How To Make A 404 Error Page And Make Money In The Process
The What
Before I show you how to make a 404 error page, let me first ask you a question: “Do you know what a 404 error page is?”
In layman’s terms, a 404 error page is basically a “not found” page on a server. Your browser was able to communicate with the server, but the server could not find what was requested.
Say, for example, that som
eone is trying to access the site http://www.yoursite.com/gggsgsggsg (which doesn’t exist). Typically what would happen is that a 404 message will be shown (like in the above picture).
You might be asking yourself “Why would someone give the wrong URL to other people?”
It’s not so much about person A giving person B the wrong URL (though that might happen). It’s more about person B (the receiving end) typing the wrong URL into his browser.
The Why
Whatever the reasons are that triggered the 404 error page, you as a marketer should NOT be wasting this kind of traffic. Since they’re already at your site (the 404 error page), you should be doing everything you can in getting the visitor to take the action that you want them to take.
For me, if someone went to http://First100Dollars.com and for some reasons they were taken to a 404 error page, my goal right then and there is to get him into my list. (More on how I do that later in this post).
If your goal is to get your visitors to click on your ads, then whenever a 404 error page shows up, you better do everything you can to achieve your goal. So instead of showing the typical 404 error page (like the picture above), you should be showing your ads.
Make sense?
Now go ahead and try clicking this link http://First100Dollars.com/hgesgrstreekm (which doesn’t exist, of course).
Guess what shows up even though such a URL doesn’t exist? Yep, the following screen is returned:
Even though this URL doesn’t exist, I still try my best to get visitors into my list by offering them a valuable Freebie in exchange for their email address.
By doing this, I’m not wasting any traffic that has already landed on my domain (First100Dollars.com). Instead I’m trying to squeeze every drop out of them. I figure since I’ve already done all the hard work in getting them to my site, why not do everything I can to get them into my list?
In general (especially if you run a business), you really want to strive to get people into your list. Once they’re in your list, you can follow up with them whenever you want and how often you want, just with the click of an email.
How To Make A 404 Error Page
Now that you know the importance of utilizing the power of 404 pages, your next question, of course, is “How do I make a 404 error page?”
It’s pretty easy actually.
Step 1:
Open Notepad in your computer and copy the following code (written in red):
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Loading…</TITLE>
<meta http-equiv=”refresh” content=”0;url=http://TheURLThatUWantToRedirect.com”>
</HEAD>
</HTML>
Make sure that you change http://TheURLThatUWantToRedirect.com to the URL that you want to redirect to whenever the visitor reaches a 404 error page. In my First100Dollars.com example, I have it redirected to http://First100Dollars.com/oops.htm whenever a 404 page is reached.
Save your Notepad file with the filename “404.shtml” (without quotes).
Step 2:
Open Notepad in your computer and copy the following code (written in red again):
ErrorDocument 404 /404.shtml
Then save your Notepad file with the filename “.htaccess” (without quotes).
Step 3:
Upload both files (404.shtml and .htaccess) to your server root directory.
Please note that if you already have a .htaccess file on your server, then DO NOT upload the new .htaccess file you just created. Instead open the .htaccess on your server and paste the following code at the very top without deleting or altering any existing code:
ErrorDocument 404 /404.shtml
Done! I’ve shown you how to make a 404 error page.
Recap
If you’re currently not utilizing your 404 pages to build more subscribers or to get visitors to click more ads or do whatever you want them to do, you’re leaving traffic (and money) on the table.
You’ve done all the hard work in generating traffic to your site, therefore you should make sure that you squeeze every last drop of your effort. Why waste traffic when you can turn them into money?
Let me know your thoughts about this in a comment below.
When it comes to selling products and services, both online and offline, there are bound to be unsatisfied customers. This is true no matter how good a job we’ve done to service them.
