How to Fix Status Code 204 and Its Impact on SEO

Introduction

HTTP status codes are messages that send the website server to the
browser. They indicate to users whether their request can be completed through
the browser.

There are a few types of HTTP status codes you can see, such as:

100 – 199: Informational
200 – 299: Success!
300 – 399: Redirection. The Website URL or Page redirects to another page or
URL.
400 – 499: Client error.
500 – 599: Server error.

However, this blog will discuss in-depth status code 204 from the 2xx
series.

What is a status code 204?

HTTP 204 Status code or no content response code occurs when the client
requests something and the server fulfills it or completes the request, but no
content is now available to send back to the client from the server.

What should be avoided when the server indicates a 204 Status Code?

PATCH/ PUT Requests: When you update any resource, you might see a
return 204 status code, which is quite natural if your update is successful.

Remove Requests: If you successfully delete any resource, the server
might send a 204 code instead of additional data.

Form submissions: Sometimes, If you submit a form, the server indicates
success without redirecting or sending back further data.

If your web page issues a request that returns to code 204, you don’t do
anything exactly like that on the same page. Make a note that never refresh,
change, or redirect the page.

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How does 204 No Content Response affect SEO?

As we discussed earlier, if the 204 status code returns from the server due to
no content in the response body, it will affect your website’s SEO
Perspective. Let’s dive into detail:

No Index Content: If you receive 204 no-content responses, search
engine bots have nothing to index for that specific request.

Search Engine Crawl Budget: Crawl budgets are allocated for every
website within a given timeframe. If your website comes up with a 204 status
code, it might waste search engines’ crawl budgets for that particular website
with no content.

Increasing Bounce Rate: If your visitors encounter the 204 status code,
they might leave your site because there is no content, which increases your
bounce rate. Search engines don’t give you value; they think you need to
satisfy your users, impacting your SEO scores.

Chances to Misconfiguration: Due to website misconfiguration or server
error, the status code 204 comes up, then the search engine might not
index. So you lose the rank on search engines.

Go through the Relevant:

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How to Fix status code 204 for website health and SEO?

Carefully Check 204 Responses: Review the application logic and server
configurations to ensure that the response codes appear correctly. Check
server logs and properly implement error handling in your application to
diagnose the issue.

SEO Error: You should carefully monitor your website issues, ensuring
your webpage doesn’t return with a 204 no-content response. Instead of 204, it
should be 200 OK status with proper content. To check the 204 status code, you
should use SEO tools and verify the errors.

User Experience Problem: Always provide feedback to your users on your
webpage. If you delete a page, instead of the 204 status code, redirect the
user to the confirmation page or set some visual feedback for that same page.

Caching Issues: Review your caching configurations so the 204 code
guides correctly. Adjust your cache headers for the correct 204 codes.

Find the 204 status code with the help of HTTP status code checker tools.

Many HTTP status code checker tools are available online through which you can
find the 204 status code. Let’s discuss:

Sitechecker. pro
WebFX HTTP Status Tool
httpstatus.io

They can identify the cause of HTTP status codes but can’t tell you why the
issues are happening. You can consult a developer and investigate the server
codes.

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Conclusion

So, we learn why status code 204 appears: the server has no content for
the specific request. In that case, we should avoid PATCH/ PUT Requests,
Remove Requests, and some particular Form submissions.

It also affects the website’s SEO, causing trouble with search engine indexing
and increasing search engine crawl budgets and bounce rates. So we need to be
careful regarding that matter.

FAQs

What is reply code 204?

The 204 reply code means the request was successful, but no content appeared;
it is not an error code.

Is 204 a success or failure?

First of all, it is not an error or failure code. This means there is no
content to show users, but the request is successful, and the current page
need not be refreshed, changed, or closed.

Does the 204 reply code affect SEO?

Yes, if your users can’t get content for particular requests, they might
return to the page, which may increase the bounce rate. If the Google bot
can’t get content, there might be issues with indexing, which could lead to
rank issues.

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