NSI - Complete IT Support for Your Business. Located in Naugatuck Connecticut, serving New England and surrounding areas. We are working towards updating our website, and going through that process is a real eye-opener. A couple of things stood out to me: 404 Pages, and Thank You Pages.
404 Pages are the landing pages people go to when they type something incorrectly in the URL, or if a visitor clicks on a broken link on your site. In most cases, a 404 Page IS a landing page, which means you can put helpful information on this page, guiding your visitor to a place where they can do, or view something of value. In addition, it can be a place for some light-hearted content, if that suits your website and company.
One thing I didn't realize, is how many people land on 404 pages because they mistype, find an old link somewhere in an article or on another website that is linking to your site, or is listed in an out-dated directory. Why not make your 404 page as compelling as the rest of your site.
Tips for optimizing your 404 Page:
If you're on a 404, someone made a little boo-boo. Many 404 pages begin with "OOPS!" while others state it plain and simple, "the page you are looking for does not exist". Most 404 pages have only this information, and nothing more. That's a waste of a perfectly good page.
Here are a few 404 Page examples:
"Welcome! It seems the page you wanted has left the building! Not to worry, we created this informative video for your entertainment: (embed your informative video)"
"GEE WHIZ! The page you wanted isn't here! Most people who visit our site are looking for one of these pages: (put links to your popular pages)"
Contact Page
Request Service
Data Backup Solutions
"The page you wanted isn't here, but we are glad you visited our site, so we're giving you this free Guide to Hiring the Right IT Company (insert the name of your whitepaper, report, etc with a Call To Action (CTA) or link)"
Another page that is often over looked, is the one that displays as a thank you page, once a person has submitted a form. This page is a great place to introduce them to something else that might be of interest, based on the form they completed.
Thank You Page examples:
"Thank you for downloading our Guide to Hiring the Right IT Company. Many people who requested this guide, also liked Interview Questions when hiring a Network Administrator"
"Thank you for your request! We have a lot of upcoming events, and many of them are open to the public and free of charge. Please take a look at our calendar (insert calendar, or link to calendar or list of events)"
