How to Fix Schema Validation Errors

Everyone wants to log in to Google Search Console to find their website is error-free and running perfectly. This is rarely the case, unfortunately.

The good news is schema validation error notifications offer important information you can use to fix your site.

Good SEO is about consistently taking care of the small details, and that’s exactly what Google Search Console errors allow you to do. What exactly are schema validation errors though, and how do you fix them?

In this guide we will go over schema validation errors in more detail; specifically, the most common one, called “either “offers”, “review”, or “aggregate rating” should be specified.”

What Are Schema Validation Errors?

Schema validation errors are mistakes in the formatting of your Schema data, making it difficult for Google to understand that data.

Schema is the structured data that helps the search engines understand what your page is about. By interpreting the schema of your page, the search engines can show rich results, like the ones below.

Either “offers”, “review”, or “aggregate rating” should be specified schema error - example of schema in action

While the traditional search engine listing might just be a link and meta description, rich results show a wide variety of information designed to improve the user experience.

The right schema markup can result in an increased CTR, but your rich results might not show up correctly if you have schema validation errors.

Many website builders or plugins such as Yoast SEO help take care of schema for you, but sometimes, you might still see schema validation errors in your Google Search Console (GSC).

Here’s a little more information on adding structured data to your website before we start to look at specific errors.

What Does a Schema Validation Error Mean?

If you’re not using Google Search Console to keep track of your progress with your website, then you’re missing out. It’s full of so many important insights into how your site acquires traffic and the errors that are holding back your SEO, so it’s something you should be checking in with regularly.

When you log in to GSC, a common error you might see is a schema validation error. These errors simply refer to issues with the way you have structured your data, causing Google to have problems interpreting it.

This isn’t likely to directly affect your rankings too much, but as we know, rich results help click-through rates, and this is a big part of SEO. Schema.org allows for a huge amount of information about your product to be included in your code, and all of this helps search engines better understand what you’re offering.

A search engine results page (SERP) is a competitive place, and it’s important to use all of its features to stand out from the crowd. You don’t have many opportunities to earn someone’s click, so you want your schema to be in order so you can use the extra features to grab people’s attention.

Here are some of the most common schema markups you might use:

  • organization: provides important details about the organization
  • person: provides important details about a person
  • local business: information about a local business such as an address, contact details, opening times
  • product and offer: specifications of a product and offers
  • articles: for blog posts and news
  • video: helps Google to index the video content on your site
  • event: gives people information about upcoming events
  • review: shows reviews about a product or business
  • rating: shows an aggregated rating for a product or business

If this information isn’t formatted correctly, or Google doesn’t see the information it thinks it should be seeing, it will show a schema validation error.

Three Schemas You Need to Avoid the “Either “Offers”, “Review”, or “aggregateRating” Should be Specified” Error

This is one of the most common schema markup errors and it can be a little complex to fix (you’ll actually need three schemas). Don’t stress, though, I am going to walk you through it.

Google encourages product pages to make use of all product markups because it increases CTR and results in more sales.

As consumers, we’re attracted to offers and social proof plays a huge part in the buying decision. With rich results, you can use these tools right from the get-go, attracting people to click on your pages, and giving yourself a shot at the sale.

However, some pages don’t contain the right schema markup, leading to schema validation errors in your GSC.

Three errors you will commonly see are for “offers,” “review,” and “aggregate rating,” which show up in a “either”offers “,”review “, or “aggregateRating” should be specified” warning.

Either “offers”, “review”, or “aggregateRating” should be specified - screenshot of error

To fix this error, you’ll need to use these three schemas.

Offers

If you’ve got some great offers on your products, then you want to tell everyone. When you run ads, your offers are often one of the most prominent aspects, so it makes sense to aim for the same thing with your organic listings.

Sales promotions work, so be creative with your offers and make sure people are aware of them. Cost might not be everything, but it’s certainly important when it comes to selling your products, and this is an area where schema can be incredibly helpful.

That’s where the offer Schema comes in.

Review

Social proof has always been important in marketing. As long as people have been selling things, there have always been people recommending them to their family and friends, and this has a huge effect.

Today, the internet has supercharged the idea of social proof.

We have immediate access to the thoughts and experiences of people all over the world who have bought the product we’re looking at. Modern consumers want to see this, and it has a big impact on their purchasing decisions.

If reviews are a big part of the buying decision, then they’re also going to help earn you clicks, but they can only do this if you’ve got the correct schema.

