404 errors are a common occurrence on websites, but when it comes to subdirectories that don’t have pages, how you handle these errors can have a significant impact on both user experience and SEO. Subdirectories, also known as subfolders, are used to organize a website’s content and provide structure to URLs. When these subdirectories lead to non-existent pages, resulting in 404 errors, it’s important to manage them properly to avoid potential issues.

In this article, we’ll explore how to effectively handle 404 errors for subdirectories that don’t have pages, how these errors impact SEO, and what best practices to implement to ensure a seamless user experience and maintain strong search engine performance.

Understanding 404 Errors

A 404 error occurs when a user or search engine requests a page that doesn’t exist on your website. This could happen for various reasons, such as:

• The page has been removed or moved to a new URL.
• The URL was mistyped.
• There is an internal or external link pointing to a non-existent page.

In the context of subdirectories, a 404 error may occur when a user or search engine tries to access a subdirectory that doesn’t have a valid page associated with it. For example, if the URL https://example.com/products/electronics/phones/ exists but https://example.com/products/electronics/laptops/ doesn’t, a user or search engine attempting to access the laptops subdirectory will encounter a 404 error.

Impact of 404 Errors on SEO

404 errors are generally not harmful to your website’s SEO if they occur occasionally and are handled correctly. Search engines like Google understand that 404 errors are a natural part of the web, and they don’t penalize websites for having them. However, when 404 errors are excessive, especially in the context of subdirectories, they can impact your site’s performance in the following ways:

• Crawl Budget Waste: Every website has a crawl budget, which refers to the number of pages Googlebot is willing to crawl on your site within a specific timeframe. If a large portion of your crawl budget is spent on non-existent subdirectories, it could prevent Google from indexing the important pages on your site, leading to lower search visibility.
• Poor User Experience: Users encountering 404 errors when navigating through subdirectories may become frustrated and leave your site, increasing your bounce rate and reducing user engagement metrics.
• Broken Links: Internal or external links pointing to non-existent subdirectories can hurt your SEO by creating dead ends for users and search engines. Broken links diminish the credibility of your site and can lead to lower rankings.

Best Practices for Handling 404 Errors in Subdirectories

Effectively handling 404 errors in subdirectories is essential to maintaining a positive user experience and ensuring that your SEO performance remains strong. Here are some best practices to follow:

1. Create a Custom 404 Page

A custom 404 page is one of the most effective ways to manage 404 errors for non-existent subdirectories. Instead of leaving users stranded on a generic error page, a well-designed 404 page can guide them back to relevant content on your site.

• Helpful Suggestions: Your custom 404 page should include helpful links to popular categories, products, or blog posts on your site. This encourages users to stay on your website rather than leaving due to a bad experience.
• Search Functionality: Including a search bar on your 404 page allows users to search for the content they were looking for, helping them quickly find relevant pages.
• Friendly Messaging: Use a friendly and empathetic message on your 404 page to let users know that the page they were looking for doesn’t exist, but that there are plenty of other resources available on your site.

By creating a custom 404 page, you improve the chances of retaining visitors who encounter non-existent subdirectories and direct them to useful content.

2. Redirect Non-Existent Subdirectories When Appropriate

If a subdirectory or URL no longer exists but has a clear alternative, consider implementing a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells search engines and browsers to go to a new URL instead of the non-existent one. This is especially useful when the content has been moved or replaced by another page.

• When to Use Redirects: Use a 301 redirect when there is a valid replacement page for the non-existent subdirectory. For example, if the laptops subdirectory is no longer in use but the products are now listed under a new category, redirecting users and search engines to the new URL ensures that they land on the correct page.
• Avoid Redirect Loops: Be cautious not to create redirect loops, where one URL redirects to another, which then redirects back to the original URL. This can confuse search engines and create a poor user experience.

Redirects help preserve the SEO value of your links and ensure that users are taken to relevant content even when a subdirectory no longer exists.

3. Monitor and Fix Internal and External Links

Broken links leading to non-existent subdirectories can harm your SEO by creating dead ends for both users and search engines. Regularly monitor your website for broken links and fix them promptly.

• Internal Links: Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to audit your internal links. If you find any links pointing to non-existent subdirectories, update them to point to valid URLs or use 301 redirects if necessary.
• External Links: Check for external backlinks pointing to non-existent subdirectories using tools like Google Search Console or Majestic. If you identify broken backlinks, reach out to the referring sites and ask them to update their links.

By maintaining a clean link structure, you improve user experience and ensure that search engines can crawl and index your site effectively.

4. Use the Robots.txt File to Control Crawling

If you have certain subdirectories that don’t have pages and you don’t want Googlebot or other search engines to crawl them, you can use the robots.txt file to block them from being crawled. The robots.txt file allows you to specify which parts of your site should not be crawled, helping you manage your crawl budget effectively.

• Blocking Non-Existent Subdirectories: Add the non-existent subdirectories to your robots.txt file to prevent search engines from wasting crawl budget on them. For example:javascriptCopy codeUser-agent: * Disallow: /products/electronics/laptops/
• Avoid Blocking Important Content: Be careful when using the robots.txt file to block subdirectories, as you don’t want to accidentally prevent search engines from crawling important content on your site.

Using the robots.txt file effectively ensures that Googlebot focuses on crawling valuable pages rather than wasting time on non-existent subdirectories.

5. Submit Updated Sitemaps

An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the important URLs on your website that you want search engines to crawl and index. If you remove subdirectories or pages from your website, make sure to update your sitemap and submit it to Google through Google Search Console.

• Remove Non-Existent URLs: Make sure that your sitemap only includes valid URLs. Remove any non-existent subdirectories or pages from your sitemap to avoid sending search engines to dead links.
• Submit Updated Sitemaps: After updating your sitemap, submit the new version to Google Search Console to ensure that Google crawls the correct URLs. This helps keep your website’s index up to date and prevents crawl errors caused by non-existent subdirectories.

By regularly updating and submitting your sitemap, you can guide search engines to the most important content on your site and avoid unnecessary 404 errors.

Conclusion

Handling 404 errors for subdirectories that don’t have pages is an essential part of website maintenance and SEO. While occasional 404 errors won’t harm your rankings, managing them properly ensures a better user experience, helps search engines crawl your site more efficiently, and protects your search engine performance.

By creating custom 404 pages, using 301 redirects when appropriate, monitoring for broken links, using robots.txt to control crawling, and submitting updated sitemaps, you can minimize the impact of non-existent subdirectories on your site’s performance.

For businesses looking to optimize their website’s technical SEO and URL structure, Web Zodiac’s SEO Services offer expert solutions, including white-label SEO services and enterprise SEO services. By implementing best practices for managing subdirectories and handling 404 errors, you can improve both user experience and search engine visibility.