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"Because they are interesting" Yeah... Thats definitely it... *stares in insane* It's Bendy after all... *slowly swims away due to insanity*
Uuum.. yeah idk I just love them
#user fish error 404 not found#WOULDYA LOOK AT MY BENDY ISNT HE SO INTERESTING#WHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAH#siren screams#LITERALLY SCREAMING#in my head**#batdr#bendy the ink demon#Not my meme
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Technical Aspects That Affect SEO
Though all the SEO basics we have talked about so far are what most people think when you talk of what is SEO, they are not the only factors that come into play. When implementing a complete SEO strategy you cannot ignore the technical aspects that affect SEO in general and your website in particular.
The technical side of SEO is not as glamorous as the rest but that does not make it any less important, they’re often quite traditional tasks that are sometimes overlooked but have the potential to make a whole lot of difference when properly executed.
Technical SEO is a whole discipline of its own but when you take time to understand how it works, you gain an extra edge over most sites. These are some of the main things technical SEO can help you optimize and how they affect overall website performance and ranking.
Page Speed and Optimization for Mobile
What is SEO without page speed?
When users and search engines can navigate your pages smoothly it works in your favor. No one wants to stay on a page that takes minutes to load or with images that take time to appear. That’s the surest way to kill conversions and audience retention.
To help with this Google recommends a couple of tools you can use to increase website speed and load time. Mobile Friendliness is another aspect we cannot overemphasize, recently Google has been paying special attention to content that is mobile friendly.
Google announced that their algorithm now gives priority to websites that are optimized for mobile. Moreover, if the algorithm notices that your content drives more traffic from mobile users than desktop users, they will push your content to the forefront.
Google offers guidelines on how to make your website mobile-friendly, that’s a good place to start technical SEO for beginners.
Header Response
Probably the most technical part in SEO, header response has to do with codes websites transmit to search engines. For example, code 404 signals page error which means the page could not be found.
Most often when Google says 404 “Page Not Found” it doesn’t mean the page does not exist, it might have simply been indexed wrongly which is often a result of the use of wrong codes. So, make sure you double-check each page on your website’s header code.
To avoid 404s and other unpleasant issues involving response codes, it is recommended to use a Server Header Checker to make sure you have all the right codes installed on the page headers of your website.
Page Redirects
As per Google guidelines you should try as much as possible to avoid URL redirects. When you redirect your already indexed and ranked website to a new URL let’s say from an example.com/page to an example.html/page it might lead to broken links.
And if for some obscure reason you can’t help but redirect your page, it is recommended you let Google know. This can be done by implementing the 301 or 302 codes which respectively signify permanent and temporary redirects. Unreported redirects do not only leave a trail of broken links, they confuse search engines, disrupt traffic flow and user experience.
Duplicated Content
Duplicated content refers to putting identical or nearly the same content on multiple websites to manipulate search engines. Google specifically warns against duplicated content, saying it will be considered link equity diluting and automatically translates as lower-quality content to be manipulative.
It is recommended you run a diagnosis on your site to fish out and eliminate any kind of repetitive content. This also applies to your anchor texts, make sure they are unique and provide some kind of value.
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CRUD Operations with Mongoose and MongoDB Atlas
Mongoose is one of the fundamental tools for manipulating data for a Node.js/MongoDB backend. In this article we’ll be looking into some of the basic ways of using Mongoose and even using it with the MongoDB Atlas remote database.
Prerequisites
Since we’ll be using Express to set up a basic server, I would recommend checking out this article on express and the official Express docs if you’re not very comfortable with it just yet.
We’ll also be setting up a very basic REST Api without any authentication, you can learn a bit more about that here, but the routing will be asynchronous and we’ll be using async/await functions, which you can freshen up on here.
🐊 Alligator.io recommends �
Learn Node, a video course by Wes Bos
ⓘ About this affiliate link
Installation
Of course, we’ll also need to have express installed to set up our server.
$ npm i express mongoose
File Setup
We’ll only need three files and two folders to get started. This folder structure works well for the sake of organization if you want to add more to your API in the future:
models 📂 FoodModel.js routes 📂 FoodRoutes.js server.js
MongoDB Atlas Setup
We’ll need to get setup with MongoDB Atlas. Here’s a summary of the steps to get started:
Setup an account
Hit Build a Cluster
Go to Database Access and hit Add New User. Add a username and password, if you autogenerate a password make sure you copy it, we’ll need it later.
Go to Network Access, hit Add IP Address, and hit Add Current IP Address, then confirm.
Go to Clusters, if your cluster build is done then hit Connect, Connect Your Application, and copy the line of code it gives you
Everything else with MongoDB Atlas will be handled on our end with in Node.js.
Postman Setup
We’ll be using Postman to help manage our requests for us. Once you get it downloaded and set up, create a new collection called whatever you want (mine will be called Gator Diner). On the bottom right of the new collection, there are three little dots that give you an ‘Add Request’ option. Every time we make a new API endpoint we’ll be setting up another request for it. This will help you manage everything so you don’t have to copy/paste HTTP requests everywhere.
Server Setup
Here we’ll set up our basic Express server on port 3000, connect to our Atlas database, and import our future routes. mongoose.connect() will take the line of code we copied from Atlas and an object of configuration options (the only option we’ll be using is useNewUrlParser, which will just get rid of an annoying terminal error we get saying that the default is deprecated, this doesn’t change the behavior or the usage).
