Dear Google, May I Help You Fix Your 404 Error Page?

SEO practitioners and search engines have had an uneasy relationship at times. One might even say the discourse has occasionally been strained.

And why not? Search engines do so much for us who work in the search industry, and how often do we do anything for them in return? Other than facilitating the entry of high-quality sites into their indexes and routing millions of dollars in revenue through their ad platforms, practically nothing.

Until now.

At last, I’ve found a way to thank Google for all the years of employment and high-quality search results. I’m going to help Google fix its 404 error page.

Here it is, and yes, it needs help:

I ran across it on March 1st while helping a friend list her new business in Google Local Search. I’d found the page she needed, the Google Local Business Center, at this URL: http://www.google.com/local/add/lookup?hl=en-US&gl=US, and being the inquisitive geek I am I had to strip down the URL and see if there was anything at http://www.google.com/local. Evidently there wasn’t. All of those URL conniptions aren’t really necessary, of course - you can get the same error page with any bad url, including http://www.google.com/badurl.

Improving Google’s 404 Error Page

As you can see, there are quite a few problems with this page, both from a search engine optimization and a user experience perspective.

SEO Recommendations for 404 Error Pages:
A search engine robot may encounter a 404 error page by following an outdated link from a third-party site. Providing a clear, keyword-strewn path into your site helps ensure robots aren’t turned away at the door.

• Add keyword-rich links that point to important areas of Google.com you’d like search engines to find. In the case of Google.com, the main Search page would be a natural choice.
• Include some brief descriptive text and your company name. A tip - don’t spell it out a letter at a time like this:

User Experience Recommendations for 404 Error Pages:
Google Webmaster Guidelines clearly emphasize the importance of the user experience. “Make pages for users, not for search engines,” is a classic quote. Why is this important for 404 error pages? Because this page may be the first experience a visitor has of your site and your company. It’s a crucial moment to make a good impression.

• Brand your page with your current company logo and site design
• Include some clear, apologetic text that explains what just happened and suggests some possible solutions.
• Include some brief promotional text in case the visitor is not familiar with your company.
• Provide a search function, so visitors can try locating the item they’re seeking in this manner
• Provide links to site pages that visitors would find helpful
• Include a “Help” or “Contact” link in case all other options fail

A Great Example - Yahoo!’s 404 Error Page
Ever curious, I wondered how Yahoo! handled 404 errors. I typed in http://www.yahoo.com/badurl, and with some small amount of ironic glee, discovered it is a near-perfect example of a 404 error page:

Nicely branded, clear and apologetic, with helpful instructions and links to the Yahoo! home page and main Services page. A search box is placed front and center. And as if all of that isn’t considerate enough, after about 10 seconds the page refreshes, taking visitors to the main Yahoo home page.

Thanks for all the fish!
It takes time and effort to create a 404 error page that’s friendly to both search engines and visitors, but it’s well worth the trouble. Google, I hope these guidelines and example are helpful for you. I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to be of assistance.