A 404 error page is an error page offered by a web server when a page is unavailable on a domain, or when there was an error in opening a particular page. Dead links that point to deleted or moved pages are a common cause and the result is a very basic page that imparts no information. Worse still, when a search engine spider hits that page, it essentially runs up against a brick wall.

The Problem With Standard 404 Error Pages

Standard 404 error pages contain little or no information pertaining to your website. A spider will be provided with no more links to follow and no content to index. This can, in extreme circumstances, prevent the spider from crawling the remainder of your site. However, by optimising this page, you can give your visitors a means to navigate to other pages and provide spiders with navigational links to follow.

Templates And Navigation

If your website uses a template, which most do, then you should use this template as the basis for a custom 404 error page. Hopefully, it will include all the necessary navigational links including a link to your sitemap. This ensures that spiders can continue to effectively crawl all of your pages without having to miss chunks out because pages are inaccessible or have been moved.

Give Your Visitors An Alternative

You might also include extra information for the benefit of visitors. Give a little insight into your service, provide links to the most important pages, and don’t forget to politely inform them that they are viewing an error page. If you don’t offer visitors an alternative method of escaping a 404 error page, then the only option is the exit button and you’ll lose a potential customer.