In the MongoDB Atlas code provided there is a section like UserName:<password>, replace with the username and whatever password you set up in Atlas (make sure to remove the greater/less than signs).
server.js
const express = require('express'); const mongoose = require('mongoose'); const foodRouter = require('./routes/foodRoutes.js'); const app = express(); app.use(express.json()); // Make sure it comes back as json mongoose.connect('mongodb+srv://UserName:<password>@cluster0-8vkls.mongodb.net/test?retryWrites=true&w=majority', { useNewUrlParser: true }); app.use(foodRouter); app.listen(3000, () => { console.log('Server is running...') });
There we go, now we’re all hooked up to our backend and we can start actually learning mongoose.
Schemas
First we need to have a pattern to structure our data onto, and these patterns are referred to as schemas. Schemas allow us to decide exactly what data we want, and what options we want the data to have as an object.
With that basic pattern in place we’ll use the mongoose.model method to make it usable with actual data and export it as a variable we can use in foodRoutes.js.
Options
type Sets whether it is a String, Number, Date, Boolean, Array, or a Map (an object).
required (Boolean) Return an error if not provided.
trim (Boolean) Removes any extra whitespace.
uppercase (Boolean) Converts to uppercase.
lowercase (Boolean) Converts to lowercase.
validate Sets a function to determine if the result is acceptable.
default Sets the default if no data is given.
./models/food.js
const mongoose = require('mongoose'); const FoodSchema = new mongoose.Schema({ name: { type: String, required: true, trim: true, lowercase: true }, calories: { type: Number, default: 0, validate(value) { if (value < 0) throw new Error("Negative calories aren't real."); } }, }); const Food = mongoose.model("Food", FoodSchema); module.exports = Food;
Query Functions
While there are many querying functions available, which you can find here, here are the ones we’ll be using in this instance:
find() Returns all objects with matching parameters so .find({ name: fish }) would return every object named fish and an empty object will return everything.
save() Save it to our Atlas database.
findByIdAndDelete() Takes the objects id and removes from the database.
findByIdAndUpdate Takes the objects id and an object to replace it with.
deleteOne() and deleteMany() Removes the first or all items from the database.
Read All
Once we have our data model set up we can start setting up basic routes to use it.
We’ll start by getting all foods in the database, which should just be an empty array right now. Since Mongoose functions are asynchronous, we’ll be using async/await.
Once we have the data we’ll use a try/catch block to send it back to and so that we can see that things are working using Postman.
./routes/foodRoutes.js
const express = require('express'); const foodModel = require('../models/food'); const app = express(); app.get('/foods', async (req, res) => { const foods = await foodModel.find({}); try { res.send(foods); } catch (err) { res.status(500).send(err); } }); module.exports = app
In Postman, we’ll create a new Get All request, set the url to localhost:3000/foods, and hit send. It should make our HTTP GET request for us and return our empty array.
Create
This time we’ll be setting up a post request to '/food' and we’ll create a new food object with our model and pass it the request data from Postman.
Once we have a model with data in place, we can use .save() to save it to our database.
app.post('/food', async (req, res) => { const food = new foodModel(req.body); try { await food.save(); res.send(food); } catch (err) { res.status(500).send(err); } });
In Postman we’ll make another request called Add New, give it the URL like before to localhost:3000/food, and change it from a GET to a POST request.
Over in Body, select raw and JSON (application/json) from the drop down. Here we can add whatever new food item we want to save to our database.
{ "name": "snails", "calories": "100" }
If you run the Get All request again, our once empty array should now contain this object.
Delete
Every object created with Mongoose is given its own _id, and we can use this to target specific items with a DELETE request. We can use the .findByIdAndDelete() method to easily remove it from the database, it obviously just needs the id, which is stored on our request object.
app.delete('/food/:id', async (req, res) => { try { const food = await foodModel.findByIdAndDelete(req.params.id) if (!food) res.status(404).send("No item found") res.status(200).send() } catch (err) { res.status(500).send(err) } })
In Postman we can use the Get All request to get the id of one of our items, and add that to the end of our url in our new Remove request, it’ll look something like localhost:3000/food/5d1f6c3e4b0b88fb1d257237.
Run Get All again and it should be gone.
Update
Just like with the delete request, we’ll be using the _id to target the correct item. .findByIdAndUpdate() just takes the target’s id, and the request data you want to replace it with.
app.patch('/food/:id', async (req, res) => { try { await foodModel.findByIdAndUpdate(req.params.id, req.body) await foodModel.save() res.send(food) } catch (err) { res.status(500).send(err) } })
Conclusion
With Mongoose methods we can quickly make and manage our backend data in a breeze. While there’s still much more to learn, hopefully this little introduction will help give you a brief insight into Mongoose and help you decide if it’s the right tool for you and your future projects.
via Alligator.io https://ift.tt/2FWBNXm
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How to create the perfect 404 page
Optimizing your 404 page is unlikely to top your list in terms of digital marketing priorities. However, it’s not something you should overlook or try to rush – especially if your site is frequently changing URLs.
404s (…or four zero fours if you’re in the military) are just another marketing tool – if made correctly.
What is a 404
Impact of 404s on SEO
What are Soft 404s
Helping your user
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Making it fun!
What is a 404?
