"For starters, a 404 error is not a direct ranking signal. Broken links or deleted pages do not impact sitewide rankings in Google search results. Former Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Susan Moskwa confirmed this in 2011. She called 404 errors a natural occurrence on the web, one that search engines are aware of. She also stated that Google prefers 404 status codes (or 410s for pages intentionally removed) because they clearly inform that the page is unavailable."
"Yet 404 status codes can result in a loss of organic rankings through other signals: Poor usability. Clicking a broken link is a poor user experience, which can prompt visitors to abandon a site. Clicks and engagement are Google ranking factors. Visitors who land on a site and quickly leave suggest to Google that they are dissatisfied. Loss of link equity. Internal and external links to deleted pages pass no link equity."
"I typically use three methods: Search Console, Google Analytics, and third-party tools. Search Console's "Pages" report includes unindexed URLs and the reasons, such as 404 and 410 status codes. Review the list and confirm: You removed the pages intentionally. No internal links point to those pages. To verify, click the 404 page in the list, then "Inspect URL" to the right for referring sitemaps or pages."
A 404 status code is not a direct ranking signal. Google prefers 404 or 410 status codes because they clearly indicate that a page is unavailable, and Search Console states 404s will not impact site search performance. Google representatives have confirmed that 404s/410s are not negative quality signals. However, 404s can indirectly reduce organic rankings by creating poor usability that encourages visitors to abandon a site and by eliminating internal and external link equity to deleted pages. Detecting and fixing broken links and deleted pages is a key step in diagnosing organic traffic drops. Common detection methods include Search Console, Google Analytics, and third-party tools.
Read at Practical Ecommerce
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