How long does it take Google to deindex a page returning 404?

Google does not immediately remove 404 pages from its index. After the first 404 encounter, Googlebot reduces crawl priority for that URL. If the page consistently returns 404 over subsequent crawl cycles, it's typically deindexed within days to weeks. The exact timeline depends on how frequently Google crawls your site. Using a 410 Gone status instead signals permanent removal and accelerates deindexing.

What is the difference between how Google handles 301 and 302 redirects for crawling?

With a 301, Google follows the redirect, transfers nearly all link equity to the new URL, and eventually replaces the old URL in the index with the new one. With a 302, Google follows the redirect but keeps the original URL in the index, expecting the redirect to be removed eventually. Google will continue re-crawling the original URL, consuming extra crawl budget. Over time, Google may heuristically treat a long-standing 302 as a 301, but this behavior is unreliable.

How do 5xx server errors affect my site's SEO and crawl budget?

When Googlebot encounters 5xx errors, it retries the URLs and initially treats them as temporary issues. If errors persist for several days, Google reduces crawl frequency for your site. Extended outages lasting weeks can lead to pages being dropped from the index. Once errors are fixed, recovery is gradual — Google slowly increases crawl rate and re-indexes affected pages. During the error period, crawl budget is wasted on failed requests.

What should I use during planned maintenance — 404, 500, or 503?

Always use 503 Service Unavailable with a Retry-After header during planned maintenance. A 503 tells search engines the downtime is intentional and temporary, so they pause crawling without any negative indexing impact (for short durations). A 404 would signal the pages no longer exist, and a 500 suggests an unintentional server failure — both can trigger deindexing if the maintenance period extends.

How does Bing's handling of HTTP status codes differ from Google's?

Bing generally follows similar conventions but with key differences: its crawl frequency is typically lower, so errors have a more lasting impact. Bing is stricter with 302 redirects and less likely to eventually treat them as 301s. Its retry behavior on 5xx errors is less aggressive, meaning SEO recovery takes longer. Bing also supports the IndexNow protocol, which lets you proactively notify Bing when URLs change — useful for speeding up the recognition of redirects or fixes.

HTTP Status Codes and Search Engine Crawling