Prevent soft 404 errors by returning correct HTTP status codes.
- Prevent soft 404 errors by returning correct HTTP status codes2 cited sources1 category
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Why this matters
Pages returning ‘200 OK’ status but showing ‘not found’ content confuse Yandex, leading to poor indexing of valuable pages.
Hypothetical standard operating procedure
Adapt this example to your site, access, tools, and change process. It is our suggested procedure, informed by the sources below.
- Audit site for pages displaying not-found messages with 200 OK status.
- Configure server or CMS to return 404 or 410 status for such pages.
- Redirect users and bots from soft 404 pages to relevant alternatives if appropriate.
- Test status codes using curl or Yandex Webmaster tools.
- Monitor crawl stats for reduction in soft 404 signals.
Watch for
Soft 404s appear as valid pages to Yandex but contain no valuable content, wasting crawl budget.
Definition of done
All empty or missing pages return proper 404 or 410 status codes signaling to Yandex they should not be indexed.
Sources & attribution
Original checklist wording and example SOP by Best SEO Checklist, using source-grounded AI assistance. Editorial contact: Ted Kubaitis, @tedkubaitis on Teams. Check current source guidance before implementation.