10 replies to this topic

[Jill]

I just noticed in my Google Webmaster Tools account that they have a custom 404-page Widget you can add to your custom 404 page which will supposedly add useful content to it.

The 404 widget automatically provides users with helpful suggestions instead of error messages.

* It adds a search box for your site with appropriate search suggestions.
* It tries to provide alternatives to incorrect URLs.

This makes it easier for users to find the information they need (and makes it less likely that they'll leave your site to look elsewhere.)

The code looks like this:

CODE

<script type="text/javascript">
  var GOOG_FIXURL_LANG = 'en';
  var GOOG_FIXURL_SITE = 'http://www.example.com/';
</script>
<script type="text/javascript"
    src="http://linkhelp.clients.google.com/tbproxy/lh/wm/fixurl.js"></script>

I'm curious if anyone has used this and if so, they wouldn't mind showing us an example of it working?

Thanks!

[1dmf]

here you go Jill , just added it to our IIS server for you to play with...

http://www.homeloanp....com/sdfsd.html

It basically adds a seach box to search your site by the looks of things.

[madams]

Broken link 1dmf

[Jill]

it's suppsoed to be a broken link madams!

Thanks, 1dmf!

[madams]

Why?


OH YEH! I get it now.

[1dmf]

madams what planet are you on!

Jill -> You're Welcome!

[Ron Carnell]

* It tries to provide alternatives to incorrect URLs.

I would be impressed if it did this with any degree of accuracy. Maybe I was being too subtle, but I couldn't get the widget to offer me any alternatives at all.

For example, I tried http://www.homeloanpartnership.com/network.htm, which doesn't exist, in hope it would suggest http://www.homeloanpartnership.com/network.asp, which does exist. No luck. I also tried http://www.homeloanpartnership.com/faqs.asp, but it didn't suggest the faq.asp page as I'd hoped it would. At that point, I gave up.

Basically, it's just a Google search box. And it's not even greatly helpful for that on a 404. Do a site search for faqs, as it suggests, and nothing is found.

Thanks for the chance to test this, 1dmf.

I tried something similar to this almost ten years ago, with limited success. For example, try these links:

http://www.netpoets....ere/0001042.htm

http://www.netpoets..../nothereanymore

http://www.netpoets.com/life2

These are all bogus links that return a valid 404 status, but in each case, the script has tried to figure out what the visitor wanted. In the first instance, the key is the page name; you can put in any path you want and so long as it terminates at 0001042.htm you'll be directed to the right location. In the second and third instances above, the key element is the folder. One is a repository for temporary pages that come and go and the other is an obsolete folder that is no longer used.

I think what Google's widget is claiming to do would be a really neat thing to have. I've always wanted to go back and try to increase the intelligence of my little script, but the law of diminishing returns kicks in pretty quickly. What I've done is pretty easy. Going farther gets much, much tougher. A lot of functionality could still be added.

I would love to have seen Google solve this problem for me. Unfortunately, it looks like they hit the same wall I did.

[Jill]

Yeah, I agree, Ron. I assumed it would do more as well. Maybe it just needs time to gather more info?

[1dmf]

Maybe it just needs time to gather more info?

now you're worrying me Jill, what info do you beleive it is collecting?

[Jill]

I don't know. I was thinking maybe it just needed to learn more about the wrong URLs people may get to at your site and where they end up, and perhaps they would have more suggestions later because of it?

[Randy]

Well, what you might expect it could do at a minimum is take the path and filename info and construct that into a site: type of search for words it recognized. At least for pages that didn't exist before. They could still compare the search term to other pages they have indexed.

Dunno, I think they're going to have trouble getting anyone to sign up for that one until it has better functionality.