How to Fix a 404 on Your Excavator Financing Site in 2026

What is a 404 error?

A 404 error means a web page can’t be found because the URL is broken or the page was removed.

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Why 404s matter for excavation contractors

Your clients—owner‑operators and small contractors—are looking for quick answers on excavator financing, mini excavator financing, or how to refinance an excavator. A dead link interrupts that flow, pushes them to competitors, and can hurt your site’s search visibility.

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How to locate broken links on your site

1. Google Search Console (GSC) – Open the Coverage report, filter for “Error” and look for status 404. Export the list.

2. Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Run a crawl of your domain, then go to Response Codes → Client Error → 404. Sort by URL to prioritize high‑traffic pages.

3. Ahrefs Site Audit – Use the “Broken pages” widget; it also shows the referring pages, which helps you decide where to place redirects.

4. Manual spot‑check – If you recently changed a URL (e.g., from /financing/used-excavators to /used-excavator-financing), test the old link in a browser to confirm it returns 404.

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How to fix a 404: step‑by‑step

Step 1 – Verify the page’s intent: Determine whether the missing page should be restored, redirected, or deleted permanently.

Step 2 – Restore if content still exists: Retrieve a backup from your CMS or server and republish the page at the original URL.

Step 3 – Set up a 301 redirect: If the page is obsolete, map the old URL to the most relevant existing page, such as:

• /used-excavator-financing → /excavator-financing/used
• /loan-application-form → /excavator-financing/application

Step 4 – Update internal links: Crawl your site again to find any internal anchors still pointing to the old URL and update them.

Step 5 – Notify external sources: If reputable sites (e.g., industry blogs or partner lenders) linked to the removed page, reach out with the new URL to preserve referral traffic.

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Pros and cons of redirect strategies

Pros

• Preserves SEO value – A 301 passes ~90‑95% of link equity.
• Improves user experience – Visitors land on a relevant page instead of a dead end.

Cons

• Potential for redirect chains – Too many hops slow page load and dilute equity.
• Risk of mismatched content – Redirecting to an unrelated page can increase bounce rates.

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Common financing‑related pages that often go missing

• Excavator loan application – Forms may be moved after a platform upgrade.
• Mini excavator financing calculator – JavaScript widgets sometimes break after CMS updates.
• Section 179 excavator guide – PDF resources can be misplaced during file migrations.

If any of these URLs return 404, follow the steps above to either restore the resource or point users to the nearest active alternative.

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How to test your fixes

Use a browser’s incognito mode to load the old URL and confirm the 301 lands on the intended page. Then, run another Screaming Frog crawl to verify the 404 no longer appears. Finally, check Google Search Console’s Coverage report after a few days; the error should disappear from the “Errors” list.

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Bottom line

A single 404 can erode trust and cost you financing leads. Regular audits, swift 301 redirects, and a well‑designed custom 404 page keep your excavator financing resources accessible and your SEO healthy.

Take action now – run a quick crawl and fix any broken financing links you find.

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Disclosures

This content is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. excavatorfinancing.com may receive compensation from partner lenders, which may influence which products are featured. Rates, terms, and availability vary by lender and applicant qualifications.