March 12, 2025
You worked hard to rank on Google. You climbed to #1, started getting leads, and felt unstoppable. Then, suddenly—your rankings disappeared.
If your website redirects all missing pages (404 errors) to the homepage, Google might punish you without realizing it. It is one of the most damaging SEO mistakes real estate investors make, and we have seen it crush rankings overnight.
We helped two clients recover from this issue, returning them from ranking beyond 50 to dominating page one again. If your traffic is tanking, keep reading—you might be making the same mistake.
Google Warns: Don’t Redirect All 404s to Your Homepage
Many real estate investors don’t know this, but Google advises against redirecting all 404 pages to the homepage.
It might seem like a smart move—why show users a “Page Not Found” error when you can send them back to the homepage? But here’s what happens.
Search crawlers get confused. Instead of recognizing a missing page, Google repeatedly crawls the homepage, wasting time and reducing your site’s credibility.
Rankings drop fast. When Google can’t understand your site structure, it assumes your homepage lacks relevance, and your authority weakens.
User experience suffers. Imagine clicking a link expecting a guide on “selling distressed properties fast,” only to land on a generic homepage with no answers. Frustrating, right?
Google’s Martin Splitt recently confirmed this: Redirecting all 404 pages to the homepage creates a bad user experience and confuses search engines.
If your rankings have suddenly dropped, this could be why. We’ve seen it happen firsthand.
Real Estate SEO Case Study #1: From #1 to Nowhere—How a Real Estate Investor Almost Lost It All
A real estate investor in Texas ranked #1 for multiple high-traffic keywords, including “We buy houses in Dallas” and “Sell my house fast Fort Worth.”
Then, their rankings plummeted past 50 overnight. Their website had no penalties or significant content changes—just a sudden traffic loss.
Their team had deleted hundreds of old property listings and redirected all of them to the homepage. Google no longer saw their homepage as relevant for real estate searches.
We fixed this by removing bad redirects and restoring proper 404 error pages. Instead of dumping users onto the homepage, we redirected old listings to relevant category pages like “Available Investment Properties in Texas.”
Within 60 days, they climbed back to the top 3 spots and regained 80% of their lost traffic.
Real Estate SEO Case Study #2: From Ranking Beyond 50 to Page One Again
A real estate brokerage in Florida had thousands of property listings. Once they sell the homes, their SEO team redirected expired listing pages to the homepage.
Their rankings collapsed. Even brand searches like “[Company Name] reviews” showed competitors instead.
Google no longer trusted its homepage. Every time it crawled the site, it kept getting redirected to an irrelevant page, making it assume the content had no clear structure.
We created custom 404 pages with a search bar, recent listings, and an option to browse other properties. Instead of deleting expired listings entirely, we redirected them to city-specific property archives.
Three months later, they jumped back to page one for their primary keywords and saw a 35% increase in organic leads.
Related: Check our other Real Estate SEO case study
FAQs: How 404 Redirect Mistakes Can Destroy Your Real Estate SEO
Why shouldn’t I redirect all 404 pages to the homepage?
Redirecting all missing pages to the homepage confuses both users and Google. Search engines expect a clear signal when content is missing. If every 404 redirects to the homepage, Google may devalue your site, causing rankings to drop.
How does Google handle 404 errors?
Google treats 404 pages as missing content and removes them from search results over time. A 301 redirect to another relevant webpage is best if the page has a valid replacement. Keeping it as a 404 is better than redirecting it to an irrelevant page if it’s permanently gone.
What happens if I have too many 404 errors on my real estate website?
A few 404 pages won’t harm your site, but too many can hurt SEO if linked from other pages or indexed by Google. It’s important to fix broken links, remove outdated content, and use correct redirects when necessary.
How can I check if my website has bad 404 redirects?
Use Google Search Console or hire SEO experts to find 404 errors in your real estate website. You can also use advanced tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to scan for broken pages and check if they have the correct redirection.
What’s the best way to handle expired property listings?
Instead of redirecting them all to the homepage, direct users to:
Can a 404 page be optimized for SEO?
Yes! A well-designed custom 404 page improves user experience and keeps visitors on your site. Include a search bar, popular property listings, and a call-to-action to help users find their needs.
How did SEO To Real Estate Investors fix this issue for other clients?
Two clients lost rankings because of bad 404 redirects to the homepage. After fixing their redirect strategy, restoring proper 404 pages, and updating their internal linking, they recovered to page one rankings within 60 days.
How can I fix my 404 redirect issues and recover my rankings?
If your rankings have dropped due to bad redirects, the best solution is to audit your site, fix broken links, and use correct redirects. If you are unsure how to do this, book a free SEO audit with us today!
How to Fix This SEO Mistake Before It Costs You More Rankings?
If your site is struggling, check your 404 redirects immediately. If missing pages are dumping visitors onto the homepage, Google and potential sellers lose their trust in you.
A properly optimized custom 404 page can keep users engaged, reduce bounce rates, and signal to Google that your website structure is clean.
If an old page no longer exists, it’s better to let it show as a 404 than send users in circles. You should appropriately redirect the page to a newer version or a relevant URL.
Google prioritizes user experience over everything. It won’t stay at the top if your site confuses users and search crawlers long.
If your rankings have dropped or you suspect 404 errors are hurting your traffic, let’s fix it before it worsens.
Book a Free SEO Audit Today and Start Ranking Again. SEO To Real Estate Investors has a team of experienced SEO professionals to solve it for you!