Rating

We’re all accustomed to seeing star ratings for all the products we buy. It’s so ubiquitous that we’d think something was up if a product didn’t show a rating.

Ratings are like reviews, just even more convenient. They give you an immediate snapshot of people’s experiences with a certain product. This is highly beneficial for businesses that can display a good level of social proof, and naturally, they want to make the most of it wherever they can.

If you’ve got a great rating score for your product, then you want to showcase it, and where better than on Google using the rating schema?

How to Fix the Schema Validation Error “Either “Offers”, “Review”, or “aggregateRating” Should be Specified”

If you click on your “Either “Offers”, “Review”, or “aggregateRating” Should be Specified” warnings in Google Search Console, it will show you the pages they’re affecting.

For most people using WooCommerce (who seem to be the main people affected by this), you’ll find the warning isn’t actually for product pages, it’s for category pages.

This is because WooCommerce automatically sets your product pages up with the following schema: Name, Description, URL, SKU, Availability, Image, Offers, AggregateRating, Price, Review, and more.

Thus, the problem isn’t with product pages. Instead, they’re normally on archived products and category pages. This is because WooCommerce has included some of the product schema on these pages, but Google says archive and categories pages shouldn’t have this markup.

Again, this isn’t something to be unduly worried about and it’s not going to destroy your rankings.

It is worth fixing, though. Since the error is caused by WooCommerce adding schema to a page that isn’t a dedicated product page, the answer is to remove the product schema markup for those pages.

The way to do it is by adding a snippet of code to your theme’s function.php file.

When you mention code, things start to sound very technical, but it’s not too complicated. Of course, if you’re not comfortable making changes on your site’s back-end, then you can always get a developer to do this for you:

  1. head to your dashboard in WordPress
  2. hover over “appearance” in the left sidebar and select “theme editor”
  3. select “functions.php” from the “theme files box on the right
  4. scroll to the bottom of the text box
  5. insert the following code:

/**

* Remove the generated product schema markup from Product Category and Shop pages.

*/

function wc_remove_product_schema_product_archive() {

remove_action( ‘woocommerce_shop_loop’, array( WC()->structured_data, ‘generate_product_data’ ), 10, 0 );

}

add_action( ‘woocommerce_init’, ‘wc_remove_product_schema_product_archive’ );

Either “offers”, “review”, or “aggregateRating” should be specified implementing the fix
Either “offers”, “review”, or “aggregateRating” should be specified - making changes to your code

This piece of code should fix the schema errors on your category and archive pages and remove the warning from your GSC. It might take a little bit of time for the Search Console to recognize the changes, so don’t worry if the warnings don’t disappear immediately.

Other Schema Validation Errors

Schema is like a language that allows you to speak with search engines. Sometimes, there are errors in our communication and the message doesn’t get passed on.

There are lots of different things you can communicate through your schema, so occasionally, there may be slight errors.

Google Search Console helps give you a good picture of how your website is performing on schema, but it also offers other tools to help you spot issues. The rich results test gives you a good visual breakdown of how your page looks in Google’s eyes, and when used in conjunction with GSC can give you a much clearer picture.

Here are some of the errors you are likely to see, what they mean, and how to fix them.

Missing Field Price

If you see a missing field price error in your GSC, you may have entered the price in the wrong format. It needs to be entered as xx.xx without the dollar sign. For example, if your product is $42.99, then it needs to be entered as 42.99.

Rating Is Missing Best and/or Worst Values

If you include an aggregate rating in your schema, then you need to enter the highest rating and lowest rating possible. Most of the time, this means one star is the lowest possible value and five stars is the highest value.

Value in Property “ratingCount” Must Be Positive

This number represents the number of ratings a product has so it cannot be negative. Your product page might not have any ratings, and in this case, the value will be zero, but it can never be negative.

Conclusion

Schema is an important part of how your website communicates with the search engines, so it needs to be correct—otherwise you’re wasting time. If your Google Search Console is showing schema validation errors, it doesn’t mean your website is about to tank in the rankings, but it is important to fix.

A common error many people see is the “Either “Offers”, “Review”, or “aggregateRating” Should be Specified” error, and this can be an easy fix.

When you successfully use schema, it can boost your site, improve your CTR, and ultimately bring more traffic to your site. It might only take a few small tweaks to fix your schema validation errors, so it’s well worth the effort.

