One of the things that is often overlooked in search engine optimization but can be of huge value is creation of a custom 404 page.  To most web visitors, hitting a 404 page is a source of irritation and frustration – it’s a dead-end that says, “You’re stuck – and this website is at least a little bit broken!”

But clever SEO practitioners know that a well-constructed custom 404 page not only covers a multitude of sins in terms of broken links – it also can enhance SEO strategy and even increase revenue on ecommerce sites.  Most custom 404 pages are workmanlike affairs populated by explanatory language and helpful links to take a visitor where they intended to go.  But, in the hands of great designers, 404 pages not can only achieve tactical search and revenue goals, they can enhance brand and create delightful user experiences.

Take look at this article in Smashing Magazine that presents 50 of the best custom 404 pages I’ve seen.  While you do that, I’ll be over here updating 404s for our SEO clients!

We’re obsessed with achieving measurable results for our clients.  This obsession drives everything we do – including the services we offer.

• We’re dedicated to User Experience Design because we’ve found this design method to be exceptionally effective in focusing on a specific transactional outcome, rather than simply an aesthetic aim.
• We have deep expertise in analytics because we (and our clients) are pretty relentlessly focused on ROI.  It’s tough to show ROI without data, so we spend a lot of energy here, particularly on clickstream analysis and transactional funnel data.
• We’ve specialized in multivariate testing because it enables us to create experiments so efficiently – and we find the results to be pretty exciting as well!
• Believe it or not, a few of us at Produxs were at least partially forged in the crucible of the Direct Response Television industry, where the eCommerce conversion was the ONLY thing that mattered.  It was a great proving ground – and an excellent foundation for the eCommerce work we do at Produxs.
• We love Search Engine Optimization.  We love the intriguing need for both art and science, marketing strategy and development prowess and even the combination of elegant implementation and daily slogging that are inherent in effective SEO.  We love the way our work is demonstrable to the client in regular reports.  But, most of all, we love the way that great SEO can unlock the value in a business and be such a strong revenue source for our clients.

We’re passionate about what we do.  I hope this and future posts let that passion shine through.