Track 404 errors

A 404 error is the “page not found” screen. 404 tracking shows which missing addresses people still try to open, so you can fix the broken links that cost you the most visitors.

Why track 404s

Links go stale: old campaign links, PDFs, and links on partner sites keep pointing at pages that no longer exist. Google Search Console shows some of these; PureMetrix shows which ones real visitors actually hit, and which campaign or website they came from.

PureMetrix setup

In WordPress, open PureMetrix > Settings. Under Enhanced Measurements, make sure 404 Error Pages is ticked (it is on by default). On other stacks, send a custom event (or a pageview on the 404 template) with the missing path. Look at the most frequent 404 paths once a week.

How to work through the list

Sort by number of hits, most frequent first.
If it is clear what the visitor wanted, set up a permanent redirect (301) to the best replacement page.
Fix internal links in your posts, pages, and menus.
Ignore bots that try login addresses such as wp-login variants – that is automated scanning, not real visitors.

Do not try to fix everything

Automated scanners can create lots of random 404s. Focus on pages real people land on and on campaign links. The referrer (the page someone came from) and UTM parameters tell you where the broken link sits.

Many visitors leave from a 404 page – that is expected. Understand exit rate before you react, and do not "fix" a 404 by showing a normal-looking page instead: redirect or repair the link.

Which 404s are worth fixing

Sort by hit count. Fix broken internal links and old campaign URLs with many hits by adding redirects. Ignore scanners probing wp-login variants unless they slow your site down. PureMetrix shows which paths are worth repairing—you do not need to chase every made-up URL a bot tries.

After moving or relaunching a site, watch for 404 spikes for a week and redirect the most frequent paths in one batch. Where possible, send recovered paths to the page that ranks in Google or to the campaign’s landing page.

Theme and permalink traps

Changing your permalink structure, custom post types, or shop categories can quietly break many URLs at once. Always check while logged out, like a normal visitor: some pages only look “missing” because logged-in editors have different permissions.

A weekly redirect routine

Once a week: export the top 404 paths from PureMetrix, pick a replacement page for each, add the redirects in your SEO plugin or server configuration, and check again the following week. If campaign links with UTM parameters land on retired pages, make sure the redirect keeps everything after the “?”.

After a theme or permalink change, expect a short spike—keep an eye on it for 72 hours instead of waiting until the end of the quarter.

Noise from attack attempts

Bots probe for known plugin security holes, which inflates your 404 list. Filter out obvious attack patterns so your team fixes real broken links instead of chasing bots.

Retiring campaign landing pages

When ads still point at expired pages, every 404 is wasted ad budget. Send the weekly top 404s to whoever manages your ads. Keep UTM parameters on redirects so PureMetrix still credits the visit to the right campaign after you fix the path.

Internal link checks

Run a link checker (crawler) over your site after big changes. Compare its 404s with PureMetrix hit counts to decide what comes first. A 404 only the crawler found, with zero real visitors, can wait; a 404 that visitors from a paid campaign hit cannot.

Fix menus and templates that still link to renamed posts—they cause a steady trickle of 404s that editors stop noticing.

When you remove a section of your site, set up the redirects at the same time as you delete the content, so your stats never show a week of avoidable errors.

Old page numbers and feed URLs

Old /page/999 and feed URLs often produce 404s after a theme change. Redirect patterns you no longer support, or block them on purpose. Use the PureMetrix top-404 list to decide between redirecting and blocking—instead of endless debates about bots.

After bulk imports, look for 404s on old media paths (images, attachments). These rarely need a redirect to content, but they are a sign your media files or CDN need a clean-up.

Agree with whoever runs your ads that old short URLs get redirects before a campaign budget goes live, not after PureMetrix shows a spike of paid 404s.

Image and attachment 404s

Missing images are rarely as urgent as missing landing pages, but they make pages look broken and hurt the page experience. Review media 404s separately in PureMetrix so redirects for content pages stay at the top of the list.

Keep one single list of redirects; several SEO plugins with different redirect rules can create redirect loops and new 404s.

Fix 404 paths that still receive UTM traffic first; those are broken campaign links costing you paid clicks, not just old bookmarks.