A 404 is the response code that should be provided by your web server when a user attempts to access a URL that no longer exists/never existed or has been moved without any form of redirection. At a HTTP level the code is also followed by the reason phrase of ‘Not Found’.
It’s important to realize that DNS errors are a totally different kettle of fish and occur when the domain has not been registered or where DNS has been misconfigured. There is no web server to provide a response – see below:
If you’re looking to pass time or have a penchant for intellectual self-harm you may enjoy this list of HTTP status codes, where you can discover the mysterious difference between a 301 and a 308…
Impact of 404s on SEO
We can’t all be blessed with the foresight to develop a well-structured and future-proof site architecture first time around. 404s will happen – whether it’s a new site being tweaked post-launch or a full-blown migration with URL changes, directory updates and a brand spanking new favicon! In themselves, 404s aren’t an issue so long as the content has in fact been removed/deleted without an adequate replacement page.
However, if a URL has links from an external site then you should always consider a redirect to the most appropriate page, both to maintain any equity being passed but also to ensure users who click the link aren’t immediately confronted with a potentially negative experience on your site.
What are soft 404s?
Soft 404s occur when a non-existent page returns a response code other than 404 (not found) or the lesser known 410 (gone). They also happen when redirects are put in place that aren’t relevant such as lazily sending users to the homepage or where there is a gross content mismatch from the requested URL and the resulting redirect. These are often confusing for both users and search engines, and are reported within Google Search Console.
Helping the user
Creating a custom 404 page has been all the rage for a number of years, as they can provide users with a smile, useful links or something quite fun (more on this later). Most importantly, it’s crucial that you ensure your site’s 404s aren’t the end of the road for your users. Below are some handy tips for how to improve your 404 page.
Consistent branding
Don’t make your 404 page an orphan in terms of design. Ensure you retain any branding so that users are not shocked into thinking they may be on the wrong site altogether.
Explanation
Make sure you provide users with some potential reasons as to why they are seeing the error page. Stating that the page ‘no longer exists’ etc can help users to understand that the lovely yellow raincoat they expected to find hasn’t actually been replaced by a browser-based Pacman game…
Useful links
You should know which are the most popular pages or directories on your site. Ensure your 404 page includes obvious links to these above the fold so that (coupled with a fast site) users will find the disruption to their journey to be minimal.
Search
There’s a strong chance that a user landing on a 404 page will know why they were on your site; whether for jeans, graphic design or HR software, their intent is likely set. Providing them with a quick search box may enable them to get back on track – this can be useful if you offer a very wide range of services that can’t be covered in a few links.
Reporting
Providing users with the ability to report the inconvenience can be a great way for you to action 404s immediately, especially if the button can be linked to the most common next step in a user’s journey. For example: “Report this page and get back to the shop!”
Turn it into a positive
Providing a free giveaway of a downloadable asset (by way of an apology) is a great way to turn an otherwise-disgruntled user into a lead. By providing a clear CTA and small amount of data capture, you can help to chip away at those inbound marketing goals!
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Reporting on 404s in Google Analytics couldn’t be easier. While in many cases your CMS will have plugins and modules that provide this service, GA can do it without much bother. The only thing you’ll need is the page title from your 404 page. In the case of Zazzle this is ‘Page not found | Zazzle Media’.
The screenshot below contains all the information needed. Simply navigate to Customization > Custom Reports > Add New within your GA console.
Title: The name of the custom report
Name: Tabs within the report (you only need one in this case)
Type: Set to Explorer
Metric Groups: Enter ‘Site Usage’ and add in Unique Page Views (to track occurrences per page) and Bounce Rate (to measure how effective your custom 404 page is).
Dimension Drilldowns: Page > Full Referrer (to track where the visit came from if external)
Filters: Include > Page Title > Exact > (your 404 page title)
Views: Select whichever views you want this on (default to all if you’re unsure)
Save and return to Customization > Custom Reports, then click the report you just made. You’ll be presented with a list of pages that match your specified criteria. Simply alter your data range to suit and then export and start mapping any redirects required.
You may wish to use Google Search Console for reporting on 404s too. These can be found under Crawl > Crawl Errors. It’s always worth running these URLs through a tool such as Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to confirm that the live URL is still producing a 404. Exporting these errors is limited to ~1000 URLs; as such, you’ll need to Export > Mark as Fixed > Wait 24hrs > Repeat.
Making a fun 404 page
Some of the best 404 pages throw caution to the wind, ignore best practice and either leverage their brand/character to comical effect or simply go all out and create something fun and interactive. Let’s face it, there is no better way to turn a bad situation (or Monday morning) into something positive than with a quick game of Space Invaders!
The below examples are just a few popular brands that have a great ‘404 game’.
Lego
It was always going to be on the cards that Lego would have something quirky up their tiny plastic sleeves, and while the page lacks ongoing links it provides a clear visual representation of the disconnect between the content you expected and what you’re getting.
Kualo
Behind every great website, there’s a great host. Kualo have taken their very cost-focused industry and made a fun and interactive game for users who happen across a 404 page.
Bit.ly
If there’s one site that has its URLs copy and pasted more than any other (and often incorrectly) it’s bit.ly. With over 1.2 billion backlinks from over 1.8 million referring domains I reckon there will be a few 404s…don’t you?
