When you click a referral link on a website, you expect to land on your desired page. What happens when the page is unavailable? You get a lovely Error 404. If you are a regular internet user, Error 404 is a common occurrence for many users. In most cases, there is a glitch in your internet connection. 

Most sites will at one time get this error. Once, a site visitor bounces off an unavailable page, they will probably never come back. If you are careful, they can make your conversion rates suffer. Or throw your brand reputation under a bus.

As human beings (and netizens), we want information asap. Nothing screams bad customer services better than a wasted click. And we don’t want that for your site. Some of the common causes of the 404 error on your page include: 

• A faulty character in your site link 
• Deletion of old web pages 
• Not using a 301 redirect 
• Moving your content to another page 

The popular 404 error can happen in many ways. Luckily, you can monetize out of an error page. It might sound strange but it is heavily practiced by SEO experts. For starters, we have listed some points through which you can increase your conversion rates.

Make A Search Box 

A search bar is a common addition to different sites. It lets users pin down on the specific products they want. Fortunately for online shoppers, it reduces user effort by tenfold. Hence, a good trick to make users stay on your site despite a 404 error is to present them with more options.

Generally, a page unavailable can make a user believe they are lost when they see a search bar. This is also a good strategy in helping them explore your website to their heart’s content. 

Besides, once your users start utilizing the search bar, you can get tons of information on frequent searches, which is a great way to stay connected to your audience.

Convert it into a Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is a bloodline to your online shop. Most people can land on your site from catchy social media posts or an enticing blog post. But as far as online conversions go, you need more than to truly convince a smartphone user.

In all honesty, one way or the other you will have to introduce your audience with a lead magnet. And what could be a better opportunity than an unavailable page? Once they land an error page, you need to give them something irresistible to be a convert. 

It could be something as little as a catchy image, a discount coupon, or some secret tips. Making them feel like that landing on the Error 404 page was the best thing that could happen to their shopping experience on your site. 

Once you do that, you can successfully turn an error page into your most powerful sales page.

Direct Users to other pages 

Similarly, another trick to divert or distract them from a disappoint error page is to redirect them to a land of wonderland. Navigate them to your popular products and boom, you have someone who is really interested in buying now.

Aside from that, we have easier ways in 2020 to convert your error page to a homepage within seconds. Once the user lands on the error page, the page can reload to take you away to your homepage, etc. 

Finally 

Now that you know how an error page can be an opportunist’s best friend let’s get started with getting maximum conversion rates. At any rate, you can’t let a broken link kill your conversion rates. 

One of the biggest mistakes digital marketers make is to let their audience slip right through the creeks. Hence, giving an edge to its competitors. As a digital marketing agency, we make sure that creative problem solving is our strength when forming a marketing strategy.