Posted by If a page contains a 404 link (a link pointing to a non-existent page that returns a 404 error), Google’s bot, Googlebot, will crawl the page and encounter the broken link. Here’s how it might treat the page:
- Crawling Impact: Googlebot will continue crawling the rest of the page, but it will note the 404 link as a broken link. This may reduce the effectiveness of the page’s internal linking structure, as the link won’t pass any link equity (PageRank) to the non-existent page.
- SEO Impact: While a single 404 link may not significantly harm the overall SEO of the page, multiple broken links can negatively impact the page’s user experience and crawlability. Over time, this could lead to lower rankings if Google sees the page as low-quality or poorly maintained.
- User Experience: Google prioritizes user experience, and broken links can frustrate users, leading to higher bounce rates. This, in turn, could signal to Google that the page isn’t providing a good user experience, potentially affecting its ranking.
- Indexing: The existence of a 404 link does not necessarily mean the page itself won’t be indexed. However, Google may be less likely to feature a page prominently in search results if it has multiple issues like broken links.
It’s a good practice to regularly check for and fix broken links to maintain a healthy SEO profile.
