That Search Console list of 404 errors can feel like a to-do list of failures. Google’s Gary Illyes and Cherry Sireetorn Prommawin want you to stop seeing it that way. On a recent podcast, the two Googlers argued that 404s are a normal, healthy part of the web, not a technical SEO emergency.
404s are not a ranking problem
Illyes was blunt: Google does not care if a URL is gone and now returns a 404. The status code literally means “not found.” Pages die, products sell out, old URLs get deleted. Googlebot encounters the 404, understands the page is gone, and eventually drops it from the index.
There is no penalty for the rest of your site, no crawl budget drain like server errors, and no manual action waiting in Search Console. That matters because many marketers treat every 404 report like a warning light.
Decide like a business owner, not an SEO
Prommawin and Illyes reframed missing pages as a business and user experience decision. The question isn’t “how do I fix this error?” It’s “does this dead URL still hold value for a visitor?”
- If a page has a true replacement, a one-to-one redirect can preserve the user journey.
- If there is no natural successor, returning a 404 or 410 is completely fine.
- If the dead URL still gets traffic from links or social, guide users somewhere useful instead of abandoning them.
The broken experience happens when you ignore the human clicking that link.
Google’s three-step 404 playbook
The Googlers laid out a simple framework.
1. Redirect only when a real replacement exists
An updated article or a newer model of the exact same product qualifies. Match the old URL to that specific, highly relevant destination. Do not blanket-redirect dead pages to the home page. As Prommawin put it, “just confuses humans and makes your data confusing.”
2. Let a true dead end be a 404 or 410
If you stopped selling the item entirely and no natural successor exists, let the server return 404 or 410. Google will drop the URL and your site’s lifecycle stays healthy.
3. Build a custom 404 page that helps
Instead of a blank error, design a friendly page with a search bar and links to top categories or latest content. Prommawin’s advice: “Don’t trick the user. Just give them a clean map to find their way back.”
Why this should change your workflow
The SEO work is not in fixing every 404. It’s in deciding which dead URLs deserve a destination and making the rest useful. Treat the 404 page as a recovery surface. A visitor who finds a search bar and your best categories may stay and convert; one who sees a default browser error is gone.
Source: Search Engine Journal
