404 link reclamation is the part of link reclamation you can do without contacting anyone. Other sites link to URLs on your domain that no longer exist, often after a redesign, migration or content cleanup. Those links send visitors to an error page and pass nothing. Redirecting each dead URL to the closest relevant live page with a 301 restores the path for both people and search engines.
Finding the URLs
Pull the list of linked target URLs from a backlink tool and check their status codes, or use the tool's broken pages report. Google Search Console's Links report shows your top linked pages, and its Page indexing report lists URLs returning 404. Server logs can show which missing URLs still get visits.
Choosing a redirect target
Redirect to the page that best replaces what the old URL offered. Google has said that redirecting many unrelated URLs to the homepage may be treated as a soft 404, so a relevant destination matters. If nothing on the site replaces the old page and the links are valuable, consider recreating the content.
# Example redirects for removed pages
/blog/2021-api-guide -> /docs/api/getting-started 301
/features/legacy-reports -> /features/reporting 301Preventing new losses
Before deleting or moving a page, check whether it has backlinks. Include redirect mapping in every migration plan, and keep a redirect file under version control so redirects are not lost in the next rebuild.
Example
Post-migration cleanup
Six months after moving its docs to a new platform, an illustrative messaging API company, Relaywick, finds dozens of linked URLs from the old docs now returning 404. Many are linked from Stack Overflow answers and developer tutorials. Mapping each to its new equivalent fixes the links for readers and restores whatever value they pass, with no outreach required.
Common mistakes
Redirecting everything to the homepage
Irrelevant redirects frustrate visitors and may be treated as soft 404s.
Using 302s for permanent moves
A 301 tells search engines the move is permanent. Google says it handles both, but 301 is the clearer signal for a page that is gone for good.
Questions
404s are normal and do not hurt the rest of the site. The cost is the lost value of any links pointing to them and the poor experience for visitors who follow those links.
