You’re clicking around your blog, making sure everything looks good—and then it happens. You click a link and get hit with a 404 error page. Those dreaded words “404 Not Found” stare back at you on the screen. The product you wanted to buy? Gone. The research stat you referenced? Disappeared into the void.
Every blogger deals with broken links at some point. But here’s what most don’t realize: ignoring them can seriously damage your SEO!
The good news is that there are broken link checkers that will crawl your entire website and show you exactly where dead links are hiding. And that’s exactly what this post is all about! We’re breaking down the best ways to find broken links on your website. Plus, we’ll explain what a 404 page actually is, why it matters, and exactly how to fix it fast.
Once you start consistently auditing your website and checking for broken links, you’ll improve your user experience AND give your SEO a serious boost. Because search engines love a well-maintained blog—and now yours is about to become one.
How to Check for 404 Pages on Your Website and Save Your SEO
When your blog visitors (and the almighty Google) hit your 404 pages, it hurts your credibility. It also hurts your SEO, but many bloggers don’t know this! Broken internal links—the links pointing back to other posts and pages on your own site—are actually even more damaging than broken external links. But don’t stress! Broken links are totally fixable once you know how to find them.
There are plenty of broken link checkers out there, but they’re only as useful as your ability to use them correctly. That’s exactly why we’re walking you through step-by-step for a few of the best options. Try them out, find your favorite, and keep your blog in Google’s good graces—your SEO will thank you for it!
What Is a 404 Page?
A 404 error page is what shows up when someone tries to visit a URL on your website that doesn’t exist. The “404” is a technical response code browsers use to say, “Hey, this page isn’t here!” Maybe the post was deleted, the URL changed, or someone mistyped the link. Whatever the reason, your visitor lands on a dead end instead of the content they were actually looking for.
A 404 status code on its own isn’t always a disaster. The internet is full of broken links, and search engines know that. The real problem starts when 404 errors on your website start piling up. And when those broken links sit on pages that used to drive real traffic? That’s when Google starts taking notice, and not in a good way.
Are 404 Pages Bad for SEO?
Yes, 404 pages can be seriously bad for SEO, especially when they go ignored. When Google crawls your website and finds broken links, it struggles to index your content properly. This comes down to something called a “crawl budget,” which is the time and resources Google is willing to spend exploring your site. Waste that budget on dead pages, and your good content misses out on getting discovered.
And it’s not just Google that notices—your readers do too. Too many broken links create a bad experience that can ultimately lead to a high bounce rate. This means visitors leave your site quickly and are unlikely to come back. That’s traffic and potential income walking right out the door!
404 errors are normal, but when you ignore them, they quietly chip away at the SEO progress you’ve worked so hard to build. Auditing your site regularly and fixing broken links should be a non-negotiable part of your blog maintenance routine.
And while you’re at it, create a dedicated 404 URL. It’s a smart way to keep visitors on your site even when they hit a dead end. We cover this and more in our post “Good Examples of Blog Pages.”
Don’t have time to take care of this yourself? We get it! This is exactly why at InfluencerSEO, we have a dedicated team that can do this for you. (Yes, really!) Just check out our Website Tech Support packages to get started improving your SEO today!
Why 404 Page Is Important
A well-built 404 page does a lot more than just say “oops, this page is gone.” Here’s why getting yours right is worth the effort.
Proper 404 implementation prevents soft 404 issues.
A “soft 404” happens when a page looks like an error to your visitors. But behind the scenes, it returns a normal “200 OK” status code to search engines. Translation: Google thinks the page is totally fine, so it keeps trying to index it.
Setting up a true 404 status code sends a clear signal to search engines that the page is gone for good. That keeps your index clean, your crawl budget focused on the pages that actually matter, and your SEO working the way it should. It’s a small fix with a big impact!
A helpful custom 404 page improves user retention.
A blank “Not Found” message sends visitors straight back to Google. A custom 404 page, on the other hand, gives visitors somewhere to go instead. Add a friendly message, a search bar, and links to your most popular posts. Suddenly, that frustrating dead end becomes a helpful doorway back into your content. Your visitor stays on your site, finds what they need, and you keep that traffic where it belongs—on your blog!
404 logs reveal broken internal linking patterns.
Every 404 error your site logs is actually a clue worth paying attention to. If the same broken URL keeps getting hit over and over, something on your site is actively sending people there. That’s something you want to track down and fix fast.
Checking your 404 logs regularly helps you spot broken internal links before they start dragging down your SEO. Think of it as routine detective work that keeps your blog healthy and your visitors happy.
404 pages identify outdated content strategies.
Recurring 404s on old URLs often point to bigger patterns that signal instant attention. This could be a category you deleted, a series that you rebranded, or a content strategy you’ve long since moved on from.
But here’s where it gets really interesting. Those 404 logs can actually show you what your audience is still actively searching for, even after that content is gone. That kind of insight is pure gold for planning new content that fills the gap. With this, you’ll capture traffic you didn’t even know you were missing!