Blizzard
Ding! I’ve naturally lost count of how many times it’s given ‘Grats’ – Blizzard’s quirky 404 gives tribute to the commonly-uttered phrase seen in chat boxes across all their games.
Github
It only seems fitting that one of the geekiest corners of the internet be served with an equally geeky 404 page. Github’s page is unique because there is actually a dedicated URL for this design which has over 520 referring domains itself! Not to mention their server error page is equally as cool.
Summary
Hopefully the information detailed in this article has provided you with a great strategy to leverage your 404 page as a content marketing asset or simply to improve the experience for your user. We’d love to see any creative 404 pages you come up with.
How to create the perfect 404 page syndicated from http://ift.tt/2maPRjm
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Text
How to create the perfect 404 page
Optimizing your 404 page is unlikely to top your list in terms of digital marketing priorities. However, it’s not something you should overlook or try to rush – especially if your site is frequently changing URLs.
404s (…or four zero fours if you’re in the military) are just another marketing tool – if made correctly.
What is a 404
Impact of 404s on SEO
What are Soft 404s
Helping your user
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Making it fun!
What is a 404?
A 404 is the response code that should be provided by your web server when a user attempts to access a URL that no longer exists/never existed or has been moved without any form of redirection. At a HTTP level the code is also followed by the reason phrase of ‘Not Found’.
It’s important to realize that DNS errors are a totally different kettle of fish and occur when the domain has not been registered or where DNS has been misconfigured. There is no web server to provide a response – see below:
If you’re looking to pass time or have a penchant for intellectual self-harm you may enjoy this list of HTTP status codes, where you can discover the mysterious difference between a 301 and a 308…
Impact of 404s on SEO
We can’t all be blessed with the foresight to develop a well-structured and future-proof site architecture first time around. 404s will happen – whether it’s a new site being tweaked post-launch or a full-blown migration with URL changes, directory updates and a brand spanking new favicon! In themselves, 404s aren’t an issue so long as the content has in fact been removed/deleted without an adequate replacement page.
However, if a URL has links from an external site then you should always consider a redirect to the most appropriate page, both to maintain any equity being passed but also to ensure users who click the link aren’t immediately confronted with a potentially negative experience on your site.
What are soft 404s?
Soft 404s occur when a non-existent page returns a response code other than 404 (not found) or the lesser known 410 (gone). They also happen when redirects are put in place that aren’t relevant such as lazily sending users to the homepage or where there is a gross content mismatch from the requested URL and the resulting redirect. These are often confusing for both users and search engines, and are reported within Google Search Console.
Helping the user
Creating a custom 404 page has been all the rage for a number of years, as they can provide users with a smile, useful links or something quite fun (more on this later). Most importantly, it’s crucial that you ensure your site’s 404s aren’t the end of the road for your users. Below are some handy tips for how to improve your 404 page.
Consistent branding
Don’t make your 404 page an orphan in terms of design. Ensure you retain any branding so that users are not shocked into thinking they may be on the wrong site altogether.
Explanation
Make sure you provide users with some potential reasons as to why they are seeing the error page. Stating that the page ‘no longer exists’ etc can help users to understand that the lovely yellow raincoat they expected to find hasn’t actually been replaced by a browser-based Pacman game…
Useful links
You should know which are the most popular pages or directories on your site. Ensure your 404 page includes obvious links to these above the fold so that (coupled with a fast site) users will find the disruption to their journey to be minimal.
Search
There’s a strong chance that a user landing on a 404 page will know why they were on your site; whether for jeans, graphic design or HR software, their intent is likely set. Providing them with a quick search box may enable them to get back on track – this can be useful if you offer a very wide range of services that can’t be covered in a few links.
Reporting
Providing users with the ability to report the inconvenience can be a great way for you to action 404s immediately, especially if the button can be linked to the most common next step in a user’s journey. For example: “Report this page and get back to the shop!”
Turn it into a positive
Providing a free giveaway of a downloadable asset (by way of an apology) is a great way to turn an otherwise-disgruntled user into a lead. By providing a clear CTA and small amount of data capture, you can help to chip away at those inbound marketing goals!
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Reporting on 404s in Google Analytics couldn’t be easier. While in many cases your CMS will have plugins and modules that provide this service, GA can do it without much bother. The only thing you’ll need is the page title from your 404 page. In the case of Zazzle this is ‘Page not found | Zazzle Media’.
The screenshot below contains all the information needed. Simply navigate to Customization > Custom Reports > Add New within your GA console.
Title: The name of the custom report
Name: Tabs within the report (you only need one in this case)
Type: Set to Explorer
Metric Groups: Enter ‘Site Usage’ and add in Unique Page Views (to track occurrences per page) and Bounce Rate (to measure how effective your custom 404 page is).
Dimension Drilldowns: Page > Full Referrer (to track where the visit came from if external)
Filters: Include > Page Title > Exact > (your 404 page title)
Views: Select whichever views you want this on (default to all if you’re unsure)
Save and return to Customization > Custom Reports, then click the report you just made. You’ll be presented with a list of pages that match your specified criteria. Simply alter your data range to suit and then export and start mapping any redirects required.
You may wish to use Google Search Console for reporting on 404s too. These can be found under Crawl > Crawl Errors. It’s always worth running these URLs through a tool such as Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to confirm that the live URL is still producing a 404. Exporting these errors is limited to ~1000 URLs; as such, you’ll need to Export > Mark as Fixed > Wait 24hrs > Repeat.
