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The short answer
When an ad sends people to a page that answers 404 or a server error, the auction was won, the click was paid for, and the visitor arrived at nothing. Oppy opens the landing pages your ads and sitelinks name and lists the ones that do not load.
Why it matters
It happens quietly after a site rebuild or when a product is retired, because nobody tells the ads account that an address has gone. Google may disapprove the ad eventually, but often only after weeks of clicks.
It is common to find a sizeable share of an account's landing pages answering 404 or a server error, with nothing reporting it, because the addresses are stored and never opened.
How Oppy decides
The check reads what Oppy found when it opened each final URL the ads use.
Checks that weigh money or clicks judge what they find on your own account's numbers, not on one figure applied to every account, so what counts as a problem on a small account is not the same on a large one. Checks on settings read how the account is set up.
When there is too little to go on, the check says so instead of guessing. A finding always comes with the rows behind it, so you can read the evidence before you decide.
| This check | |
|---|---|
| Step of the audit | Measurement |
| What it reads | The landing pages themselves, opened |
| Needs trustworthy conversions | No. It does not wait for the tracking step. |
| What happens next | Reported in the audit with the rows behind it. The decision stays with you. |
Check it yourself in Google Ads
- In Google Ads, open Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Landing pages.
- Download the list of final URLs, including those of sitelinks.
- Open each address, or run them through a link checker, and note any that return 404 or 5xx.
- Check the ad's policy status too: Google may mark it Destination not working.
What to do about it
Redirect old addresses to the closest live page with a permanent redirect, or update the final URL in the ads and sitelinks that use them.
After any site change, check the landing pages report again. A page that moved is the cheapest waste to stop.
Terms on this page
Other checks in this area
The checks next to this one in Ads and creative, each with its own page.