitt, a well-respected figure at the tech giant, issued a word of caution about redirecting 404 errors to your homepage. As webmasters, SEO specialists and digital marketers, we should consider this advice seriously and align our strategies accordingly.
A 404 error essentially means that a page on your website that was once accessible no longer exists, and your server is failing to find it. These pages could have been removed intentionally or could be the result of technical errors. So far, many webmasters and SEO experts have addressed this issue by setting up 301 redirects from the missing page to their homepage. On the surface, this tactic seems smart – users land on an existing page instead of one that’s gone missing. However, Splitt advises against this strategy.
Notably, Splitt explains that redirecting all 404s to the homepage can actually confuse Google’s algorithm. He suggests that a hard 404 response is a better approach. So, before we move any further, let’s delve into what a hard 404 error is.
A “hard 404” is different from a “soft 404”. A hard 404 indicates that a page is not found and doesn’t exist anymore. It’s a clear-cut message to search engines and helps them understand the status of the page. On the other hand, a soft 404 error means the page is not found, but the server is not able to confirm whether the page has been deleted or not.
One could assume that redirecting a 404-error page to the homepage would provide a better user experience. However, Splitt argues this is not the case. He notes that it can be frustrating for users to land on the homepage when they expected to find specific content. They may have to navigate around the site to find what they are looking for, which doesn’t provide a good experience.
There’s also a bigger picture. We don’t just maintain websites for an outstanding user experience. We also have to consider our standing in the eyes of search engines, which play a substantial role in deciding our digital futures. The point Splitt makes is that when you redirect a 404 error to your homepage, it can confuse Googlebot because the same content is shown for various unique URLs. Over time, this can lead to indexing issues and could potentially negatively affect your website’s search visibility.
What’s the way forward then? Splitt advises letting the 404 pages be what they are meant to be – a signpost that the specific content requested isn’t available. When Google encounters these, it understands the page is gone and will remove it from the index in due course.
That said, it’s also essential to periodically check for 404 errors and fix them, especially if they’re pointing to essential resources. Consequently, we should focus on reinstating missing pages that were mistakenly removed or fill them with fresh, relevant content and use 301 redirects in such scenarios. This improves SEO and overall user experience.
In conclusion, every move in the digital marketing world needs to be guided by twin pointers – user experience and the understanding and workings of search engine algorithms. A gentle reminder from Splitt brings attention back to the basics of SEO, which are fundamental to the digital success of our brands – despite the growing complexity of our domain. So let’s fine-tune our approaches accordingly to achieve the best results.