Making a fun 404 page
Some of the best 404 pages throw caution to the wind, ignore best practice and either leverage their brand/character to comical effect or simply go all out and create something fun and interactive. Let’s face it, there is no better way to turn a bad situation (or Monday morning) into something positive than with a quick game of Space Invaders!
The below examples are just a few popular brands that have a great ‘404 game’.
Lego
It was always going to be on the cards that Lego would have something quirky up their tiny plastic sleeves, and while the page lacks ongoing links it provides a clear visual representation of the disconnect between the content you expected and what you’re getting.
Kualo
Behind every great website, there’s a great host. Kualo have taken their very cost-focused industry and made a fun and interactive game for users who happen across a 404 page.
Bit.ly
If there’s one site that has its URLs copy and pasted more than any other (and often incorrectly) it’s bit.ly. With over 1.2 billion backlinks from over 1.8 million referring domains I reckon there will be a few 404s…don’t you?
Blizzard
Ding! I’ve naturally lost count of how many times it’s given ‘Grats’ – Blizzard’s quirky 404 gives tribute to the commonly-uttered phrase seen in chat boxes across all their games.
Github
It only seems fitting that one of the geekiest corners of the internet be served with an equally geeky 404 page. Github’s page is unique because there is actually a dedicated URL for this design which has over 520 referring domains itself! Not to mention their server error page is equally as cool.
Summary
Hopefully the information detailed in this article has provided you with a great strategy to leverage your 404 page as a content marketing asset or simply to improve the experience for your user. We’d love to see any creative 404 pages you come up with.
source https://searchenginewatch.com/2017/09/12/how-to-create-the-perfect-404-page/ from Rising Phoenix SEO http://risingphoenixseo.blogspot.com/2017/09/how-to-create-perfect-404-page.html
0 notes
Text
How to create the perfect 404 page
Optimizing your 404 page is unlikely to top your list in terms of digital marketing priorities. However, it’s not something you should overlook or try to rush – especially if your site is frequently changing URLs.
404s (…or four zero fours if you’re in the military) are just another marketing tool – if made correctly.
What is a 404
Impact of 404s on SEO
What are Soft 404s
Helping your user
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Making it fun!
What is a 404?
A 404 is the response code that should be provided by your web server when a user attempts to access a URL that no longer exists/never existed or has been moved without any form of redirection. At a HTTP level the code is also followed by the reason phrase of ‘Not Found’.
It’s important to realize that DNS errors are a totally different kettle of fish and occur when the domain has not been registered or where DNS has been misconfigured. There is no web server to provide a response – see below:
If you’re looking to pass time or have a penchant for intellectual self-harm you may enjoy this list of HTTP status codes, where you can discover the mysterious difference between a 301 and a 308…
Impact of 404s on SEO
We can’t all be blessed with the foresight to develop a well-structured and future-proof site architecture first time around. 404s will happen – whether it’s a new site being tweaked post-launch or a full-blown migration with URL changes, directory updates and a brand spanking new favicon! In themselves, 404s aren’t an issue so long as the content has in fact been removed/deleted without an adequate replacement page.
However, if a URL has links from an external site then you should always consider a redirect to the most appropriate page, both to maintain any equity being passed but also to ensure users who click the link aren’t immediately confronted with a potentially negative experience on your site.
What are soft 404s?
Soft 404s occur when a non-existent page returns a response code other than 404 (not found) or the lesser known 410 (gone). They also happen when redirects are put in place that aren’t relevant such as lazily sending users to the homepage or where there is a gross content mismatch from the requested URL and the resulting redirect. These are often confusing for both users and search engines, and are reported within Google Search Console.
Helping the user
Creating a custom 404 page has been all the rage for a number of years, as they can provide users with a smile, useful links or something quite fun (more on this later). Most importantly, it’s crucial that you ensure your site’s 404s aren’t the end of the road for your users. Below are some handy tips for how to improve your 404 page.
Consistent branding
Don’t make your 404 page an orphan in terms of design. Ensure you retain any branding so that users are not shocked into thinking they may be on the wrong site altogether.
Explanation
Make sure you provide users with some potential reasons as to why they are seeing the error page. Stating that the page ‘no longer exists’ etc can help users to understand that the lovely yellow raincoat they expected to find hasn’t actually been replaced by a browser-based Pacman game…
Useful links
You should know which are the most popular pages or directories on your site. Ensure your 404 page includes obvious links to these above the fold so that (coupled with a fast site) users will find the disruption to their journey to be minimal.
Search
There’s a strong chance that a user landing on a 404 page will know why they were on your site; whether for jeans, graphic design or HR software, their intent is likely set. Providing them with a quick search box may enable them to get back on track – this can be useful if you offer a very wide range of services that can’t be covered in a few links.
Reporting
Providing users with the ability to report the inconvenience can be a great way for you to action 404s immediately, especially if the button can be linked to the most common next step in a user’s journey. For example: “Report this page and get back to the shop!”
Turn it into a positive
Providing a free giveaway of a downloadable asset (by way of an apology) is a great way to turn an otherwise-disgruntled user into a lead. By providing a clear CTA and small amount of data capture, you can help to chip away at those inbound marketing goals!
