After our recent website rebuild, some pages were not reconstructed due to being low-performing, redundant, or unnecessary. Consequently, redirects were not properly set up for these pages, leading to a steady increase in the number of 404 errors in Google Search Console. While we have a consultant guiding us through the rebuild, we also have a separate company handling website maintenance and management. The consultant recommends terminating our contract with the website management company, claiming their services are unnecessary. However, the website management company is alarmed by the lack of redirects, arguing that this is a fundamental aspect of a rebuild that should have been addressed by the consultant. Both parties seem to be at odds, with the consultant dismissing the concerns as fear-mongering on the part of the website management company. The question remains: are these 404 errors significant enough to impact our search rankings, and which party is correct in this situation?
The impact of 404 errors on SEO depends on the specific pages affected and their value. If pages receiving significant traffic or backlinks are generating 404 errors, it can negatively impact search rankings. This is because Google interprets these errors as broken links, signaling that the website is not well-maintained and potentially unreliable. In such cases, implementing 301 redirects to relevant pages would be the best course of action to preserve the authority and link juice of the original pages. However, if the 404 errors are related to low-performing pages with minimal traffic or backlinks, the impact on SEO is likely minimal. It is crucial to analyze the traffic and backlinks associated with the affected pages to determine the appropriate course of action. In the scenario described, the consultant and website management company are both partially correct. While the consultant might be right in dismissing the concerns as fear-mongering if the affected pages are indeed low-performing, failing to address 404 errors for valuable pages can have negative consequences. Therefore, a collaborative approach is essential, where both parties work together to ensure proper redirecting for pages with significant traffic and backlinks.