404 Manager

Track missing URLs, reduce noisy records, and control fallback behavior when visitors hit not-found pages.

Overview

404 Manager tracks not-found requests and gives you tools to review, filter, and clean up missing URLs over time.

Admin path: Airygen SEO -> Settings -> 404 Manager

It is especially useful after migrations, permalink changes, content cleanup, or any site update that can leave old links behind.

Settings

The page is divided into Settings and Records.

Settings tab

Monitoring

  • Monitor mode supports Simple and Advanced.
  • Simple logs the first hit only.
  • Advanced keeps hits, last seen time, referer, and user agent details updated.
  • Log limit sets the maximum number of stored 404 records.
  • Retention days controls how long old records are kept.
  • Ignore query params treats URLs with different query strings as the same path.
  • Exclude patterns lets you ignore matching requests, one pattern per line.
  • Daily alerts lets you receive alerts for newly detected records.

Fallback redirect

  • Mode supports Off, Redirect to homepage, and Redirect to custom URL.
  • Status code supports 301, 302, 307, 410, and 451.
  • Custom target URL is used only when the fallback mode is set to Redirect to custom URL.

Records tab

  • Status cards show Total URLs, Total hits, and Open URLs.
  • Status filtering supports All, Open, Ignored, and Resolved.
  • Search path helps you find a specific missing URL.
  • Batch actions support Resolve selected, Ignore selected, and Delete selected.
  • Row actions also support Resolve, Ignore, and Delete.
  • In Advanced mode, the table includes extra columns such as Hits and Last seen.
  • The table supports pagination so larger logs stay manageable.

How to Use

  1. Open Airygen SEO -> Settings -> 404 Manager.
  2. In the Settings tab, choose a Monitor mode of Simple or Advanced.
  3. Set a Log limit and Retention days that fit the size of your site.
  4. Turn on Ignore query params if parameter-heavy URLs would otherwise create too much noise in the log.
  5. Add any Exclude patterns you want ignored, one pattern per line.
  6. Turn on Daily alerts if you want reminders about newly detected missing URLs.
  7. In Fallback redirect, decide whether missing URLs should stay as true 404s, go to the homepage, or go to a custom destination.
  8. If you choose a custom fallback, set the Status code and Custom target URL.
  9. Save the settings, then generate some real traffic or test a missing URL so records can be created.
  10. Open the Records tab, review the summary cards, and filter the list by status or path.
  11. Use row or batch actions to Resolve, Ignore, or Delete records as you work through the backlog.
  12. Recheck the records area after migrations, content removals, or URL changes.

Check these items after saving:

  • Missing URLs are being recorded the way you expect.
  • Noisy query-string variations are grouped or excluded correctly.
  • The fallback behavior matches the experience you want visitors to receive.
  • Old records are cleaned up instead of growing forever.

SEO Benefits

404 tracking helps you find broken entry points before they continue wasting crawl attention or sending users to dead ends. It also helps you decide which missing URLs deserve redirects, fixes, or simple cleanup.

User Cases

Sites after a migration

Before: A site launches a new structure, but old URLs still receive visits from backlinks, bookmarks, or search results.

After: 404 Manager surfaces those missing paths so the team can resolve or redirect the ones that still matter.

Sites with noisy query-string traffic

Before: Bots and parameter-heavy URLs flood the 404 log with repeated variations of the same issue.

After: Ignore query params and Exclude patterns reduce that noise so the team can focus on meaningful missing paths.

FAQ

What is the difference between Simple and Advanced monitor mode?

Simple stores only the first hit for each path. Advanced also updates hits, last seen time, referer, and user agent details.

Does the fallback redirect replace my normal redirect rules?

No. The fallback behavior is only for requests that hit 404 and do not match a specific redirect rule.

Can I ignore records without deleting them?

Yes. The Records tab supports both Ignore and Resolve, so you can keep a record without treating it as an active issue.