diff --git a/.changeset/five-cats-hunt.md b/.changeset/five-cats-hunt.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cf3364a23a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/five-cats-hunt.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend': patch
+---
+
+Fixed the handling of optional locations so that the catalog no longer logs `NotFoundError`s for missing optional locations.
diff --git a/.changeset/sweet-camels-learn.md b/.changeset/sweet-camels-learn.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..60481b9363
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/sweet-camels-learn.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/catalog-model': patch
+---
+
+Added an optional `presence` field to Location spec, which describes whether the target of a location is required to exist or not. It defaults to `'required'`, which is the current behaviour of the catalog.
diff --git a/packages/catalog-model/api-report.md b/packages/catalog-model/api-report.md
index 52f36493b5..9c0c33fa0e 100644
--- a/packages/catalog-model/api-report.md
+++ b/packages/catalog-model/api-report.md
@@ -325,6 +325,7 @@ interface LocationEntityV1alpha1 extends Entity {
     type?: string;
     target?: string;
     targets?: string[];
+    presence?: 'required' | 'optional';
   };
 }
 export { LocationEntityV1alpha1 as LocationEntity };
diff --git a/packages/catalog-model/src/kinds/LocationEntityV1alpha1.test.ts b/packages/catalog-model/src/kinds/LocationEntityV1alpha1.test.ts
index 7efec38395..6e78c1b96e 100644
--- a/packages/catalog-model/src/kinds/LocationEntityV1alpha1.test.ts
+++ b/packages/catalog-model/src/kinds/LocationEntityV1alpha1.test.ts
@@ -102,4 +102,23 @@ describe('LocationV1alpha1Validator', () => {
     (entity as any).spec.targets = 7;
     await expect(validator.check(entity)).rejects.toThrow(/targets/);
   });
+
+  it('accepts good presence', async () => {
+    (entity as any).spec.presence = 'required';
+    await expect(validator.check(entity)).resolves.toBe(true);
+    (entity as any).spec.presence = 'optional';
+    await expect(validator.check(entity)).resolves.toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects empty presence', async () => {
+    (entity as any).spec.presence = '';
+    await expect(validator.check(entity)).rejects.toThrow(/presence/);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects wrong presence', async () => {
+    (entity as any).spec.presence = 7;
+    await expect(validator.check(entity)).rejects.toThrow(/presence/);
+    (entity as any).spec.presence = 'nope';
+    await expect(validator.check(entity)).rejects.toThrow(/presence/);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/catalog-model/src/kinds/LocationEntityV1alpha1.ts b/packages/catalog-model/src/kinds/LocationEntityV1alpha1.ts
index 1872e43526..93a218aa2d 100644
--- a/packages/catalog-model/src/kinds/LocationEntityV1alpha1.ts
+++ b/packages/catalog-model/src/kinds/LocationEntityV1alpha1.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ export interface LocationEntityV1alpha1 extends Entity {
     type?: string;
     target?: string;
     targets?: string[];
+    presence?: 'required' | 'optional';
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/catalog-model/src/schema/kinds/Location.v1alpha1.schema.json b/packages/catalog-model/src/schema/kinds/Location.v1alpha1.schema.json
index d633d30229..b70df9e70e 100644
--- a/packages/catalog-model/src/schema/kinds/Location.v1alpha1.schema.json
+++ b/packages/catalog-model/src/schema/kinds/Location.v1alpha1.schema.json
@@ -59,6 +59,13 @@
                 ],
                 "minLength": 1
               }
+            },
+            "presence": {
+              "type": "string",
+              "description": "Whether the presence of the location target is required and it should be considered an error if it can not be found",
+              "default": "required",
+              "examples": ["required"],
+              "enum": ["required", "optional"]
             }
           }
         }
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
index ab053e8748..463d982ca2 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
@@ -165,6 +165,7 @@ describe('AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://dev.azure.com/shopify/engineering/_git/backstage?path=/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -174,6 +175,7 @@ describe('AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://dev.azure.com/shopify/engineering/_git/ios-app?path=/src/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -211,6 +213,7 @@ describe('AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://dev.azure.com/shopify/engineering/_git/backstage?path=/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -249,6 +252,7 @@ describe('AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://dev.azure.com/shopify/engineering/_git/backstage?path=/src/main/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor.ts
index 58ee2155e9..aeac64f54d 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor.ts
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ export class AzureDevOpsDiscoveryProcessor implements CatalogProcessor {
           {
             type: 'url',
             target: `${baseUrl}/${org}/${project}/_git/${file.repository.name}?path=${file.path}`,
+            presence: 'optional',
           },
           // Not all locations may actually exist, since the user defined them as a wildcard pattern.
