How to Deal with the 404 Error for Search Engine Optimization

How to Deal with the 404 Error for Search Engine Optimization – How many times have you dealt with the error 404 on websites? Many a times, I am sure. Reason being this is one of the most common errors that people come across in their day to day internet using experience. Also we are aware of the fact that error messages cause negative influence on viewers. So here we will try our best t o explain how to deal with the 404 error for search engine optimization.

The major disadvantage of error 404 pages for a website owner is the bad reputation of their website. People will immediately switch to other sites if this message pops up on their screen. So as they say prevention is better than cure, follow it to prevent the problems so that this message does not arrive in the first place.

What are reasons for 404 error pages?

Once in a while you must have thought of the possible reasons of why this error message pops up on your screens. There are multiple of reasons for this error and some of the reasons are mentioned below in the list.

• If you have changed the link structure of your website.
• If you have removed the content from the website.
• Somebody linked your website to a misspelled link.

Whenever a user comes across a bad page from the server, it automatically sends a HTTP status code 404 to inform them that the page isn’t available on the server. This arrival of the error message does not affect the search engine bots but it could be a bad experience for the regular users. One major disadvantage of this error message is that sometimes you can miss out on important links from other domains.

Solutions to deal with error 404 for search engine optimization

If you have listed all the error pages on your domain then the next thing you have to do is to deal with them. Below mentioned are the best solutions to deal with error 404 for search engine optimization.

• 301, Redirect the link to the most relevant post or article or category.
• If the error is because of the misspelled link from another domain then you can ask webmaster to update the link.
• If there is no relevant article related to 404 error pages then you do not have to do anything. Google will automatically de index the pages.
• You can manually also de index such pages using some tools.
• You can use a custom 404 page to spice up your page. This will enhance the user’s experience.

Some other ideas to handle 404 pages to help SEO

Error 404 pages can really affect the user experience in a bad way. Below discussed are some of the other ways by which you can handle these error pages to help search engine optimization.

• Assure users that this is just a page that is temporarily not working. If the customer is told that the overall site is working and only a specific page is dysfunctional then the user will not get disinterested.
• Tell the user what exactly is causing problem or that error message. This way the customer will feel empowered and will stick to your website for a long time.
• Post helpful links on a 404 page. This is an excellent way to deal with these pages. This way it will help you to improve the experience.
• Another way to deal with 404 pages is to provide a way for users to report broken links.
• Do not forget to regularly update the website’s address. This way there will be less chance of getting 404 error messages.

Conclusion

If you really do not want to make your user’s experience bad then above mentioned are the best ways you can follow in order to deal with error 404 pages. They not only cause trouble in the surfing experience for users but also for the website owners in certain ways. So start applying these tips in your real life and you will notice a beneficial change for your website.