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.

Related Topics: Microsoft: Bing

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling