404 Monitor: logged errors, referrers & fixes
Turn real front-end 404 traffic into actionable work: see which URLs break, what linked to them, promote a row into a 301 redirect, or silence noise with ignore rules—inside Tools & Analytics → 404 Monitor (tab=404-monitor).
Before you start
Open SEO Rank Genius → Tools & Analytics, then choose the 404 Monitor tab. Deep-link anytime with:
/wp-admin/admin.php?page=seo-link-genius-tools&tab=404-monitor
- Unique 404 URLs counts distinct missing paths in the rotating log (up to the last 100 entries loaded for the table).
- Total Hits sums hit_count across those rows—use it to spot high-volume breakage.
- Human / Bot splits user agents with a lightweight bot detector so you can prioritize visitor-facing issues.
- Ignored surfaces how many URLs you have excluded from the noisy list via the ignore action.
Monitor screen
The header strip mirrors production: a status pill (ON when logging is active), plus Clear Log to wipe stored 404 events after you have triaged them. Below that, the four KPI tiles summarize volume before you scroll the table.
404 Monitor
Track, analyze, and fix 404 errors on your site
404 Error Log
Table lists URL, primary referrer, hits, last seen (humanized), and per-row actions.
Mock of the tab header, monitor toggle, KPI strip, and log card—aligned with tab-404-monitor.php.
Logged errors & referrers
Each table row is keyed by the missing URL string. The visible Referrer column shows the latest referrer captured for that URL (or an em dash when empty). Hits increments every time the monitor records another access to the same missing path. Last Seen uses a friendly relative time (for example, “2 hours ago”).
Crawler traffic that matches common bot signatures receives a compact BOT badge in the actions column so you do not chase hits that will never convert—but you can still redirect those URLs if you want clean crawl paths.
404 Error Log · 12 entries
| URL | Referrer | Hits | Last Seen | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /old-services/plumbing | https://example.com/blog/best-plumbers | 214 | 18 min ago | ↻👁 |
| /wp-content/uploads/2019/report.pdf | — | 57 | 1 day ago | 🤖 BOT↻👁 |
Top Referrers Causing 404s
Aggregated from referrer arrays on each log entry.
Table columns and the Top Referrers Causing 404s panel mirror the PHP template; referrers aggregate across the latest log slice.
Create a fix redirect
Click the blue redirect control on a row (randomize icon in wp-admin) to launch the quick modal. It pre-fills the problematic source URL and asks for a Target URL. Confirming calls the redirects AJAX endpoint with a 301 type, enabled by default—the same pipeline used elsewhere in URL management.
- Paste or type the real destination (relative paths like /services/plumbing work when they resolve on your host).
- Submit; success toasts echo source → target so you can screenshot proof for clients.
- For bulk edits, open URL Redirects Manager after the quick win to adjust match modes or ordering.
Create Redirect
/old-services/plumbing
UI clone of the monitor’s inline modal: source echo, target field, 301 redirect created server-side on confirm.
Ignore patterns
Select Ignore (eye-off icon) when a URL is expected noise—think legacy tracking parameters, deterministic scanner probes, or assets you will never resurrect. The row animates out immediately on success, and the running total in the Ignored KPI increases on the next refresh.
Ignored URLs persist in plugin options (SLG_Redirects::IGNORED_404_OPTION) so they stay off the leaderboard until you change that list elsewhere.
srg-mock-row hints at AJAX success styling; KPI tiles show how ignore actions shrink visible unique counts.
Troubleshooting
Use this section when KPIs stall or AJAX controls feel unresponsive.
404 Error Log
No 404 Errors Logged
Enable 404 monitoring to start tracking errors.
OFFMatches the PHP empty message when monitoring is OFF—perfect cue to toggle the pill before blaming theme code.
Buttons do nothing?
Verify ajaxurl is not blocked, security plugins aren’t stripping admin-ajax.php, and your session still holds a fresh slg_redirects_nonce / slg_url_medic_nonce.
Map symptoms to AJAX actions emitted by tab-404-monitor.php scripts when escalating to hosting support.