Don’t Redirect 404 Pages To The Homepage: Google’s Martin Splitt Issues Warning!

Google is advising against redirection of 404 web pages to a website’s homepage, suggesting maintenance of 404 status codes or proper redirection. 

Key Highlights:

• Do not opt for redirecting all your 404 pages directly to your website’s homepage. 
• Redirection of all 404 pages to the website’s homepage confuses the search crawlers. 
• Martin Splitt from Google has a solution: what can you do instead?

We are fans of Google’s video series, ‘SEO Office Hours Shorts.’ In a new episode featuring Martin Splitt, a developer advocate addressed one popular question that most site owners typically deal with: ‘Should all 404 error pages be redirected to the homepage?’

The Best Answer: Avoid Doing It

In a new episode of SEO Office Hours Shorts, Splitt answered a question from Chris: “Whether redirecting all 404 pages to the homepage with 301 redirects can have a negative impact on rankings or overall website performance in search.”

Splitt gave an unambiguous reply: “Yes, and also it annoys me as a user.”

What Is The Purpose Of 404s?

404 pages typically signal to search engine crawlers and users that a specific URL is nonexistent or broken. So, this transparency can help people easily understand what they are dealing with instead of being redirected unexpectedly to any unrelated webpage.

In this context, Splitt said: “A 404 is a very clear signal this link is wrong and broken or this URL no longer exists because maybe the product doesn’t exist or something has changed.”

Impact On The Search Crawlers:

Splitt said that blanket redirects to a website’s homepage can interrupt the efficiency of search engine crawlers. 

So, when a crawler witnesses a legit 404 error, they can understand that the content of the page doesn’t exist any longer and can navigate to another URL. However, redirecting users directly to the website’s homepage creates confusion. 

In this context, Splitt said: “For a crawler, they go like homepage and then click through or basically crawl through your website, finding content, and eventually they might run into a URL that doesn’t exist. But if you redirect, they’re kind of like being redirected, and then it all starts over again.”

How To Handle Missing Content? Best Practices

Splitt also offered clarity on how to handle missing content with proper redirects:

1. If you have removed the content entirely then maintain the page’s 404 statute code. 
2. If you have moved the page’s content to another location then redirect users to that particular URL.
3. Avoid redirecting users to the website homepage or the ‘closest’ match according to you. 

In this context, Splitt further emphasized:

“If it moved somewhere else, use a redirect. If it’s gone, don’t redirect me to the homepage.”

Splitt’s latest guidance matches with what Google has been recommending for a long time now – how to maintain correct HTTP status codes, helping both search engines and users understand the structure of your website. 

SEO Office Hours Shorts: What Is This New Format All About?

The Search Relations team from Google has launched a new content format called SEO Office Hours Shorts. 

Originally, the search engine giant had created a live show where you could call and ask your questions in real time. Later, this format was transformed into recorded sessions featuring Google officials answering already selected pre-approved questions. 

Currently, this series is available in the form of short videos. But if you like their previous formats, Splitt encourages his audience to give feedback and recommendations in the comments section. Here’s an example:

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