How to Find 404 Pages on Your Website
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool straight from Google that shows you exactly how your site is performing in search results. This includes which pages are returning 404 pages.
Since the data comes directly from Google’s own crawl, it’s the most reliable place to start your 404 audit. Here’s exactly how to find your 404 errors in Google Search Console:
- Make sure the property is properly configured: Misconfigured properties lead to incomplete data, so double-check that you’re tracking the right domain version and that your ownership is active.
- Navigate to the Pages Report: From the left-hand menu, click Indexing, then Pages.
- Filter by Not Found (404): Scroll down to the Why pages aren’t indexed section. Click Not Found (404) to see the full list of broken URLs on your site.
- Export and review the list: Hit Export to pull the data into a spreadsheet so you can prioritize which 404s actually need fixing first.
- Validate fixes after redirecting: Once you’ve set up your 301 redirects, click the Validate Fix button. That way, Google knows to re-crawl those URLs and update their status. Don’t skip this step!
SEMrush Site Audit
SEMrush is a paid SEO tool that crawls your entire website the way a search engine would. It flags every technical issue it finds, including 404 errors. It’s especially helpful for catching broken internal links that other broken link checkers might miss.
Here’s how to run a 404 audit in SEMrush:
- Configure your crawl settings correctly: Incorrect crawl settings produce misleading results, so take a few minutes to get them right before launching.
- Set the correct crawl scope: Make sure SEMrush is crawling your full domain, not just a subfolder or a single page.
- Configure your crawl depth properly: Set the depth to cover your entire site structure so deeper pages aren’t skipped in the audit.
- Set the user agent correctly: Choose SEMrushBot or GoogleBot depending on what you want to mimic. GoogleBot gives you results closest to what Google actually sees.
- Don’t limit your crawl budget in settings: Capping the number of pages crawled gives you an incomplete picture of your 404 issues. Let it run the full crawl for the most accurate results.
- Run the full crawl: Launch the audit and let it do its thing! Larger sites can take a few hours, so grab a coffee and be patient.
- Review the internal broken links report: Once the crawl is done, open the Issues tab and look for broken internal links and 4xx errors. This shows you every 404 SEMrush found, along with which pages on your site are linking to them.
- Export the affected URLs: Hit Export to download the full list as a CSV so you can prioritize your fixes and track your progress.
Moz Site Crawl
Moz Site Crawl is another powerful paid SEO tool that scans your website for technical issues, like 404 errors. It works similarly to SEMrush but pairs especially well with Google Search Console for cross-checking. Two tools working together? That’s a seriously thorough audit!
Here’s exactly how to run a 404 audit in Moz:
- Configure your crawl settings carefully: Similar setup considerations as SEMrush apply here. Make sure to correctly set crawl scope, depth, and user agent before you launch.
- Make sure subdomains are included: If your blog runs on a subdomain like blog.yoursite.com, confirm that Moz is crawling it. Otherwise, you’ll miss a chunk of your 404 errors.
- Validate your crawl frequency: Moz crawls on a schedule, usually weekly. Make sure to set your campaign to crawl often enough to catch new 404s as they appear.
- Run the crawl and review the broken links report: Once the crawl finishes, head to the Site Crawl section and look for 4xx errors. You’ll see every 404 Moz found, along with the source page that’s linking to it.
- Cross-reference your findings with Google Search Console: This is the step most bloggers skip. Compare your Moz results with the Pages report in Google Search Console. If a 404 shows up in both tools, it’s a high-priority fix.
- Export the affected URLs: Download the full list as a CSV file so you can prioritize your fixes and track your progress. Staying organized here makes the whole process so much smoother!
Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is a desktop SEO tool that crawls your website exactly the way a search engine bot would. The free version covers up to 500 URLs, which is plenty for most blogs. It’s especially powerful for tracking down the exact source of every broken link on your site.
Here’s how to run a 404 audit in Screaming Frog:
- Crawl your entire domain: Open Screaming Frog, enter your full domain URL, and hit Start. Let the crawl run. Larger sites can take a while, so be patient!
- Filter by response code 404: Once the crawl finishes, click the Response Codes tab at the top. Use the filter dropdown to select Client Error (4xx) to narrow down the results to just 404 errors.
- Identify the source of your broken internal links: Click on any 404 URL in the results, then look at the Inlinks tab at the bottom of the screen. This shows you exactly which pages on your site link to that broken URL. That’s the root issue you need to fix!
- Export the Inlinks report: With your 404 URLs selected, click Export and choose the Inlinks report. You’ll get a CSV file with every source page, the anchor text, and the broken destination URL so you can fix them.
Log File Analysis
This is the step that takes your 404 audit from good to genuinely great—and most bloggers never even get there! Log file analysis means digging into your server’s raw access logs to see every single request made to your site. That includes the ones search engine bots make behind the scenes.
It’s more technical than the other methods, but it reveals patterns that standard tools simply can’t catch. Translation: this is how you outperform competitors who stop at Google Search Console!
