Common causes:

The page was deleted or moved.
The link URL is misspelled.
The site structure changed without redirects.
Left unfixed, 404 errors waste link equity, lower rankings, and create a poor user experience.

How to Find 404 Errors

Use these free tools to spot issues quickly:

• Google Search Console: Coverage report shows URLs returning 404.

• Screaming Frog or Sitebulb: Crawl the site and export a list of broken URLs.

• Analytics & Server Logs: Check for spikes in 404 responses.

How to Fix 404 Errors

Choose the method that matches the issue:

• Redirect: Use a 301 redirect if the content moved or has a direct replacement.

• Restore or Replace: Recreate the page if it was removed by mistake.

• Clean Up Links: Update internal and external links pointing to the wrong URL.

• Custom 404 Page: Keep users engaged with helpful navigation and a search box.

Prevent Future Errors

• Always set redirects before moving or deleting pages.

• Use consistent, descriptive URL slugs.

• Schedule quarterly site audits to catch broken links early.

Why It Matters for Local & Service Pages

For Candid Collective’s video-first marketing landing pages, every page is designed to rank for a city + service combo. A single 404 can break the internal link chain and hurt rankings across the cluster.
Keep redirects and audits in your SEO checklist so that programmatic pages stay crawlable and conversion-ready.

Need a clean, high-performing site that never leaves visitors at a dead end? Get a free site audit from Candid Collective.