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Reporting on 404s in Google Analytics couldn’t be easier. While in many cases your CMS will have plugins and modules that provide this service, GA can do it without much bother. The only thing you’ll need is the page title from your 404 page. In the case of Zazzle this is ‘Page not found | Zazzle Media’.
The screenshot below contains all the information needed. Simply navigate to Customization > Custom Reports > Add New within your GA console.
Title: The name of the custom report
Name: Tabs within the report (you only need one in this case)
Type: Set to Explorer
Metric Groups: Enter ‘Site Usage’ and add in Unique Page Views (to track occurrences per page) and Bounce Rate (to measure how effective your custom 404 page is).
Dimension Drilldowns: Page > Full Referrer (to track where the visit came from if external)
Filters: Include > Page Title > Exact > (your 404 page title)
Views: Select whichever views you want this on (default to all if you’re unsure)
Save and return to Customization > Custom Reports, then click the report you just made. You’ll be presented with a list of pages that match your specified criteria. Simply alter your data range to suit and then export and start mapping any redirects required.
You may wish to use Google Search Console for reporting on 404s too. These can be found under Crawl > Crawl Errors. It’s always worth running these URLs through a tool such as Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to confirm that the live URL is still producing a 404. Exporting these errors is limited to ~1000 URLs; as such, you’ll need to Export > Mark as Fixed > Wait 24hrs > Repeat.
Making a fun 404 page
Some of the best 404 pages throw caution to the wind, ignore best practice and either leverage their brand/character to comical effect or simply go all out and create something fun and interactive. Let’s face it, there is no better way to turn a bad situation (or Monday morning) into something positive than with a quick game of Space Invaders!
The below examples are just a few popular brands that have a great ‘404 game’.
Lego
It was always going to be on the cards that Lego would have something quirky up their tiny plastic sleeves, and while the page lacks ongoing links it provides a clear visual representation of the disconnect between the content you expected and what you’re getting.
Kualo
Behind every great website, there’s a great host. Kualo have taken their very cost-focused industry and made a fun and interactive game for users who happen across a 404 page.
Bit.ly
If there’s one site that has its URLs copy and pasted more than any other (and often incorrectly) it’s bit.ly. With over 1.2 billion backlinks from over 1.8 million referring domains I reckon there will be a few 404s…don’t you?
Blizzard
Ding! I’ve naturally lost count of how many times it’s given ‘Grats’ – Blizzard’s quirky 404 gives tribute to the commonly-uttered phrase seen in chat boxes across all their games.
Github
It only seems fitting that one of the geekiest corners of the internet be served with an equally geeky 404 page. Github’s page is unique because there is actually a dedicated URL for this design which has over 520 referring domains itself! Not to mention their server error page is equally as cool.
Summary
Hopefully the information detailed in this article has provided you with a great strategy to leverage your 404 page as a content marketing asset or simply to improve the experience for your user. We’d love to see any creative 404 pages you come up with.
from IM Tips And Tricks https://searchenginewatch.com/2017/09/12/how-to-create-the-perfect-404-page/ from Rising Phoenix SEO https://risingphxseo.tumblr.com/post/165257736380
0 notes
Text
How to create the perfect 404 page
Optimizing your 404 page is unlikely to top your list in terms of digital marketing priorities. However, it’s not something you should overlook or try to rush – especially if your site is frequently changing URLs.
404s (…or four zero fours if you’re in the military) are just another marketing tool – if made correctly.
What is a 404
Impact of 404s on SEO
What are Soft 404s
Helping your user
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Making it fun!
What is a 404?
A 404 is the response code that should be provided by your web server when a user attempts to access a URL that no longer exists/never existed or has been moved without any form of redirection. At a HTTP level the code is also followed by the reason phrase of ‘Not Found’.
It’s important to realize that DNS errors are a totally different kettle of fish and occur when the domain has not been registered or where DNS has been misconfigured. There is no web server to provide a response – see below:
If you’re looking to pass time or have a penchant for intellectual self-harm you may enjoy this list of HTTP status codes, where you can discover the mysterious difference between a 301 and a 308…
Impact of 404s on SEO
We can’t all be blessed with the foresight to develop a well-structured and future-proof site architecture first time around. 404s will happen – whether it’s a new site being tweaked post-launch or a full-blown migration with URL changes, directory updates and a brand spanking new favicon! In themselves, 404s aren’t an issue so long as the content has in fact been removed/deleted without an adequate replacement page.
However, if a URL has links from an external site then you should always consider a redirect to the most appropriate page, both to maintain any equity being passed but also to ensure users who click the link aren’t immediately confronted with a potentially negative experience on your site.
What are soft 404s?
Soft 404s occur when a non-existent page returns a response code other than 404 (not found) or the lesser known 410 (gone). They also happen when redirects are put in place that aren’t relevant such as lazily sending users to the homepage or where there is a gross content mismatch from the requested URL and the resulting redirect. These are often confusing for both users and search engines, and are reported within Google Search Console.
Helping the user
Creating a custom 404 page has been all the rage for a number of years, as they can provide users with a smile, useful links or something quite fun (more on this later). Most importantly, it’s crucial that you ensure your site’s 404s aren’t the end of the road for your users. Below are some handy tips for how to improve your 404 page.
Consistent branding
Don’t make your 404 page an orphan in terms of design. Ensure you retain any branding so that users are not shocked into thinking they may be on the wrong site altogether.