Here’s how to put it to work:
- Analyze your server logs for repeated 404 hits: Pull your server logs from your hosting provider and filter for 404 status codes. If the same URL keeps throwing errors, something is consistently sending visitors or bots to a dead page. Tools like Screaming Frog Log File Analyser or SEMrush Log File Analyzer make it much easier to identify the problem area.
- Identify bot behavior: Look at which bots are hitting your 404s and how often. If Googlebot keeps crawling the same broken URLs, you’re wasting precious crawl budget.
- Watch for malicious crawl patterns: Not every crawler out there is friendly! Repeated 404 hits from suspicious user agents or IP addresses can signal scrapers, hackers probing for vulnerabilities, or bots hunting for old admin pages. Flag these patterns and consider blocking the offending IPs through your firewall or security plugin.
Manual Spot Checks
Sometimes the simplest method is also the most reliable. Manual spot checks are a perfect example of that! This just means clicking through your own site like a regular visitor and looking for broken pages.
Tools are great, but they can miss things, especially on pages you’ve recently updated or migrated. A quick manual check fills in those gaps and confirms your most important pages are working the way they should be.
Here’s how to manually spot 404 pages:
- Test your high-traffic pages first: Pull your top-performing posts from Google Analytics or Search Console and click through each one. Make sure every link, image, and internal reference loads correctly.
- Always check after site migrations: Moving to a new platform? Changing your theme? Updating your URL structure? Run a manual review of your most important pages every time.
- Review your XML sitemap for invalid URLs: Open your sitemap and scan the URLs it includes. If you spot pages that no longer exist or shouldn’t be indexed, that’s a red flag worth addressing.
How to Fix 404 Pages Properly
Finding your 404s is only half the job. Fixing them the right way is what actually protects your traffic and rankings.
Implement 301 redirects when relevant.
Did the broken URL have backlinks, traffic, or rankings attached to it? Set up a 301 redirect to the most relevant live pages on your site. This passes the link equity to the new page and sends visitors somewhere useful instead of a dead end. This one simple fix protects your SEO value and your user experience.
You can skip the redirect when the page is genuinely low-value, and nothing links to it. Otherwise, that redirect is a must!
Remove broken internal links.
Don’t just rely on redirects and call it a day. Go back to the source pages on your own site that are linking to those 404s. Then update or delete the broken links directly.
Redirects are a safety net, not a real fix. Clean internal linking is faster for your readers, easier for search engines to crawl, and a much better long-term solution. Fixing it at the source is the best thing for your blog’s overall health.
Update the XML sitemap.
Your sitemap should only ever include live, working URLs. After any big cleanup, take a few minutes to review your sitemap. Make sure you’ve deleted pages that you’ve removed, and added new ones worth indexing.
Most SEO plugins like Yoast or Rank Math handle this automatically, which is a huge time saver! But it’s always worth a quick double-check after major changes. A clean, up-to-date sitemap is one of the easiest ways to keep Google happy. And a happy Google means better rankings for you!
Resubmit the sitemap in Google Search Console.
Once you’ve updated your sitemap, head to Google Search Console. Click Indexing, then Sitemaps, and resubmit your file. This tells Google to re-crawl your site using your fresh, clean roadmap. And that’s exactly the kind of signal you want to be sending!
Monitor the validation status.
Head back to the “Not Found (404)” report in Google Search Console and hit Validate Fix to let Google know you’ve made corrections. Then check back every few days to see whether your URLs have been marked as “Passed.”
If any come back as “Failed,” don’t panic. Just revisit the redirect or source link to figure out what went wrong and fix it. It’s all part of the process, and every fix gets you one step closer to a cleaner, healthier blog.
Keep your blog in good health and get more traffic with InfluencerSEO.
Blog maintenance is a non-negotiable part of running a successful blog—and that absolutely includes finding and fixing those pesky 404 errors. Staying on top of broken links does so much more than just boost your SEO. It helps you show up in search results. Plus, it builds the kind of credibility and trust with your audience that keeps them coming back. With so many different methods to choose from, you can find the one that fits your workflow.
But we totally get it. Not everyone has time to run regular site audits on top of creating content, managing their editorial calendar, and monetizing. It’s a lot! And honestly? That’s exactly where InfluencerSEO comes in.
Our team of SEO experts is here to make sure your site runs at its absolute best. You can focus on the content you love—we’ll handle the technical stuff that keeps your blog in Google’s good graces.
Ready to take your blog to the next level? Check out our SEO packages to find the perfect fit for your blogging goals today!
Jordan Becerra, founder and Lead SEO Strategist at InfluencerSEO, has spent almost 15 years in the creator internet space, the last nine building InfluencerSEO into the go-to SEO partner for content creators, with 500+ creators served from pre-launch to massive publication. She learned creator monetization and community building strategy from the inside working for Lauryn Bosstick of The Skinny Confidential prior to founding InfluencerSEO, so she understands both halves of the game: how search actually works AND how creators actually build a strong community online and make money. Her job now is to stay ahead of where search engine optimization is going, especially as AI rewrites the rules, and to make sure the creators she works with get there first.
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