You’re likely already familiar with 404 errors that display a “page not found” message to visitors. While these pages serve a purpose, they can be harmful to your website if misused.

An example of a “page not found” error used in the wrong context is a soft 404 error. These can wreak havoc on your search engine rankings, website traffic, and even credibility.

Below, I’ll define soft 404 errors and cover their difference with regular (or hard) 404 errors. Then I’ll explain how to find these errors and resolve them.