Explanation
Make sure you provide users with some potential reasons as to why they are seeing the error page. Stating that the page ‘no longer exists’ etc can help users to understand that the lovely yellow raincoat they expected to find hasn’t actually been replaced by a browser-based Pacman game…
Useful links
You should know which are the most popular pages or directories on your site. Ensure your 404 page includes obvious links to these above the fold so that (coupled with a fast site) users will find the disruption to their journey to be minimal.
Search
There’s a strong chance that a user landing on a 404 page will know why they were on your site; whether for jeans, graphic design or HR software, their intent is likely set. Providing them with a quick search box may enable them to get back on track – this can be useful if you offer a very wide range of services that can’t be covered in a few links.
Reporting
Providing users with the ability to report the inconvenience can be a great way for you to action 404s immediately, especially if the button can be linked to the most common next step in a user’s journey. For example: “Report this page and get back to the shop!”
Turn it into a positive
Providing a free giveaway of a downloadable asset (by way of an apology) is a great way to turn an otherwise-disgruntled user into a lead. By providing a clear CTA and small amount of data capture, you can help to chip away at those inbound marketing goals!
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Reporting on 404s in Google Analytics couldn’t be easier. While in many cases your CMS will have plugins and modules that provide this service, GA can do it without much bother. The only thing you’ll need is the page title from your 404 page. In the case of Zazzle this is ‘Page not found | Zazzle Media’.
The screenshot below contains all the information needed. Simply navigate to Customization > Custom Reports > Add New within your GA console.
Title: The name of the custom report
Name: Tabs within the report (you only need one in this case)
Type: Set to Explorer
Metric Groups: Enter ‘Site Usage’ and add in Unique Page Views (to track occurrences per page) and Bounce Rate (to measure how effective your custom 404 page is).
Dimension Drilldowns: Page > Full Referrer (to track where the visit came from if external)
Filters: Include > Page Title > Exact > (your 404 page title)
Views: Select whichever views you want this on (default to all if you’re unsure)
Save and return to Customization > Custom Reports, then click the report you just made. You’ll be presented with a list of pages that match your specified criteria. Simply alter your data range to suit and then export and start mapping any redirects required.
You may wish to use Google Search Console for reporting on 404s too. These can be found under Crawl > Crawl Errors. It’s always worth running these URLs through a tool such as Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to confirm that the live URL is still producing a 404. Exporting these errors is limited to ~1000 URLs; as such, you’ll need to Export > Mark as Fixed > Wait 24hrs > Repeat.
Making a fun 404 page
Some of the best 404 pages throw caution to the wind, ignore best practice and either leverage their brand/character to comical effect or simply go all out and create something fun and interactive. Let’s face it, there is no better way to turn a bad situation (or Monday morning) into something positive than with a quick game of Space Invaders!
The below examples are just a few popular brands that have a great ‘404 game’.
Lego
It was always going to be on the cards that Lego would have something quirky up their tiny plastic sleeves, and while the page lacks ongoing links it provides a clear visual representation of the disconnect between the content you expected and what you’re getting.
Kualo
Behind every great website, there’s a great host. Kualo have taken their very cost-focused industry and made a fun and interactive game for users who happen across a 404 page.
Bit.ly
If there’s one site that has its URLs copy and pasted more than any other (and often incorrectly) it’s bit.ly. With over 1.2 billion backlinks from over 1.8 million referring domains I reckon there will be a few 404s…don’t you?
Blizzard
Ding! I’ve naturally lost count of how many times it’s given ‘Grats’ – Blizzard’s quirky 404 gives tribute to the commonly-uttered phrase seen in chat boxes across all their games.
Github
It only seems fitting that one of the geekiest corners of the internet be served with an equally geeky 404 page. Github’s page is unique because there is actually a dedicated URL for this design which has over 520 referring domains itself! Not to mention their server error page is equally as cool.
Summary
Hopefully the information detailed in this article has provided you with a great strategy to leverage your 404 page as a content marketing asset or simply to improve the experience for your user. We’d love to see any creative 404 pages you come up with.
from Search Engine Watch https://searchenginewatch.com/2017/09/12/how-to-create-the-perfect-404-page/
0 notes
Text
How to create the perfect 404 page
Optimizing your 404 page is unlikely to top your list in terms of digital marketing priorities. However, it’s not something you should overlook or try to rush – especially if your site is frequently changing URLs.
404s (…or four zero fours if you’re in the military) are just another marketing tool – if made correctly.
What is a 404
Impact of 404s on SEO
What are Soft 404s
Helping your user
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Making it fun!
What is a 404?
A 404 is the response code that should be provided by your web server when a user attempts to access a URL that no longer exists/never existed or has been moved without any form of redirection. At a HTTP level the code is also followed by the reason phrase of ‘Not Found’.
It’s important to realize that DNS errors are a totally different kettle of fish and occur when the domain has not been registered or where DNS has been misconfigured. There is no web server to provide a response – see below:
If you’re looking to pass time or have a penchant for intellectual self-harm you may enjoy this list of HTTP status codes, where you can discover the mysterious difference between a 301 and a 308…
Impact of 404s on SEO
We can’t all be blessed with the foresight to develop a well-structured and future-proof site architecture first time around. 404s will happen – whether it’s a new site being tweaked post-launch or a full-blown migration with URL changes, directory updates and a brand spanking new favicon! In themselves, 404s aren’t an issue so long as the content has in fact been removed/deleted without an adequate replacement page.
