Error 404 is undoubtedly the most common error encountered by network users. Here is what it is and how to solve it.
Who has not encountered this message raise your hand: " Error 404 - Page not found ". Virtually nobody imagines. In fact, the 404 error is one of the most common obstacles that hinder our browsing on the Net. This is why it is important to understand what the 404 error is and how to solve it successfully .
Error 404 - Page not found: what does this mean?
The procedure is always the same: we click on a link of our interest and rather than view the page of the site we are looking for we are facing the error 404. This error belongs to the category of HTTP status codes , that is, all those errors that are not of competence of the server but deriving from other situations. It means, in simple terms, that the web page we are trying to reach is not available , and the reasons can be varied, let's see them:
How to find 404 errors on our site
Certainly the 404 error is not a nice business card for your website. If the user is faced with this event, it means that that link concerning your page is still in circulation on the search engines, even if it is not viewable. For this reason, it is important for your business to try to resolve this unexpected as soon as possible.
Before moving on to the resolution, however, you must be able to find these errors on your site . To do this, it is possible to use specific tools (such as Screaming Fog SEO Spider,SEO NYC) able to intercept any "page not found" within our site. Alternatively , Google Search Console also performs this function , obviously after connecting your profile to the website.
Error 404: how to fix it on your site?
To activate a correct resolution of the 404 error it is necessary to operate according to the reason that generated the error. If a 404 error is caused by an indexed link that has undergone a move, or has been renamed, it is possible to do a permanent 301 redirect , which means making sure to redirect Google - and consequently users - to another page of our site. If, on the other hand, the page that returns the 404 error has been definitively eliminated, it is advisable to change the status to 410 , ie "page definitively eliminated". In this way, Google senses that the page can no longer be visited.
Workaround: a custom 404 Error page
Some currents of thought interpret this 404 error as a juicy marketing opportunity. The sense is to make the user understand that the page is wrong - and therefore cannot be consulted - but in any case, thanks to graphic and copywriting stratagems, capable of creating interest, so that the user does not leave the page immediately.
Read Also: What cognitive biases are and why they are important in marketing
Read Also: Omnichannel Marketing: a good practice for promotion
Read Also: Smart Shopping Campaigns: what you need to know for your business
Read Also: 20 E-commerce Trends to follow to be successful in sales
Read Also: 5 communicative tricks to overcome the Coronavirus crisis