Microsoft Wants To Replace “404″ Error With Live Search Results

Jun 3, 2008 at 12:41pm ET by Greg Sterling

Microsoft has said that between “2 and 10 percent” of site searches lead to a 404 error page. The company thus decided to create what it’s calling the “Web Page Error Toolkit.” It’s a web application that uses either Live Search (or another engine of the site owner’s choice) to provide a custom error page with alternative search results relevant to the subject of the user’s query.

Here’s the way the new error page would look:

It appears much less like an error page and more like a search results page — a much better user experience. It’s also a way for users to become indirectly exposed to Live Search (should publishers choose that engine).

Though there’s no monetization on this page, that’s certainly, hypothetically possible in the future.

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, and writes a personal blog Screenwerk, examining the broader world of media and advertising. He also posts at a Local Mobile Search, which is focused on the mobile Internet.

See more articles by Greg Sterling >

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