Google has published a new episode in its series of videos “SEO Office Hours Shorts”, in which the defender of developers Martin Splitt addresses a question that many owners are confronted: should all the 404 error pages be redirected to the home page?
The clear answer: don’t do it
In the latest episode of the condensed question format format, Splitt answers a user’s question named Chris on the question of whether “the redirection of 404 pages to the home page with 301 redirections can have a negative impact on the classification or overall performance of the website to research.”
Splitt’s response was unambiguous: “Yes, and that annoys me as a user.”
Why the 404 serves a goal
404 Pages of signal error to users and engine search robots that an URL is broken or non -existent. This transparency helps people understand what they are dealing with rather than being redirectly redirected to an unrelated page.
Splitt explained:
“A 404 is a very clear signal This link is bad and broken or that this URL no longer exists because perhaps the product does not exist or something has changed.”
Impact on research robots
SPLITT says that the redirects of coverage to the home page can disrupt the efficiency of search engines.
When the crawlers meet a legitimate 404, they recognize that the content no longer exists and can move to other URLs. However, redirect them to the home page creates a confusing loop.
Split noted:
“For a robot, they go like the home page, then click or click in foundation on your website, by finding content, and finally they could meet a URL that does not exist.
But if you redirect, they are a bit like being redirected, then everything starts again.
Best practices to manage missing content
Splitt offered clear advice on appropriate redirects:
- If the content has passed to a new location, use a redirection to this new specific URL
- If the content has really disappeared, keep the Code of State 404
- Do not redirect to the home page or what you think is the “closest” match
Splitt underlined:
“If he moved elsewhere, use a redirection. If off we go, do not redirect me to the home page. »»
These latest advice is aligned with Google’s long -standing recommendation to maintain precise HTTP state codes to help users and search engines to understand the structure of your site.
New format
The SEO Office Hours Shorts format is a new approach to Google’s research team.
The original format was a live show where anyone could call and answer their questions in real time.
This format then went to recorded sessions where Google staff answered a selection of pre-approved questions.
Now, the SEO office hours are presented as short videos. If you prefer one of the previous formats, Splitt encourages the comments in the video comments section below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hiwqfjyvnu
Featured image: screenshot from YouTube.com/googlesearchcentral, March 2025.
