URL returning 404 still shown in Google
dead_url_still_servedShort answer
These URLs returned 404 in the crawl and still received impressions in Google in the last seven days of Search Console data. Google still shows these addresses in search results, but everyone who opens them sees an error page: all of those impressions are wasted. Redirect each one with a 301 to the right page. If there really is no equivalent, leave the 404 or return 410: both drop the page from the index, and 410 may be slightly faster.
Why it matters
A dead URL with impressions is traffic you are actively turning away: the ranking still exists, the click lands on an error. It happens after migrations, slug changes and deletions without redirects. Google keeps showing a 404 URL for a while after it first sees the error, so acting quickly recovers most of the clicks.
How Glimana detects it
Glimana takes every crawled page with status 404 and checks Search Console impressions in the last seven days of available data (not the last 28, which would count impressions from before the page died). The rule fires for 404 URLs that still had impressions in that window; the evidence shows impressions and clicks.
How to fix it
- Find the affected pages in Glimana. Open Issues › URL returning 404 still shown in Google. The row's evidence comes from the Search Console / Bing import: the URLs, the state Google reported and, where relevant, the clicks or impressions at stake. Sort by clicks and start with the pages that earn traffic.
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Apply the fix on your platform.
- Find the replacement. The moved page, the parent category, or the most similar current page. Not the home page: a redirect to an unrelated page is treated as a soft 404.
- 301 redirect the old URL to it.
- No replacement? Leave the 404 or return 410 ("gone"); both remove the URL from the index.
- Update internal links that still point at the dead URL (see Broken internal link).
Use the Redirection plugin (or Rank Math / Yoast Premium redirects) to add the 301s; its 404 log also shows which dead URLs people hit. Changing a slug in the editor creates an automatic redirect in recent WordPress versions.
Online Store › Navigation › URL Redirects; import a CSV for many at once. Deleting a product should always be paired with a redirect to its collection.
Keep a redirect map (database table or config) consulted before the 404 handler; return 410 for intentionally removed resources.
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Publish and clear caches. Publish or deploy and purge caches. For the URLs with the most clicks, open Search Console › URL Inspection and request indexing so Google re-evaluates them sooner than its normal schedule.
- Verify in Glimana. Open the task under Tasks and click Mark as done. The task closes when the URL redirects (301/308) or stops receiving impressions. Glimana re-checks on each Search Console / Bing import; if the state has not changed the task returns to New with a note.
How the fix is verified
Re-crawl; the task closes when the URL redirects (301/308) or stops receiving impressions.