           // Thus, we emit them as optional and let the downstream processor find them while not outputting
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
index 2a63605b0d..3f8d0ba0fb 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
@@ -208,6 +208,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.mycompany.com/projects/backstage/repos/backstage/browse/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -217,6 +218,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.mycompany.com/projects/demo/repos/demo/browse/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -242,6 +244,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.mycompany.com/projects/backstage/repos/techdocs-cli/browse/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -263,6 +266,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.mycompany.com/projects/backstage/repos/test/browse/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -291,6 +295,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.mycompany.com/projects/backstage/repos/techdocs-cli/browse/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -334,6 +339,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-one/src/master/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -343,6 +349,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-two/src/master/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -370,6 +377,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-one/src/master/my/nested/path/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -379,6 +387,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-two/src/master/my/nested/path/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -406,6 +415,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-one/src/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -415,6 +425,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-two/src/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -441,6 +452,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-one/src/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -468,6 +480,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-three/src/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -493,6 +506,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-one/src/master/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -528,6 +542,7 @@ describe('BitbucketDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://bitbucket.org/myworkspace/repository-one/src/master/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GitLabDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GitLabDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
index a0e44d7648..311de05673 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GitLabDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GitLabDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
@@ -201,6 +201,7 @@ describe('GitlabDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           location: {
             type: 'url',
             target: 'https://gitlab.fake/1/-/blob/main/catalog-info.yaml',
+            presence: 'optional',
           },
           optional: true,
         },
@@ -209,6 +210,7 @@ describe('GitlabDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           location: {
             type: 'url',
             target: 'https://gitlab.fake/2/-/blob/master/catalog-info.yaml',
+            presence: 'optional',
           },
           optional: true,
         },
@@ -246,6 +248,7 @@ describe('GitlabDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           location: {
             type: 'url',
             target: 'https://gitlab.fake/1/-/blob/master/catalog-info.yaml',
+            presence: 'optional',
           },
           optional: true,
         },
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GitLabDiscoveryProcessor.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GitLabDiscoveryProcessor.ts
index 445f02829e..70ccd44793 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GitLabDiscoveryProcessor.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GitLabDiscoveryProcessor.ts
@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ export class GitLabDiscoveryProcessor implements CatalogProcessor {
             // The alternative is using the `buildRawUrl` function, which does not support subgroups, so providing a raw
             // URL here won't work either.