Several elements come together for an SEO strategy, and making sure your schema markup is correct is one of them.

If this all sounds too overwhelming and you need help with your SEO strategy, let our team know. We can help!

Have you been getting lots of schema validation errors lately?

Correct Errors in Your Public Credit Record

Your Credit Record Can Have Errors

Either a personal or a business credit record can have errors in it. There are all sorts of reasons why you or your business would not be able to get funding. Correcting mistakes is one way to make it easier for your business to get money.

Let’s look at errors in public records.

Correcting a Credit Record Means Enhancing Fundability

But what’s fundability? Fundability is the ability of a business to get funding. This is everything from getting credit to business loans. Because every business needs money, it quite literally pays to enhance your fundability whenever and wherever you can.

Public Records Matter to Your Credit Record

In addition to how well your business pays its bills, and your personal credit score, and whether your industry is felt to be a risky one, there’s the matter of public records.

Public records include bankruptcy (both personal and business), liens, judgments, and UCC filings. Errors in any of these kinds of public records will affect fundability, so correcting such mistakes will enhance your ability to get cash for your business.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans, even during a recession.

Bankruptcy on a Credit Record

Bankruptcy is a process a business goes through in federal court. The idea is to help a business eliminate or repay its debt under the guidance and protection of the bankruptcy court. Business bankruptcies are often liquidations or reorganizations. This depends on the type of bankruptcy an entrepreneur takes.

3 Types of Business Bankruptcy

There are three kinds of business bankruptcy. They are Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13. These types depend on organizational structure. See thebalancesmb.com/what-is-business-bankruptcy-393017.

Chapter 7 and Chapter 11

Corporations are legal business entities separate from their owners. They are more truly separate than partnerships. But in the event of a bankruptcy, either type of structure commonly will file of Chapter 7 (bankruptcy protection), or Chapter 11 (reorganization). The chapters refer to the US Bankruptcy Code.

Chapter 7: Liquidation

This one may be the best choice when the business has no viable future. It is often used when the debts of the business are so overwhelming that restructuring them is not feasible. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be used for sole proprietorships, partnerships, or corporations. It is also appropriate when the business does not have any substantial assets. To read the full text of Chapter 7, go here: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/chapter-7.

Chapter 7 Details

Public Record Corrections Credit SuiteIf a business is a sole proprietorship, and an extension of an owner’s skills, it often does not pay to reorganize it. Hence Chapter 7 would be appropriate.

Before a Chapter 7 bankruptcy gets approval,  the applicant is subject to a “means” test. If their income is over a certain level, their application does not get approval. But if a Chapter 7 bankruptcy gets approval, the business is dissolved.

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a trustee is appointed by the bankruptcy court. The trustee’s job is to take possession of the assets of the business and distribute them among all of the creditors.

The order in which creditors are paid can depend on the type of debt (secured vs. unsecured). Collateral is what you use to secure a debt. With no collateral, a debt is unsecured. As a result, those types of debts are further down the line when it comes to decided who will be paid in a bankruptcy.

After the distribution of the assets and paying the trustee, a sole proprietor gets a “discharge” at the end of the case. It means that the owner of the business is released from any obligation for the debts. But partnerships and corporations do not receive a discharge.

Chapter 11: Business Reorganization

Chapter 11 may be a better choice for businesses with a realistic chance to turn it all around. It is often used for partnerships and corporations.  It can also be used by sole proprietorships if their income level is too high to qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For the full text of Chapter 11 go to: cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/chapter-11.

Chapter 11 Details

Chapter 11 is a plan where a company reorganizes and continues in business under a court-appointed trustee. The company files a detailed plan of reorganization. Such a plan explains how it will deal with its creditors. The company can terminate contracts and leases, recover assets, and repay some of its debts, while discharging others to return to profitability.

The business presents the plan to its creditors who will vote on the plan. If the court finds the plan is fair and equitable, it will approve it. Reorganization plans provide for payments to creditors over some time. Chapter 11 bankruptcies are rather complex and not all of them succeed. It usually takes over a year to confirm a plan.

Chapter 11 and the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019

The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 enacted a new subchapter V of Chapter 11. This subchapter of Chapter 11 seems to favor the side of the applicant for business bankruptcy. But it only applies if the applicant wants it to apply. See cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/chapter-11/subchapter-V.

For example, subchapter V does not require that a committee of creditors be appointed, or that creditors have to approve a court plan.

