Building and maintaining a successful website requires vigilance in identifying and resolving URL errors promptly. These issues can negatively impact your website’s accessibility, ranking, and overall return on investment (ROI). As a site manager or brand marketer, addressing URL errors is crucial to enhance user experience (UX) and ensure the success of your digital marketing campaigns. In this article, we will explore four main URL errors and effective ways to fix them.

How To Resolve “URL Errors” For Improved Website Performance

The following are 3 main URL errors that you need to know about and how to fix them.

1. Soft 404 Errors

Soft 404 errors occur when a page displays a “Found” (200) status code but does not truly exist (404). These errors can lead to confusion for users, as the displayed content may not accurately represent the requested page’s absence. It is essential to provide clear and informative messages to users regarding the page’s status. Avoid redirecting soft 404 errors to other pages like the homepage, as this practice is discouraged by Google.

To Resolve Soft 404 Errors

• Ensure that the page contains relevant and substantial content to avoid triggering soft 404 errors.
• Verify that the content on the page accurately represents its status, serving a 200 response code when necessary.

2. Error 404

Error 404 indicates that Googlebots attempted to crawl a page that does not exist on your website. While Google advises ignoring these errors, they can discourage potential clients from taking desired actions. To address this issue, make sure all your pages are published on the content management system rather than in draft mode. To prevent recurring errors, use a 301 redirect to direct users to the most related page. Having too many error 404s can adversely affect your SEO ranking.

To Fix Error 404

• Publish all website pages on the content management system and avoid draft mode.
• Implement 301 redirects to related pages to prevent further errors and maintain SEO ranking.

3. Access Denied Errors

Access denied errors occur when Googlebots are unable to crawl your page due to various reasons, such as requiring user login or being blocked by the robots.txt file. Blocking bots from accessing specific URLs, files, folders, or the entire site can hinder organic traffic and affect search engine ranking.

To Resolve Access Denied Errors

• Remove logins from pages you want Googlebots to crawl.
• Thoroughly review and update the robots.txt file to allow crawling for desired pages.
• Use tools and plugins like user-agent switcher or Fetch as Google to verify how pages and the website appear to Googlebots.

Conclusion

Proactively identifying and resolving URL errors is crucial to maintaining a successful website. By addressing soft 404 errors, Error 404s, and access denied errors, you can enhance user experience, boost organic traffic, and improve your website’s overall performance and search engine ranking. Stay vigilant and make use of available tools to ensure your website operates smoothly, providing a seamless experience for visitors and clients alike.