How to Fix Soft 404 Errors on Large Ecommerce Websites

Soft 404 errors on ecommerce sites happen when a web server sends a 200 OK status code for a page that does not actually exist or has no content. To fix this, you must configure your server to return a 404 Not Found or 410 Gone code for missing pages. Correcting these issues helps Google focus on your live products, which improves your overall crawl efficiency and search rankings.

What exactly is a soft 404 error on a large store?

A soft 404 is not an official HTTP status code. Instead, it is a label Google uses to describe a page that looks like a failure to a visitor but tells the search engine that everything is fine. For a large online retailer, this often happens on search result pages with no items or product pages for items that are no longer in stock. The server delivers a page that says ‘Product Not Found,’ yet it technically tells the crawler that the page is a valid destination.

This discrepancy causes significant problems for site architecture. When Googlebot sees a 200 OK status, it assumes the page contains valuable information. It will index the page and return to crawl it again later. If your site has thousands of these empty pages, the crawler spends its time on useless URLs. This waste of resources prevents the engine from finding your new arrivals or updated price points.

Why does Google identify these pages as errors?

Google aims to provide the best user experience. If a user clicks a search result and lands on a page that says ‘Sorry, this category is empty,’ they feel frustrated. Google detects these ‘thin’ pages by looking for specific patterns, such as a lack of main content or headers that suggest an item is missing. When the algorithms find a page with very little unique text that still uses a successful status code, they flag it as a soft 404.

A good URL design structure helps Google crawl and index your site, while a poor URL structure can lead to the following issues.

Google Search Central

One major issue is the dilution of ranking signals. If you have ten different URLs that all lead to empty search results or ‘out of stock’ messages, your site looks like it has a high volume of low-quality content. This can lower the perceived value of the entire domain. Large ecommerce sites are particularly vulnerable because their internal search and filter systems can generate millions of unique but empty URL combinations.

How to find soft 404 errors in Search Console?

The primary way to locate these issues is through the Google Search Console ‘Indexing’ report. Look for the category labeled ‘Excluded’ and find the specific status ‘Soft 404’. This report provides a list of URLs that Google has identified as problematic. You should examine these URLs to see if they share a common path or parameter. For example, you might find that all your expired promotional pages are appearing in this list.

• Navigate to the Indexing section in Search Console.
• Select the Pages report to see the status of your site URLs.
• Filter for ‘Soft 404’ to see the exact links Google has flagged.
• Export the list to a spreadsheet for bulk analysis.
• Check if these pages are truly empty or if they contain relevant content that Google is misinterpreting.

How Alien Road applies soft 404 fixes

When we manage large catalogs for our clients, our team starts with a site-wide crawl to map status codes against page content. We look for patterns where empty search results or expired product pages still return a 200 OK signal. For example, a typical engagement involves scanning for pages that contain phrases like ‘0 items found’ or ‘out of stock’ while checking the server response header. If we find thousands of these, we know the crawl budget is being wasted.

We work with the client’s development team to implement server-side logic. For a Shopify store selling home goods, we might set up a rule that automatically changes the status code to 404 when a product is deleted from the database. If the product is only temporarily out of stock, we keep the 200 OK status but ensure the page still has helpful content, such as related products. We then monitor Search Console for several weeks to ensure the ‘Excluded’ count drops as Google re-crawls the site.

Best practices for managing out-of-stock product pages

Handling inventory changes is a constant challenge for online retailers. You have three main options when a product is no longer available. The first is to keep the page live with a 200 OK status. This is only recommended if the product will return soon. You must provide a clear ‘back in stock’ notification or suggest similar items to keep the user engaged. If the page is completely empty, Google will likely flag it anyway.

The second option is a 301 redirect. This is useful if you have a newer version of the product. Redirecting the old URL to the new one passes the ranking value and keeps the user on a relevant page. However, you should not redirect every single broken link to your homepage. Google often treats mass homepage redirects as soft 404s because the homepage is not a direct replacement for a specific product page.

• Use 404 or 410 codes for products that will never return and have no direct replacement.
• Use 301 redirects only when a highly relevant substitute exists.
• Ensure empty category pages return a 404 code until new products are added.
• Keep ‘out of stock’ pages live only if they offer value, such as an email signup for alerts.
• Check that your custom 404 page does not return a 200 OK status.

Can faceted navigation cause soft 404 issues?

Faceted navigation is a major source of thin content. When shoppers combine multiple filters, like size, color, and price, the platform generates a unique URL. If a specific combination, such as ‘Extra Large Blue Silk Socks,’ has zero results, the resulting page is a prime candidate for a soft 404. Googlebot might find these links through your site’s internal navigation and try to index them.

To prevent this, you should use ‘noindex’ tags on filter pages that are likely to be empty. Alternatively, you can use robots.txt to block Google from crawling specific parameter combinations. This keeps your index clean and ensures that the search engine only sees pages that actually contain products. Managing these filters is a key part of maintaining a healthy ecommerce site architecture.

Content can be missed if Googlebot incorrectly thinks two URLs will return the same content as only one URL may be retrieved by the crawler.

Google Search Central

Where to start this week

Start by opening your Search Console and checking the Indexing report for any soft 404 warnings. If you see a high number of errors, click into the report to see which URLs are affected. Identify if these are expired products, empty categories, or filter results. Pick the top ten URLs and manually check their status codes using a browser extension or a header checker tool.

Once you have identified the cause, speak with your technical team about changing the server response for those specific patterns. If you use a platform like BigCommerce or Magento, check the settings for ‘discontinued products’ to see if you can automate the 404 or 301 process. Cleaning up these errors is a solid way to improve your site’s visibility and ensure Google focuses on the pages that generate sales.