Make The Error 404 Page Work For You

The Error 404 or “Page Not Found” is the error page that is displayed whenever someone asks for a page that is not available on your site. This happens quite often because information can be changed to a new location or deleted.Every marketer needs traffic and it is important to keep the visitor on your site for as long as possible, this is why you need to make good use of the Error 404 page when this happens to you.

When a visitor comes to your site and searches for something that is not available they get the Error 404 page, but what happens next? If the error page is as default, the visitor will leave and never come back.The solution is to have a custom 404 error page that keeps the visitor interested in what you have to offer, a custom 404 page looks professional and build up trust.Here are a few tips you can consider.

1.Add a search box to your error 404 page.This gives the visitor a possibility to search your site again and possibly find what he was looking for.The search results can also be monetized with adsense, so this could mean some extra income for you as well.

2.Add an optin box to your newsletter on the error 404 page.

3.Offer a free report or a free ebook on your error 404 page.

3.Add a sitemap on the error 404 page.If you have a Wordpress blog, this can be done easily with a sitemap generator plugin.

4.Be humoristic.It can get frustrating to not find what you are looking for, so a humoristic 404 page with images or statements may work.

Here are some cool findings around the web about customizing a error 404 page.

WordPress Tip: Customizing Your 404 Page
“Most themes typically come with a 404.php page that shows up by default whenever an invalid URL is visited on your blog.Depending on how often you change the URL of existing posts or delete old posts, it may or may not be a high traffic page for your blog.”

60 Really Cool and Creative Error 404 Pages
“If you don’t have a Error 404 page on your website or blog, you should probably start thinking of creating one.We’ve previously showcased you 50 Nice And Creative Error 404 Pages, but the Internet is full of creative webmasters.Here’s another 60 Really Cool and Creative Error 404 Pages you should check out.”

It´s simple to create your own custom 404 error page.On the internet, the more you can help your visitors the more they appreciate you.The error page may be the page on your site that gets the most traffic and now you have the possibility to make good use of it.

Do you have a customized error 404 page? Leave a comment.