Soft 404 errors are one of the more misunderstood issues in ecommerce SEO. They happen when a page looks like it should exist, but it actually gives search engines very little useful content, or behaves like a missing page without returning a proper 404 status code.
For online stores, this often affects discontinued products, out-of-stock listings, filtered category pages, and thin duplicate URLs created by faceted navigation. Left unchecked, soft 404s can waste crawl budget, weaken product discovery, and create a poor user experience for shoppers.
What Soft 404 Errors Mean for Ecommerce Stores
A soft 404 is not the same as a standard 404. A standard 404 tells search engines that a page is gone. A soft 404 is a page that still loads, but appears empty, irrelevant, or too thin to be useful. Google may decide it should be treated as missing even though the server does not signal that properly.
In ecommerce, this can happen when a product page says “not found”, a category page has no products, or a page is filled with near-empty placeholder text. That is a problem because search engines may keep revisiting low-value pages instead of crawling important category pages, product pages, and helpful content that can support organic traffic growth.
If you want to understand the basics of crawlable site structure and helpful content, Google’s SEO starter guide is a useful reference alongside your own site audits.
Common Causes in Product and Category Pages
Soft 404s on ecommerce sites usually come from a few predictable patterns. Product pages are often the main source, especially when items are removed, out of stock for long periods, or replaced by near-identical versions. Category pages can also trigger issues when filters create empty combinations or when pagination leads to thin pages with little value.
Shopify SEO and WooCommerce SEO setups can both create these problems, but for different reasons. Shopify stores may generate many filter and collection URLs, while WooCommerce sites can produce duplicate archive pages, tag pages, or parameter-based URLs that add little value. In both cases, the issue is less about the platform and more about how the store is structured.
Other common causes include:
- Discontinued products left live with no meaningful content
- Out-of-stock pages that simply say the item is unavailable
- Category pages with no products and no helpful text
- Thin pages created by sorting or filter parameters
- Duplicate product content across variants or similar listings
How Soft 404s Affect SEO and Conversions
Soft 404s can affect more than indexing. They can reduce the usefulness of internal links, dilute page quality signals, and send shoppers into dead ends. That is bad for ecommerce user experience, especially on mobile ecommerce SEO journeys where users expect fast answers and clear navigation.
For product page SEO, a soft 404 may stop a useful page from earning visibility even if it has backlinks, reviews, or historical engagement. For category page SEO, the impact can be broader because category URLs often support commercial intent keywords and act as entry points into the store.
From a conversions point of view, results depend on traffic quality, pricing, trust signals, product clarity, page speed, reviews, checkout experience, and testing. Fixing soft 404s will not magically improve sales, but it can remove friction and preserve more of the value already coming to the site.
How to Find Soft 404 Errors
The easiest place to start is Google Search Console, where soft 404 reports can highlight suspicious URLs. You can also review server logs, crawl data, and analytics to find pages with high impressions but no clear purpose, or pages with traffic that quickly drops off.
For larger ecommerce sites, a crawler such as Screaming Frog can help surface thin pages, redirected URLs, and duplicate paths. If you are checking page performance at the same time, PageSpeed Insights can help you spot whether slow page loads are contributing to poor user experience on product and category pages.
When reviewing URLs, look for pages that:
- Return 200 status codes but contain “not found” messaging
- Have no products, little text, and weak navigation
- Are duplicates created by filters or sorting parameters
- Have been removed but still receive internal links
Practical Fixes for Ecommerce Soft 404s
The right fix depends on the page type. For discontinued products, do not keep a thin placeholder page live unless it still serves a real purpose. If there is a close replacement, redirect the old URL to the most relevant alternative. If the item is gone permanently and there is no useful substitute, a proper 404 or 410 may be better than leaving a weak page online.
For out-of-stock product SEO, keep the page live if the item is likely to return and the page still has value. Add clear stock messaging, a helpful description, related products, and strong internal links to alternative items or category pages. This can protect page relevance without pretending the product is available.
For empty categories, improve the page rather than leaving it bare. Add a useful introduction, featured subcategories, internal links, and relevant product sorting. If the category no longer has a role in your ecommerce content strategy, consider redirecting it to the nearest equivalent.
For duplicate product content and faceted navigation, aim to reduce indexable clutter. Canonical tags, parameter handling, noindex where appropriate, and careful internal linking can all help. The goal is to let search engines focus on the versions that matter most for online store SEO.
Best Practices for Shopify and WooCommerce Stores
On Shopify, keep a close eye on collection pages, product variants, and app-generated URLs. Make sure unavailable products are handled consistently, and avoid letting filter combinations create large numbers of thin pages. Strengthen collection content with clear copy, internal linking, and structured data where relevant.
On WooCommerce, review category archives, tags, attachments, and parameter-based URLs. Many stores benefit from pruning low-value taxonomies and improving the content on important archive pages. When paired with good ecommerce schema markup, strong product descriptions, and better site structure, this can help search engines understand which pages deserve attention.
Useful work here often overlaps with broader ecommerce technical SEO: crawlability, indexing control, internal linking, website speed, and Core Web Vitals. Better page structure also tends to support user confidence, which can improve the chances of a sale when the right shopper lands on the right page.
Conclusion
Soft 404 errors are not just a technical nuisance. In ecommerce, they can weaken product discovery, waste crawl resources, and interrupt the journey from search result to product page to checkout. The fix is usually a mix of better redirects, stronger page content, cleaner indexation, and more careful handling of unavailable or duplicate URLs.
If you are building a more resilient store, treat soft 404s as part of your wider SEO maintenance plan. A better page experience, clearer navigation, and well-structured content can support organic traffic growth over time. For stores that want a broader technical review, a free website SEO audit can help identify problem areas across crawlability, content, and internal linking.
Backlink Works also publishes practical guidance for ecommerce and site growth teams that want to improve visibility without relying on shortcuts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a soft 404 and a normal 404?
A normal 404 tells search engines the page does not exist. A soft 404 looks like a missing page but still returns a live page, often with little or no useful content.
Should I redirect every out-of-stock product page?
No. If the product is likely to return, keep the page live and improve it. If it has been discontinued, redirect only when there is a closely related replacement.
Can faceted navigation cause soft 404 issues?
Yes. Filter combinations can create thin, duplicate, or empty pages that search engines may treat as low value or effectively missing.
Do soft 404 fixes improve ecommerce conversions?
They can help reduce friction and improve user experience, but conversion results depend on many factors, including traffic quality, page speed, pricing, trust signals, and checkout design.
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