Per the U.S. Department of Justice, the act: “imposes shorter deadlines for completing the bankruptcy process, allows for greater flexibility in negotiating restructuring plans with creditors, and provides for a private trustee who will work with the small business debtor and its creditors to facilitate the development of a consensual plan of reorganization.” See justice.gov/opa/pr/us-trustee-program-ready-implement-small-business-reorganization-act-2019.

Chapter 13: Adjustment of Debts for Individuals with Regular Income

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a form of bankruptcy for individuals. Since a sole proprietorship is an extension of its one owner, the owner is responsible for all assets and liabilities of the firm. It is most common for a sole proprietorship to take bankruptcy via Chapter 13. This is a reorganization bankruptcy. For the full text of Chapter 13, go to: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/chapter-13.

Chapter 13 Details

Use Chapter 13 small businesses when a reorganization is the goal instead of liquidation. The entrepreneur files a repayment plan with the bankruptcy court. This details how they will repay their debts. Note: Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcies are very different for businesses.

Chapter 13 is vital for individuals whose personal assets are tied up with their business assets, because they can avoid problems like losing a home if they file Chapter 13 versus Chapter 7. Chapter 13 lets a business stay in business and pay its debts. But Chapter 7 does not.

Chapters 12 and 15

There are two other forms of individual bankruptcy. These are less common. Chapter 12 is bankruptcy protection for family farmers and family fisherman. See uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy/bankruptcy-basics/chapter-12-bankruptcy-basics.

Chapter 15 is bankruptcy protection when a bankruptcy matter involves people from another country. See uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy/bankruptcy-basics/chapter-15-bankruptcy-basics.

Correcting Bankruptcy Errors

In general, to correct bankruptcy issues, all you or your lawyer will need to do is file an amendment to your bankruptcy petition. These can be errors like forgetting to list an item of property. Or it can be disclosing an incorrect property value or forgetting a creditor or income from a side business. See alllaw.com/articles/nolo/bankruptcy/bankruptcy-petition-mistake.html.

Liens in a Credit Record

What’s a lien?

Per Investopedia: “A lien is a claim or legal right against assets that are typically used as collateral to satisfy a debt. A lien could be established by a creditor or a legal judgement. A lien serves to guarantee an underlying obligation, such as the repayment of a loan. If the underlying obligation is not satisfied, the creditor may be able to seize the asset that is the subject of the lien. There are many types of liens that are used to secure assets.”

Errors in Liens

Some of the worst errors when it comes to liens can involve real estate if using land to secure a debt. Minor or typographical errors are called Scrivener’s errors. You can often correct them by rerecording the deed of trust or by recording an instrument explaining and correcting the error. But you cannot cure more substantial errors except by a Reformation lawsuit. This type of lawsuit asks a court to correct the deed of trust to reflect the parties’ intent.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans, even during a recession.

Legal Judgments in a Credit Record

Businesses of all sizes can be on the defense end of a lawsuit. Lawsuits can be for everything from a customer slipping on ice in your parking lot to a supplier suing to get you to pay them.

The main ways you can lose in court are if you default at the start and never answer a summons and complaint. Or you could lose a motion for summary judgment brought by the other side. Another way to lose is to lose a bench or jury trial. Or you could exhaust all appeals and end up on the losing end.

If you or your business lose in court, then a judgment may be entered against you. Judgments generally take the form of paying damages, which is money. Or the judgment could be for specific performance where you’re required to do (or not do) something. Another option is an injunction is entered and you may be prevented from doing something. A civil judgment can’t send you to jail. That’s criminal, which is rather different.

Errors in Legal Judgments

Errors often take the form of a judgment entered against the wrong person and/or company, or a typo in the amount of money damages listed in the court’s records. Or the judgment is entered but it’s already been satisfied (paid). Another kind of error is fraud or other misrepresentation on the part of one of the parties. Plus there could be excusable neglect. For example, a city recovering from a major hurricane might not make the proper clerical entry of judgments a priority.

Correcting these errors can take several forms. Different states have differing rules. But every state wants their records to be correct. They just have different ways you need to go about correcting the record.

Correcting Errors in Legal Judgments

You or your lawyer will need to look up how to correct mistakes in a legal judgment in your state (or the District of Columbia or a US territory, like Puerto Rico).

