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Sometimes, customers click on a link and get a 'page not found' message, known as a 404 page. This can be annoying, but your online store can turn it into a helpful moment. 

 even when they can't find what they're looking for. You can make these pages fun or say sorry for the mistake. This shows you care about your customers. Plus, you can add links to your best-selling products or special deals. This way, customers can easily find other things they might like to buy, instead of leaving your site.

Make Shopping Easier with Custom 404 Pages

Your 404 page is a great place to show what your shop is all about. Instead of a boring error message, make your 404 page fun and show your shop's personality. Use cool pictures, funny words, or something special about your shop. This makes customers remember your store and feel good about it, even if they didn't find what they were looking for at first. Plus, a cool 404 page can make people want to share it with friends, bringing more customers to your shop.

A clever 404 page can turn a lost sale into a new chance. When customers see your helpful 404 page, they might stay on your site longer and look at other things. You can use this page to suggest other products, tell them about sales, or ask them to join your email list. This way, even if they don't buy what they first wanted, they might find something else they like. Also, a good 404 page can make customers like your shop more. They see that you try to help, even when things go wrong. This builds trust and can make them come back to shop again.

10 Tips for Improving Your 404 Error Pages

When visitors encounter a 404 error page on your ecommerce site, it's a crucial moment to turn potential frustration into a positive experience. A well-crafted 404 page can not only retain customers but also encourage further exploration of your site. Below are ten simple yet effective tips to enhance your 404 pages. These suggestions range from adding functional elements like a search bar to creative strategies like offering discounts, all aimed at improving user experience and keeping your visitors engaged.

 on your 404 page. This helps customers easily look for what they wanted to find, or discover something new, without going back.

 Write a clear, friendly message on your 404 page. Avoid technical jargon. Phrases like "Oops, we can't find that page!" are more welcoming.

 Add links to your best-selling or most popular products. This guides customers back to shopping, potentially 

 Provide a small discount or a special offer on the 404 page. This can turn a visitor's disappointment into a pleasant surprise, encouraging them to shop.

 Highlight your latest products or current deals. This keeps the content fresh and may capture the interest of the visitor.

. This can make the 404 experience less frustrating and more enjoyable.

 Make sure your 404 page matches your site's overall look and feel. Consistent branding helps maintain a professional image.

 Include an email address or a contact form for customers who need help. This shows that you're ready to assist with any issues.

 Give customers a way to report a broken link or give feedback. This not only helps you fix errors but also involves the customer in improving your site.

Ensure your 404 page is mobile-friendly. Many customers shop on their phones, so the page should look good and work well on all devices.

When you hit a dead-end on a website, a fun 404 page can turn frustration into a smile. Check out these five custom 404 pages employed by industry leaders, along with explanations of their custom 404 page strategies.

Disney's 404 page features a character from their movie franchise, which gives a playful and brand-specific touch to the error page. The message "You didn't break the internet, but we can’t find what you are looking for" adds a light-hearted tone, suggesting that the error isn't the user's fault. It also includes a search bar with the text "What can KnowsMore help you find today?" encouraging users to continue their journey on the website.

Netflix's 404 page utilizes imagery from one of their original series, creating a thematic scene that's recognizable to fans. The message "Lost your way?" is consistent with the imagery, and the suggestion to return to the Netflix home page is clearly displayed, guiding users back to familiar territory.

Starbucks takes a more interactive approach with their 404 page, showing a spilled drink and inviting users to "Mop up the spill to reveal something underneath." This engagement can distract users from the inconvenience of hitting a dead end and also incentivizes them to explore more of the website.

Publix uses humor on their 404 page, likening the missing page to a product that's "past its sell-by date." They apologize for the error and suggest doing a search or contacting them for help, which is a straightforward method of redirecting users.

GitHub's 404 page features their mascot in a desert with a message that's a playful take on a famous quote from "Star Wars," tailored for the developer audience that frequents their site. This geeky humor aligns with their community's interests and subtly encourages users to continue searching for what they need on GitHub.

A well-designed 404 page is important for any e-commerce site because it helps keep customers engaged even when they encounter a missing page. Instead of a generic error message, a custom 404 page can reflect your brand's character and make the experience less negative for shoppers. By including helpful features like search bars, links to popular products, or special discounts, you can quickly redirect customers to other areas of your site. This not only improves the chance of retaining visitors but can also potentially lead to more sales. A good 404 page shows customers that you value their time and experience, making it more likely they will continue to shop with you.

How to Enhance User Experience with Custom 404 Pages

Google has shared their vision for what the next 

 will look like. In doing so, Google also discussed how their systems work today.

It is in this part of the article that they reveal a very interesting piece of information that both supports my previous quality raters hypothesis (raters can help or hurt site rankings), but also sheds additional light on a key aspect of the ranking process.

