Eventually, Google will stop looking at those URLs and eventually drop off, but there is no way to know how long that will take. The only way to remove the broken links from Search Console is to set up redirects. If you want to avoid setting up redirects, you can ignore the issues, but this will negatively impact your SEO and customers experience.
Topic summary
Main issue: After deleting many Shopify products, Google Search Console (GSC) began flagging numerous broken pages (404) that correspond to those removed product URLs.
Recommended fixes:
- Implement 301 redirects from deleted product URLs to relevant pages (e.g., collection or comparable products) to preserve SEO and user experience.
- In GSC, click “Validate Fix” after implementing redirects and resubmit the product sitemap to prompt re-crawling.
- Use provided guides to identify broken URLs (combining GSC with ScreamingFrog) and to bulk-create redirects.
Clarifications:
- Simply “removing” the URLs isn’t feasible from GSC; Google will eventually drop them, but timing is unknown.
- Ignoring the errors can negatively impact SEO and customer experience.
Outcome/decision:
- The store owner chose to proceed with redirects.
Status:
- Resolution in progress: redirects to be implemented, sitemap resubmitted, and “Validate Fix” to confirm cleanup. No remaining open questions beyond monitoring GSC for updates.
Notes:
- GSC = Google Search Console. Linked guides are central for locating and bulk-fixing broken URLs.
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