For example, in Massachusetts, you or your lawyer will need to make a motion before the court under Rule 60(a). See mass.gov/rules-of-civil-procedure/civil-procedure-rule-60-relief-from-judgment-or-order. But in Texas, you or your lawyer would need to file a motion for judgment nunc pro tunc. This is a motion to correct the judgment. See texaslawhelp.org/article/correcting-clerical-error-court-order-answers-common-questions#toc-9.

In Georgia, correcting a judgment comes under the general umbrella of relief from judgments. See law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-9/chapter-11/article-7/9-11-60. In Louisiana, it falls under an Amendment of Judgment, and you can fix calculation or language errors ia motion. See law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2015/code-codeofcivilprocedure/ccp-1951/.

Like with most things, the faster you work to correct a legal judgment, the less it will cost you. In particular if the wrong person (you) is the defendant, acting as quickly as possible will save you in legal fees. Ignoring these problems will not make them go away.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans, even during a recession.

UCC Filings in a Credit Record

When you secure a loan with property, creditors can tell other creditors about any of your assets in use as collateral for the secured transaction. UCC liens filed with Secretary of State offices act as a creditor’s public notice of their interest in the property.

It’s in a creditor’s best interests to check for UCC filings. This is so they can make sure they’re the only creditor with a claim on that collateral.

Errors in UCC Filings

Like anything else, there can be typographical errors in UCC filings. But the law says that, unless the errors “make the financing statement seriously misleading”, the UCC filing is still in effect. Are you depending on a typo to get out of a UCC filing? You might want to rethink that strategy. See law.cornell.edu/ucc/9/9-506.

Correcting Errors in UCC Filings

For the most part, unless the errors are seriously misleading, the UCC says you don’t have to fix them. This is because of the policy behind the law governing secured transactions under the UCC. Essentially, financing statements exist to provide notice of a transaction. And they are also meant to give enough information to later potential creditors that the debtor’s property may be covered by an earlier creditor’s security interest.

Hence, a financing statement exists as a starting point in a later creditor’s due diligence process, not the conclusion. See jdsupra.com/legalnews/it-may-be-foul-but-there-is-no-harm-not-11403/.

Correcting the Public Document Errors in Your Credit Record: Takeaways

Your personal credit record can directly impact your business credit record. Both need to be right. And correct records are more likely to get your business money.

It’s possible to fix errors in public documents like judgments and UCC filings. But the mechanism for doing so will differ. This depends on the error, the type of record, and the jurisdiction. The more quickly you act, the better and cheaper it will be for you. Ignoring these mistakes will not make them go away. Correcting mistakes can make your business more fundable.

For more information on fundability and getting business credit, contact us today.

The post Correct Errors in Your Public Credit Record appeared first on Credit Suite.

How to Find and Fix 404 Errors

Do you know what sucks when browsing a website? Getting a 404 page. It doesn’t matter if they mistyped the URL or the page no longer exists. 404 errors can seriously harm your brand and negatively impact your SEO by making it harder for search engines to crawl your site. That means finding and fixing 404 …

The post How to Find and Fix 404 Errors first appeared on Online Web Store Site.

The post How to Find and Fix 404 Errors appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

How to Find and Fix 404 Errors

Do you know what sucks when browsing a website?

Getting a 404 page.

It doesn’t matter if they mistyped the URL or the page no longer exists. 404 errors can seriously harm your brand and negatively impact your SEO by making it harder for search engines to crawl your site.

That means finding and fixing 404 errors needs to be a priority.

In this post, I’ll cover everything you need to know about 404s, why they are bad for business, how to find them, and how to fix them.  

What Is a 404 Error?

A 404 error is a code that indicates a requested page cannot be found.

Whenever a page loads in a browser, it has a response status code in the HTTP header that usually isn’t visible to viewers. These responses are grouped into five categories:

  • 100-199 are informational responses
  • 200-299 are success responses
  • 300-399 denote redirects
  • 400-499 denote client errors
  • 500-599 denote server errors

So what exactly does a 404 error mean?

A 404 error (also known as an HTTP 404 or 404 code) is a very specific type of client error. It means the page the viewer is trying to reach can’t be found on the server.

Hard 404 vs. Soft 404 Errors

There are actually two types of 404 errors you need to watch out for.

While you’ll have probably come across a hard 404 request when browsing a website at some point, you’re unlikely to see a soft 404 error unless you get notified by Google Search Console.