The major call out from this article is that the author, Ben Gomes (VP Search, News, and Assistant), identifies one way that Google uses its quality raters. Quality Raters are Google employees who look at search results and provide search quality rankings. Those rankings are then used to guide the algorithm. For a long time, I've believed that Raters have the ability to rank a site based on pre-defined 

, and that this ranking results in either promotion or demotion of the site in Google's search results rankings.

I've often likened this to turning the volume of your site up or down, like audio volume on your TV or radio. Raters can lower the volume, raise the volume, or even possibly mute your site's "voice" entirely (although Google's Danny Sullivan said "

" in a tweet). Even if only one page of your site is reviewed by a rater, that rating (probably) sticks with your entire site, although the weight may dissipate based on many factors (total number of pages, proximity of reviewed page to home page, site hierarchy, depth of content, etc.).

In Google's The Keyword blog post today, Mr. Gomes says that "

This statement provides additional insight into how the quality raters choose which sites to review. If your site falls within an experiment, and appears within the top 5-10 results, your site might be lucky enough to get a quality review. Previously, it was unknown how sites might fall within the cross-hairs of quality guidelines raters. It is important to remember that this is just one way that raters can find your site and impact your search rankings. There may be, and probably are, quite a few more ways that raters can find your site.

Given this insight into the algorithm, or, more accurately, a major component that shapes the algorithm, a focus on overall site quality is becoming more important than ever before. Twenty years ago, we could easily use a technique, today it's called "keyword stuffing," to affect the search results and drive our clients into the number one spot. We were overnight geniuses. Then, when this technique no longer worked, we migrated over to inbound links. When Google determined that this didn't work either, and Google got smarter, we made the shift to quality content and awesome user on-site experience (site usability via awesome design and content).

It is the role of a website's chief marketing officer to ensure that the content on the site, the overall message, and the user experience all guide the Rater to giving at least a neutral score, but at best, a positive score.

Googling any of the concepts discussed here will certainly result in contradictory opinions about how Google uses their Quality Raters. it is important to remind ourselves of the black box that is "the algorithm." Google is so huge that no one fully knows exactly how search rankings are produced in every scenario, and this is by design as well as by necessity. Google itself points to the algorithm and constantly references Machine Learning and AI.

This discussion wouldn't be complete without at least a reference to 

 and how it interprets and replies to the 15% of never before seen queries that Google receives daily. With Google busy indexing the world's information, that leaves a lot of room for interpretation of how to best help your site rank in those search results for your desired keywords and phrases.

First, figure out the questions that your audience will be asking and answer them (

Then, be sure to answer those questions in a way that is easy to use and understand (

Then, never quit learning, searching, and thinking about how to make your site better for your users (

How Google Quality Raters Affect Site Rankings

You may not have noticed it, but Google made a major change to the way it displays search results. Google recently removed all pay-per-click ads from the right side of it's search results pages. After more than ten years of Adwords pay-per-click results taking up both the top 1-3 spots and the entire right column being a long list of ads, this is a significant shift in how Google is going to provide "answers" to search queries.So why did Google remove a major source of revenue on the right column of its search results? The answer is almost certainly a result of testing and monetization. Google thinks it can provide a better user experience, and make more money, by using that space more wisely. But what is going to go there? To learn where Google is going, you have to be fully immersed in the world of all things Google. Luckily for you, that's pretty much all we do. :)

Over the past few months, the team at Ventura Web Design has noticed that there are many queries that bring up a special box called a Knowledge Panel on the right with relevant info about your search. While the knowledge box itself is not new, how it displays specific information about medical searches is very interesting. Look at the results for "hay fever":

You can now learn about symptoms and treatments directly on the search results page, without leaving Google. This content includes information from medical doctors about how common a condition is, whether it's critical or contagious, typically affected age group(s), and more. The knowledge box includes tabs for an Overview, Symptoms, and Treatments for that ailment. The information comes from a variety of sources, including the NIH, CDC, FDA, WHO, and more. Google has also partnered with organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, Apollo Hospitals, Lumiata, and VoxHealth. The source of the information in the past was quoted very prominently and the goal of Google was to help you go from Google Search Results to the website with the answer to your query. As you can see from the search result image above, that "goal" seems to have changed.

Even the knowledge box is styled and looks nothing like any other knowledge boxes. Google commissioned illustrations from licensed medical illustrators for use here. The colors and attention-grabbing layout differs greatly from what Google has provided in the past.

This is a major shift in Google's philosophy. This layout shows the direction Google is heading: to a more display driven layout, rather than its historically text only layout. Remember when Google's single goal was to get you OFF of their website and on to what you're seeking? Google is now answering a question without linking away. But more importantly, Google is now in the content creation business. This is a major historic shift for the search leader. Think about that for a moment. Google is using the power of all the data it has access to, that you no longer have access to via Google Analytics, to guide its own decision making on content creation.

