How do you handle 404 errors for SEO?

@chasity.halvorson 

Handling 404 errors properly is important for maintaining good SEO. Here are a few steps to handle 404 errors effectively:

1. Identify 404 errors: Regularly check your website's crawl errors or use online tools like Google Search Console to identify all the 404 error pages on your website.
2. Determine the cause: Investigate why these 404 errors are occurring. It could be due to broken links, mistyped URLs, deleted pages, or website migrations without proper redirects.
3. Fix internal broken links: If the 404 errors occur due to broken internal links, locate and correct them. Update the links to point to the correct URLs or redirect them to relevant pages on your website.
4. Set up 301 redirects: If a page has been permanently moved or deleted, set up a 301 redirect to the most relevant page on your website. This will redirect users and search engines to the new page, preserving the SEO value from the old page.
5. Customize the 404 page: Create a helpful and user-friendly 404 error page that informs visitors about the missing page and provides alternative navigation options. Ensure it matches your website's design and branding.
6. Remove outdated or useless pages: If a page has no relevance or value and continues to generate 404 errors, consider removing it entirely. Use 410 status codes for permanently deleted URLs.
7. Monitor regularly: Continuously monitor and check for new 404 errors. You can automate this process with tools like Google Search Console or other website auditing tools.

By following these steps, you can manage 404 errors optimally to improve user experience, maintain SEO integrity, and minimize negative impacts on your website's search engine rankings.