A soft 404 happens when a non-existent page on your site displays a “not found” message to users but returns a 200 OK status to search engines.

This tells Google and other search engines there’s a page at that URL. As a result, crawlers waste time trying to crawl and rank the URL.

Here’s the thing: Google is pretty good at identifying these false pages.

When it finds a page returning a 200 OK status with all the attributes of a page that should return a 404 code, it slaps a soft 404 error on it and notifies the site owner in Google Search Console.

What You Need to Know About Your Site’s 404 Errors

Okay, so you know what these errors are. Now you need to understand what causes 404 errors.

There could be many reasons why your site is returning 404 errors.

You’ll get 404 errors if you’ve deleted or removed pages from your site recently without redirecting their URLs.

404 errors can also occur if you’ve relaunched or transferred your domain and failed to redirect all your old URLs to the new site.

Sometimes 404 errors can be the result of changing a page’s URL. Altering any part of the URL, whether that’s a category name or the page’s slug, will result in a 404 error.

Even mistyping a URL in an internal link can result in a 404 page and a broken link.

Why Are 404 Errors Bad for Websites?

A large number of 404 errors could spell big trouble for your website.

Let’s start with the user’s viewpoint. Continually running into 404 errors when browsing your site will result in a terrible user experience.

Even finding one 404 error can be enough to send a visitor packing.

Read that again: just one 404 error could cost you a customer.

It gets worse, because 404 errors can also damage your rankings.

404 errors aren’t a ranking factor per se, and Google won’t penalize you directly for having lots of them.

But they can harm your SEO.

The more broken links your site has, the harder it will be for Google and other search engines to crawl your site. Link equity won’t be passed around your site well, either.

Both of these can cause a drop in rankings.

You may also suffer from high bounce rates if users leave your site after landing on a 404 page. Unlike 404 errors, bounce rates are a ranking factor, and Google could penalize your site if its bounce rate is too high.

How to Find and Fix 404 Errors on Your Site

Now you know how bad 404 errors are, let’s look at how we can find them and fix them.

Finding 404 Errors

Site crawlers like Screaming Frog are a great way to find broken links that lead to 404 errors quickly. Screaming Frog is also free if your site has 500 URLs or less.

Start by running a site audit.

Then click on Response Codes in the top menu.

Fix 404 errors response codes

Filter for Client Error 4XX to get a list of every page returning a 404 error.

Fix 404 errors in screaming frog

Site crawlers won’t give you a complete list of 404 errors, however, as they only show broken links.

But you can find every 404 error on Google Search Console.

Google Search Console provides a list of every 404 error Googlebot finds on your site. This includes both hard 404s and soft 404s.

Login to the Search Console, click Coverage, and select the Excluded tab.

fix 404 errors analyitcs

You’ll see a list of hard 404 errors marked Not found (404) and soft 404 errors marked Soft 404.

Click on each to see a full list of pages returning 404 errors.

You can also find 404 errors in Bing Webmaster Tools by clicking Reports & Data and then Crawl Information.

Finally, you can find 404 errors using my SEO tool, Ubersuggest.

Head to the site audit tab in the left-hand sidebar.

fix 404 links with a site audit

Run a Site Audit and then click Critical Errors.

Fix 404 Errors Ubersuggest

Then click on the Warnings tab at the top of the page.

If any pages return 404 error codes, they’ll be listed here. Click on the issue to see a full list of the pages.

Fix 404 errors site aduit

Fix 404 Errors

Now it’s time to fix all the errors you’ve found.

Here are four ways to do it:

  1. Redirect the 404 error: Redirecting users to another relevant page is the easiest way to fix 404 errors on your site. Just make sure you redirect them to something relevant — don’t just send them back to your homepage.
  2. Restore the page: If you find there’s still a lot of demand for a page you’ve deleted and there’s no suitable page to redirect users to, consider restoring the original page.
  3. Correct the link: If broken links exist on your site, you can simply edit the link to point to the correct URL. You won’t be able to fix links on websites you don’t control, however.
  4. Create a 404 page: By creating a custom 404 error page, you can make sure no visit is wasted—more on this below.

If you have a lot of 404 errors, you’ll need to prioritize your efforts. If you have 404 errors on any major pages, fix these first. Product pages, contact pages, and service pages with 404 errors should be fixed first.

Other pages may not be so pressing. Google Search Console may uncover 404 errors on pages that a human user would never be able to navigate to. You’ll want to fix them eventually, but these errors shouldn’t impact your rankings too much.