             target: `${project.web_url}/-/blob/${project_branch}/${catalogPath}`,
+            presence: 'optional',
           },
           true,
         ),
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GithubDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GithubDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
index 12d9e66659..59c25bb051 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GithubDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GithubDiscoveryProcessor.test.ts
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ describe('GithubDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://github.com/backstage/backstage/blob/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -165,6 +166,7 @@ describe('GithubDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
         location: {
           type: 'url',
           target: 'https://github.com/backstage/demo/blob/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -197,6 +199,7 @@ describe('GithubDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://github.com/backstage/tech-docs/blob/main/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -251,6 +254,7 @@ describe('GithubDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://github.com/backstage/backstage/blob/master/catalog-info.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -306,6 +310,7 @@ describe('GithubDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://github.com/backstage/techdocs-cli/blob/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -315,6 +320,7 @@ describe('GithubDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
           type: 'url',
           target:
             'https://github.com/backstage/techdocs-container/blob/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
@@ -370,6 +376,7 @@ describe('GithubDiscoveryProcessor', () => {
         location: {
           type: 'url',
           target: 'https://github.com/backstage/test/blob/master/catalog.yaml',
+          presence: 'optional',
         },
         optional: true,
       });
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GithubDiscoveryProcessor.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GithubDiscoveryProcessor.ts
index b104d87542..9bd6cc775e 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GithubDiscoveryProcessor.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/GithubDiscoveryProcessor.ts
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ export class GithubDiscoveryProcessor implements CatalogProcessor {
           {
             type: 'url',
             target: `${repository.url}${path}`,
+            presence: 'optional',
           },
           // Not all locations may actually exist, since the user defined them as a wildcard pattern.
           // Thus, we emit them as optional and let the downstream processor find them while not outputting
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/bitbucket/BitbucketRepositoryParser.test.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/bitbucket/BitbucketRepositoryParser.test.ts
index bc6c5a540f..397d259bae 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/bitbucket/BitbucketRepositoryParser.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/bitbucket/BitbucketRepositoryParser.test.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ describe('BitbucketRepositoryParser', () => {
           {
             type: 'url',
             target: `${browseUrl}${path}`,
+            presence: 'optional',
           },
           true,
         ),
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/bitbucket/BitbucketRepositoryParser.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/bitbucket/BitbucketRepositoryParser.ts
index 27f07d58a2..34a9284b3e 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/bitbucket/BitbucketRepositoryParser.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/ingestion/processors/bitbucket/BitbucketRepositoryParser.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ export const defaultRepositoryParser: BitbucketRepositoryParser =
       {
         type: 'url',
         target: target,
+        presence: 'optional',
       },
       // Not all locations may actually exist, since the user defined them as a wildcard pattern.
       // Thus, we emit them as optional and let the downstream processor find them while not outputting
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/processing/DefaultCatalogProcessingOrchestrator.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/processing/DefaultCatalogProcessingOrchestrator.ts
index b42c8839cf..756b6a3639 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/processing/DefaultCatalogProcessingOrchestrator.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/processing/DefaultCatalogProcessingOrchestrator.ts
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ export class DefaultCatalogProcessingOrchestrator
     entity: LocationEntity,
     context: Context,
   ): Promise<void> {
-    const { type = context.location.type } = entity.spec;
+    const { type = context.location.type, presence = 'required' } = entity.spec;
     const targets = new Array<string>();
     if (entity.spec.target) {
       targets.push(entity.spec.target);
@@ -318,9 +318,9 @@ export class DefaultCatalogProcessingOrchestrator
               {
                 type,
                 target,
-                presence: 'required',
+                presence,
               },
-              false,
+              presence === 'optional',
               context.collector.onEmit,
               this.options.parser,
               context.cache.forProcessor(processor, target),
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/processing/ProcessorOutputCollector.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/processing/ProcessorOutputCollector.ts
index 436038db66..b0c46b4b9f 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/processing/ProcessorOutputCollector.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/processing/ProcessorOutputCollector.ts
@@ -105,8 +105,9 @@ export class ProcessorOutputCollector {
 
       this.deferredEntities.push({ entity, locationKey: location });
     } else if (i.type === 'location') {
+      const presence = i.optional ? 'optional' : 'required';
       const entity = locationSpecToLocationEntity(
-        i.location,
+        { presence, ...i.location },
         this.parentEntity,
       );
       const locationKey = getEntityLocationRef(entity);
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/util/conversion.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/util/conversion.ts
index a834f81255..559a472c25 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/util/conversion.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/util/conversion.ts
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ export function locationSpecToLocationEntity(
     spec: {
       type: location.type,
       target: location.target,
+      presence: location.presence,
     },
   };