Whenever a user lands on your site using an URL that doesn't actually exist on your site, they are directed to a 404 NOT FOUND page. This may happen when they misspell the URL, follow an outdated link, or an outdated search engine result.

At its simplest, the page says just that - 404 NOT FOUND

That's not very helpful, is it. They'll just hit the "back" button and move on to the next website, thinking your site stinks.

The solution: Make a custom error page. A custom 404 Not Found page can display useful content, a helpful message, or a search feature.

Find out what your content management systems uses for the 404 Not Found Error Page. In wordpress, it's 404.php, and you can edit it using the Theme Editor. Just find the 404 template. You can also find it in the root directory of your WordPress blog. If you are using a custom theme, you can find it in the theme editor or theme folder (in my case, it's in the folder /public_html/innerblogger/themes/adsminded/).

Edit the template or open the 404.php file for editing in a text editor. Add a polite message saying that you're sorry, and it was probably the webmaster's, not the user's fault. Add a link to your home page, prominently! You can also give some advice on how to navigate your site. It's good practice to remove the headers, footers and sidebars and all other distractions.

Don't display any Google ads or sitesearch on the error page unless you add real original content on it.

There, you've given your users one more reason to be happy with your site