Find and Fixing 404 Errors on Your WordPress Site

If you have a WordPress site, you can use the same steps above to find 404 errors.

Found them? Great, now let’s fix 404 errors in WordPress.

If you’re getting site-wide errors, it’s probably an issue with your permalinks. Head to “Settings →  Permalinks to update your settings.

fix 404 errors wordpress

Click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page once you’re done.

If specific pages are returning 404 errors, you’ll want to set up a 301 redirect for them. WordPress will try to do this automatically, but sometimes it doesn’t work.

The easiest way to do it yourself is by getting Yoast Premium or installing the Redirection plugin.

fix 404 errors with redirection

Once it’s installed and activated, head to Tools → Redirection.

Fix 404 errors in wordpress

You’ll need to answer a few quick questions to set up the tool.

Then you’ll be able to redirect any URL on your WordPress site. Just enter the URL you want to redirect in the Source URL field and the URL you want to redirect the page to in the Target URL field.

Then click Add Redirect.

fix 404 errors WP redirection

If this seems confusing or complicated, it might be best to have a website developer or your website hosting support team help you with this to make sure all 404s are redirected properly.

How Often Should You Check for 404 Errors?

How often you should check for 404 errors depends on the size of your site.

Smaller sites with less than 50 pages can probably check for 404 errors every month or so. Larger sites may want to run checks for 404 errors every week or every other day.

Other Top Tools to Find and Fix 404 Errors

The methods I’ve mentioned above aren’t the only ways to find and fix 404 errors. Here are some of the other leading tools you can use.

Dead Link Checker

Dead Link Checker is similar to Screaming Frog. You can use it to check up to 2000 links on your site to see if any are broken.

fix 404 errors dead link checker

Google Analytics

Google Analytics doesn’t track 404 errors out of the box, but you can use it to find 404 errors if you have a custom 404 page.

Start by finding the name of your 404 page.

Screen Shot 2020 10 21 at 5.27.02 PM

Mine is Page not found – Neil Patel.

Then open Google Analytics and head to Behavior → Site Content → All Pages

GA fix 404 errors

Now add Page Title as a Secondary Dimension.

fix 404 errors GA

Click Advanced next to the search bar, then change the rule from Page to Page Title and type your 404 page title into the Containing box.

Fix 404 errors Seach Console

You’ll now have a report of how many people landed on your 404 page, and where they came from.

MonsterInsights

If you have a WordPress site, MonsterInsights can do all of the hard work for you. Rather than creating a manual report in Google Analytics, simply install the MonsterInsights plug-in.

It automatically tracks your 404 errors as soon as you connect your Google Analytics.

fix 404 errors monsterinsights

Crafting a Unique 404 Error Code Page

I highly recommend creating a unique 404 error code page for your site.

Most standard 404 error messages are way too technical for the average user to understand, and they don’t help them find another relevant page.

With a unique 404 page, you can provide more value to your users and even help them find the information they are looking for.

You can also boost your branding and marketing efforts.

Many companies use a custom 404 error page to reinforce their brand image and inject a bit of humor. Creating a custom URL page also makes it easier to track 404 errors in Google Analytics.

Don’t go overboard, however. A clean and straightforward 404 page is much more effective than an overly elaborate one.

Make sure you include a 404 header status on your custom page, too.

If you don’t, search engines won’t recognize the page correctly. Google will keep displaying the page in search results and send you a deluge of soft 404 error messages in the Search Console.

If you need some inspiration, here are some of my favorite unique 404 page examples:

Airbnb

fix 404 errors airbnb

Airbnb makes the most of a 404 error by showing users a fun GIF and offering links to their site’s main pages.

Southwest

Fix 404 errors Southwest

Southwest takes full responsibility for the mistake and explains how it may have happened if users want to try to find the page again.

Wendys

fix 404 errors Wendys

Wendys goes above and beyond with their 404 page. There are no links to other parts of their site here; just a free game users can play to pass the time.

Conclusion

If you have a website, 404 errors are inevitable. But there’s no reason to let them damage your site’s user experience and hurt your rankings.

Use the strategies and tools above to regularly run checks to find 404 errors and fix them quickly. The faster you fix them, the less damage they can do.

How many 404 errors have you been able to fix on your site? Let me know in the comments.

The post How to Find and Fix 404 Errors appeared first on Neil Patel.