404 Report in GA4

July 11, 2025

404s are really annoying. They aren’t technically wrong, but can be frustrating for users.

Let’s fix that.

There’s a wonderfully simple report you can build in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) that shines a spotlight on these broken links, telling you exactly where they are and where the traffic is coming from.

This isn’t some complex, code-heavy task. It’s a straightforward report that I build as a standard for my clients, and it provides immediately actionable insights. Ready to get this sorted?

What Are We Trying to Achieve?

Before we get our hands dirty, let’s look at the end goal. We’re going to create a custom exploration report in GA4 that shows us:

  1. The Broken URL: The exact page path that is resulting in a “Page Not Found” error.

  2. The Referrer: Where the user came from before they hit the dead link. 

  3. The Volume: How many times this has happened (i.e., the number of views).

Here’s a sneak peek of what a finished report looks like (it’s my own website).

You can clearly see the broken pages, where the traffic originated (e.g., Google, a specific blog), and how many views each error received. This is your roadmap for what to fix first.

404 Report in Explore Section of GA4

Table of Contents

The Requirement for it to work

Now, here’s the thing. This whole process hinges on one small detail about your website’s 404 page. For this report to work, your “Page Not Found” page must have a unique page title.

How can you check? Simple. Type a nonsense URL into your website’s address bar, like www.yourwebsite.com/gibberish. When the error page loads, look at the text in the browser tab. Does it say something like “Page not found” or “404 – Page not found”? If so, you’re good to go.

If it just shows your standard homepage title, you’ll need to have a chat with your web developer.

Ask them to ensure the page title for your 404 error page is updated to be unique. This is a crucial step because we’re going to use this title to filter our report. Here’s some excellent 404 page examples.

Julius Fedorovicius has built an excellent example of how to work with a developer and GTM for a different approach.

Step-by-Step: Building Your GA4 404 Report

 

Right, let’s get this report built. It should only take you a few minutes.

  1. Head to the Explore Section: Log in to your GA4 property. On the left-hand navigation menu, click on Explore.

  2. Create a New Exploration: Click on the Blank exploration template to start from scratch. Give your report a name that you’ll remember, something like “404 Error Report”.

  3. Import Your Dimensions: In the ‘Variables’ column on the left, click the + icon next to ‘Dimensions’. We need to import three key pieces of information:

    • Page path and query string (this shows the URL of the broken page)

    • Page title (we’ll use this for our filter)

    • Page referrer (this tells us where users came from)

    • Select all three and click the Import button.

Dimensions in 404 Report

  • Import Your Metric: Now, let’s add the metric. Just below ‘Dimensions’, click the + icon next to ‘Metrics’. Search for and select Views. This will count how many times each 404 page has been seen. Click Import.

    • A quick digression: You could also add Views per user if you wanted to see if the same people are repeatedly hitting broken links, which might signal a major issue with your site navigation.

  • Build the Report Table: This is where it all comes together. Double-click on Page path and query string and Page referrer from your dimensions list. Then, double-click on Views from your metrics list. You’ll see them automatically populate the ‘Tab Settings’ column and a table will appear on the right, showing all your pages. Don’t worry, we’re about to filter it.

  • Apply the Magic Filter: This is the clever bit. At the bottom of the ‘Tab Settings’ column, you’ll see a section called Filters. Drag the Page title dimension into this box.

    • Set the filter condition to contains.

    • In the text box, type the phrase from your 404 page’s title. For example, Page not found.

    • Click Apply.

filter in 404 report

Next Steps

So, you have your shiny new report.

Don’t just let it sit there gathering digital dust.

The whole point of this exercise is to take action. This is where you, the marketing manager, can make a real difference.

Look at the Page referrer column. This tells you how people are ending up on a dead page.

  • Is the referrer your own website? This is an internal broken link. It’s an easy fix! Find the page on your site that’s linking to the broken URL and simply update the link to point to the correct page. This is basic housekeeping that massively improves user experience.

  • Is the referrer Google (google.com)? This means people are finding a broken link in search results. This is bad for SEO and user experience. It often happens when you delete a page or change its URL without putting a redirect in place.

  • Is it another website (e.g., a blog or news site)? This is a valuable backlink pointing to a dead page! All that lovely SEO authority is going to waste.

  • Is it from a campaign (utm_source might show LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)? You could be paying to send people to a dead link! Check your ad campaigns and update the destination URL immediately.

Once you know where the traffic is coming from, you can decide what to do with the broken link. You have a few options:

  • 301 Redirect: If the content of the broken page still exists but at a new URL, set up a 301 redirect. This tells browsers and search engines that the page has permanently moved, and it passes most of the SEO authority to the new page. This is your go-to solution for fixing valuable backlinks.

  • Fix the Source Link: As mentioned, if the link is from your own site, the best and cleanest solution is to just update the link at its source.

  • Leave as a 404 (But Do It Properly): If the page is truly gone and there’s no relevant page to redirect it to, you might leave it as a 404. But make sure your 404 page is helpful! A good 404 page apologises for the error, includes a search bar, and suggests links to popular parts of your site. It turns a dead end into a helpful detour.

  • 410 Gone: If a page is gone for good and you want Google to de-index it quickly, you can ask your developer to serve a 410 Gone status. This is a more definitive signal to Google than a 404. It says, “This page is gone, and it’s never coming back.”

This is More Than Just a Technical Fix

 

Regularly running this GA4 404 report is one of the quickest wins in digital marketing.

It’s not just a technical clean-up exercise.

It’s about respecting the user’s journey, making your website more helpful, and ensuring every penny of your marketing budget is working as hard as it can.

By taking a few minutes each month to find and fix these broken links, you’re sending strong positive signals to Google, improving your campaign ROI, and, most importantly, creating a much better experience for the people you’re trying to reach. Now, go on, go build that report!

Kyle

Author

Hello, I'm Kyle Rushton McGregor!

I’m an experienced GA4 Specialist with a demonstrated history of working with Google Tag Manager and Looker Studio. I’m an international speaker who has trained 1000s of people on all things analytics.

Find out more About me
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