Submitted URL Seems to be a Soft 404: Complete Guide to Detection and Resolution
Submitted URL Seems to be a Soft 404: Complete Guide to Detection and Resolution Rankingsoul Digital Marketing Expert Table of Contents Add a header to begin generating the table of contents Rankingsoul Digital Marketing Expert ✧What is a “Submitted URL Seems to be a Soft 404” Error? The message “Submitted URL seems to be a Soft 404” in Google Search Console signals that Google detects mismatched content perceptions in your server reports compared to their web crawlers interpret the page information. A crucial indexing problem emerges when you encounter this message that affects how your website is shown in search results. A soft 404 is different from standard 404 errors due to your server sending a valid HTTP 200 status code that indicates a page’s presence while Google’s systems recognize the page as empty or containing minimal content or having error components. ✧ Why Google Flags Soft 404 Errors Google algorithms now have advanced capabilities to identify pages which show an existing status but hold no value for users. When Google encounters pages that: The server should return a 200 status code to indicate successful operation. These pages show either empty results or errors along with minimal available content. The pages automatically redirect users to different unrelated content such as the homepage The Google algorithm detects these empty pages as “soft 404s” though they function like error pages without correct error flags. ✧ The SEO Impact of Soft 404 Errors Soft 404 errors can significantly harm your website’s search performance: Indexing Issues: Google removes pages that receive soft 404 error identification from its indexing system, so these pages stay hidden from search results. Crawl Budget Waste: The crawl budget performance allocated by Google to websites remains limited. Your valuable content faces reduced indexing by Googlebot because it spends time on unimportant soft 404 pages. User Experience Signals: User Clicks on Search Listings which Lead to Blank Pages Trigger User Rebounds to Search Pages Causing Negative Quality Signals to Google. Overall Site Quality Perception: Google evaluates your site quality based on its overall perception, which deteriorates when soft 404 errors occur more frequently than your site pages. Maybe This Is Helpful For You Fixing the “Submitted URL Marked noindex” Error: A Complete Guide ✧Common Causes of Soft 404 Errors Several website configurations and content issues commonly trigger soft 404 errors: ➜ 1. Empty or Thin Content Pages Pages containing minimal text content while offering limited value tend to qualify as soft 404s. Common examples include: Empty category or tag pages in WordPress Product pages for out-of-stock items Author pages with no published content Search result pages with no results (“No results found”) ➜ 2. Server Configuration Issues Improper server configuration can lead to soft 404 errors when: Your customized 404 page shows up as 200 without causing an error Pages with error messages still return success status codes Your CMS generates URLs for nonexistent resources but serves them with 200 codes ➜3. Redirect Problems Google may flag a URL as a soft 404 when: Users are automatically redirected from a specific URL to an unrelated page The destination of a website redirect has no effect on the web page content it takes users to Your redirect chain connects to multiple unrelated pages until it ends on the wrong page ➜ 4. JavaScript Rendering Issues Websites heavily dependent on JavaScript face problems similar to Soft 404 status codes when URLs do not reach the server correctly. Content loads via JavaScript but fails to render properly for Googlebot Error messages are displayed through JavaScript while the server returns 200 Client-side routing doesn’t properly handle nonexistent paths ✧ How to Identify Soft 404 Errors The primary tool for identifying soft 404 errors is Google Search Console: Page Indexing Report:Find Page Indexing Report Under Indexing Pages in Google Search Console. Turn to the section listing Soft 404 errors to find the affected web pages. Use the URL Inspection Tool to enter specific URLs and determine if Google marks them as soft 404 errors. In Search Console’s Dating Coverage you’ll find details about submitted URLs that produce soft 404 problems. ✧ How to Fix Soft 404 Errors Resolving soft 404 errors requires determining the appropriate action for each affected URL: ➜ 1. For Pages That Shouldn’t Exist The system understands the page does not exist or should not be accessible to anyone. The system understands the page does not exist or should not be accessible to anyone. Search engines understand the page does not exist because of this setting. Set your server to show the proper response status together with a helpful 404 page for your visitors. ➜ 2. For Thin Content Pages If the page should exist but currently has little content: Include relevant and important content to match the page goal Include images, videos, or interactive elements Let users explore the page in a productive manner matching its primary goal For product pages with out-of-stock items, consider: For product pages with items out of stock you should take these actions. Adding an estimated restocking date Give product details and present similar items that customers can purchase ➜ 3. For Redirect Issues When dealing with pages that have moved: Implement proper 301 (permanent) redirects to the most relevant replacement page Direct visitors to webpages that share the same main topics. Prevent redirected links that require many steps before reaching a final website. ➜ 4. For Pages You Don’t Want Indexed For valid pages that should exist but not appear in search results: Add a noindex meta tag to instruct search engines not to index the page Include the page in your robots.txt file to prevent crawling Implement canonical tags to point to the preferred version of duplicated content Here’s how to add a noindex tag to your page: Maybe This Is Helpful For You How to Fix Submitted URL Blocked by Robots.txt: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide ➜ 5. For Technical Solutions The following steps improve technical Soft 404 response prevention: Ensure custom 404 pages
