404 Error Page Profits

No matter how hard you try to prevent it, you’ll have prospects land on your 404 error page sooner or later. When they do, they have a choice – to find what they were looking for or give up. Care to guess what happens more often? They leave in frustration.

So instead of the usual “Whoops! We’re sorry, but what you’re looking for has moved” page, consider customizing your error pages to get these people to do something.

For example, you could allow them to opt into your list with an offer different from your landing page. This can be highly effective. For example…

“Congrats! You just found our secret page where we give away ___. Just tell us where to send it, and it’s yours.”

Or you might make them an offer they can’t refuse, such as a great deal on one of your most popular products or a combination offer for a super low price. Like this…

“Oops! You just landed on our error page, but we will make it up to you. Here’s $xx. xx off of our super hot selling ___.”

For one reason or another, if you have your website online long enough, you will start getting a stream of people who land on a page that does not exist, leading them to a 404 error. Plan for this hidden opportunity; you can turn some strayed visitors into subscribers and customers.