From the Google perspective, this new direction improves the user experience by providing "quality" answers even faster than before. Google's stated mission is to answer the question you have, before you've even fully typed the question in to the search box (instant search (link:

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/186645?hl=en

The knowledge box is a function of Google's Knowledge Graph, which launched in May 2012. it's used both by Google itself to improve search relevancy and also to present the knowledge boxes that provide facts about people, places and things alongside regular results. Google reports it has over 3.5 billion facts, including information about 500 million entities, including movies, museums, bodies of water, music, astronomical objects, buildings, sports, medical ailments, and more. Similar to how Google uses a link graph to model how pages are interlinked to and which are relevant for searches, it uses the knowledge graph to determine relationships between entities and report facts about them. If you currently have a knowledge graph card and want that information to change, you need to request a change from Google. Here is the link for more information on changing knowledge graph cards. (link: 

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/6325583?hl=en

There is currently no mechanism to include yourself or your site as part of the Knowledge Graph. If you run a blog all about movies, there isn't a way to be listed as a suggested source for information. Tagging information on your landing pages with rich snippets can be helpful in the long run, though it's no guarantee of inclusion. This is where good SEO efforts can help. Your goal, as a website owner, is to have Google view your site as the leading authority of information on a particular topic. If Google determines that your topic is popular enough, it may create Knowledge Cards and include a link to your site or information in that card.

In an interview with Search Engine Land, the Google's Former Head of Search, Amit Singhal, noted that the facts come from publicly available sources like Wikipedia, the CIA World Factbook, and Google Books. They also license data from other sources. "Whenever we can get our hands on structured data, we add it," said Singhal. This is incredibly important to online store owners, as Google has said for years that structured data is important to being able to categorize product listings and display them in a relevant way. While knowledge boxes currently lack the ability to take action on most of their listings (you can learn about the Tower of London but there is no option to buy tickets to a tour), that functionality is coming. Amit recently left Google to pursue philanthropic efforts. (

http://searchengineland.com/amit-singhal-the-head-of-google-search-to-leave…

) To make room for the knowledge box on selected queries, Google removed the ads on the right column. While this will limit the amount of adspace available and possibly drive up the cost of adwords campaigns, the side and bottom ads never did amount for the majority of click volume. According to a study of January 2016 desktop paid clicks by position, only 14.6% were from the side and bottom, so the change is not decreasing revenue by any appreciable amount, only ad impressions. However, it does allow for more Google PLAs (Product Listing Ads) on the right column, which is a benefit for online stores that offer a product feed to Google Shopping. Also, if users grow to depend on Google being an authority rather than merely a portal, PLAs will be more trusted and therefore effective. Overall, this is a good move for Google, its users, and those that advertise on it.

Google Makes Major Shift on Search Results Pages

Having the trust of consumers is very important for online retailers. There are a number of different ways to build trust for your store. Becoming a Google Trusted Store and displaying the Trusted Stores badge on your site goes a long way towards building trust with your potential customers.

Being accepted in the Google Trusted Store program and displaying the badge on your site lets consumers know that their orders are protected by Google for up to $1000, and they know Google will help in resolving any issues they have with your store.

Google doesn’t just let any online retailer display the Trusted Store badge; There are several requirements you will need to meet to earn that badge:

Currently, the program is only available to US merchants

The site’s content and customer support must be in English

Merchants must process 600 orders on a 90-day rolling basis

The Merchant must maintain a minimum 4 star rating on Google Trusted Stores customer survey and seller ratings over a 90-day rolling basis

No more than 1 in 300 protected orders shall be escalated on a 90-day rolling basis

It shall take on average no more than 4 calendar days for a merchant to resolve any issues

If the annual payout of refunds paid by Google exceeds $5000 the client’s participation in the program may be suspended or terminated.

If you believe your store qualifies, head over to Google Trusted Stores to 

. Google will ask you several questions about your business. Once you answer all the questions you are ready to integrate the Google Trusted Store code into your site. Depending on the platform you use this could be relatively easy, both Yahoo! Stores and BigCommerce have built the code into their platforms, or may require more technical knowledge to integrate the code with your site.

Once the Trusted Store code is in place you need to test the code to make sure it is working correctly, Google gives you a special URL to test the code. If the code is working correctly, your store will enter the Trusted Stores qualification period. The qualification period can last anywhere from 30 – 90 days, depending on your order volume. During this time Google will monitor your store and the badge will not appear on your site. After the qualification Google will notify you whether your store passed and was accepted into the program. If it was the badge will automatically appear on the site.

Resources for Success

Learn Google

How to Enhance User Experience with Custom 404 Pages

How Google Quality Raters Affect Site Rankings

Google Makes Major Shift on Search Results Pages

How Can I Make My Store a Google Trusted Store

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