Tracking error messages and 404 pages
Error pages, broken links and script errors cost visits and rankings. We track them systematically and fix the causes in order of urgency.
What error pages cost
Every error page ends a visit, and many errors go unnoticed for a long time. 404 errors pile up after a redesign, when products are deleted or when campaigns carry wrong links. JavaScript errors often go unseen, even though they can block forms or the checkout.
Error pages also matter for search engine optimisation. Pages that are linked but no longer reachable waste link equity and crawl budget.
What we capture
404 pages: requested URL and referring page, as an event in GA4
Errors in search engines: pages not found and not indexed, from Google Search Console
Script errors: JavaScript errors in the browser, collected with services such as Sentry
Server errors: 5xx status codes from log files and monitoring
We combine the sources in one report. This gives one complete picture, rather than notes scattered across different tools.
Analysis
Not every error is equally important. We sort by frequency and impact: a broken link from a running campaign is more urgent than an old typo in a URL. The referring page shows where the error originates: on your website or in external links.
For script errors, what matters most is whether they affect core functions. An error in the checkout takes priority over an error in an animation.
Fixing
We correct broken internal links at the source. For changed URLs we set up 301 redirects, so rankings and backlinks are preserved. We design the 404 page itself to be helpful, with search and routes to the most important areas.
If pages are removed permanently, we redirect to the closest page in terms of content or return a 410 status code. We avoid blanket redirects to the home page, because Google treats them like error pages.
Ongoing monitoring
We set up alerts when error counts rise sharply, for example after a deployment. This way you learn about problems within hours, not in the monthly report. After a redesign we monitor 404 errors and redirects particularly closely, because rankings are at stake.