However, if a URL has links from an external site then you should always consider a redirect to the most appropriate page, both to maintain any equity being passed but also to ensure users who click the link aren’t immediately confronted with a potentially negative experience on your site.
What are soft 404s?
Soft 404s occur when a non-existent page returns a response code other than 404 (not found) or the lesser known 410 (gone). They also happen when redirects are put in place that aren’t relevant such as lazily sending users to the homepage or where there is a gross content mismatch from the requested URL and the resulting redirect. These are often confusing for both users and search engines, and are reported within Google Search Console.
Helping the user
Creating a custom 404 page has been all the rage for a number of years, as they can provide users with a smile, useful links or something quite fun (more on this later). Most importantly, it’s crucial that you ensure your site’s 404s aren’t the end of the road for your users. Below are some handy tips for how to improve your 404 page.
Consistent branding
Don’t make your 404 page an orphan in terms of design. Ensure you retain any branding so that users are not shocked into thinking they may be on the wrong site altogether.
Explanation
Make sure you provide users with some potential reasons as to why they are seeing the error page. Stating that the page ‘no longer exists’ etc can help users to understand that the lovely yellow raincoat they expected to find hasn’t actually been replaced by a browser-based Pacman game…
Useful links
You should know which are the most popular pages or directories on your site. Ensure your 404 page includes obvious links to these above the fold so that (coupled with a fast site) users will find the disruption to their journey to be minimal.
Search
There’s a strong chance that a user landing on a 404 page will know why they were on your site; whether for jeans, graphic design or HR software, their intent is likely set. Providing them with a quick search box may enable them to get back on track – this can be useful if you offer a very wide range of services that can’t be covered in a few links.
Reporting
Providing users with the ability to report the inconvenience can be a great way for you to action 404s immediately, especially if the button can be linked to the most common next step in a user’s journey. For example: “Report this page and get back to the shop!”
Turn it into a positive
Providing a free giveaway of a downloadable asset (by way of an apology) is a great way to turn an otherwise-disgruntled user into a lead. By providing a clear CTA and small amount of data capture, you can help to chip away at those inbound marketing goals!
Reporting 404s in Google Analytics
Reporting on 404s in Google Analytics couldn’t be easier. While in many cases your CMS will have plugins and modules that provide this service, GA can do it without much bother. The only thing you’ll need is the page title from your 404 page. In the case of Zazzle this is ‘Page not found | Zazzle Media’.
The screenshot below contains all the information needed. Simply navigate to Customization > Custom Reports > Add New within your GA console.
Title: The name of the custom report
Name: Tabs within the report (you only need one in this case)
Type: Set to Explorer
Metric Groups: Enter ‘Site Usage’ and add in Unique Page Views (to track occurrences per page) and Bounce Rate (to measure how effective your custom 404 page is).
Dimension Drilldowns: Page > Full Referrer (to track where the visit came from if external)
Filters: Include > Page Title > Exact > (your 404 page title)
Views: Select whichever views you want this on (default to all if you’re unsure)
Save and return to Customization > Custom Reports, then click the report you just made. You’ll be presented with a list of pages that match your specified criteria. Simply alter your data range to suit and then export and start mapping any redirects required.
You may wish to use Google Search Console for reporting on 404s too. These can be found under Crawl > Crawl Errors. It’s always worth running these URLs through a tool such as Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to confirm that the live URL is still producing a 404. Exporting these errors is limited to ~1000 URLs; as such, you’ll need to Export > Mark as Fixed > Wait 24hrs > Repeat.
Making a fun 404 page
Some of the best 404 pages throw caution to the wind, ignore best practice and either leverage their brand/character to comical effect or simply go all out and create something fun and interactive. Let’s face it, there is no better way to turn a bad situation (or Monday morning) into something positive than with a quick game of Space Invaders!
The below examples are just a few popular brands that have a great ‘404 game’.
Lego
It was always going to be on the cards that Lego would have something quirky up their tiny plastic sleeves, and while the page lacks ongoing links it provides a clear visual representation of the disconnect between the content you expected and what you’re getting.
Kualo
Behind every great website, there’s a great host. Kualo have taken their very cost-focused industry and made a fun and interactive game for users who happen across a 404 page.
Bit.ly
If there’s one site that has its URLs copy and pasted more than any other (and often incorrectly) it’s bit.ly. With over 1.2 billion backlinks from over 1.8 million referring domains I reckon there will be a few 404s…don’t you?
Blizzard
Ding! I’ve naturally lost count of how many times it’s given ‘Grats’ – Blizzard’s quirky 404 gives tribute to the commonly-uttered phrase seen in chat boxes across all their games.
Github
It only seems fitting that one of the geekiest corners of the internet be served with an equally geeky 404 page. Github’s page is unique because there is actually a dedicated URL for this design which has over 520 referring domains itself! Not to mention their server error page is equally as cool.
Summary
Hopefully the information detailed in this article has provided you with a great strategy to leverage your 404 page as a content marketing asset or simply to improve the experience for your user. We’d love to see any creative 404 pages you come up with.
How to create the perfect 404 page syndicated from http://ift.tt/2maPRjm
0 notes