Using 404 Pages to Increase Sales

[mandy]

What to Include in a 404 Page

So now that you know what you shouldn’t do with a 404 page, we can discuss what you should. There are lots of options and many will depend on your business’s goals, function and target market. Try mixing and matching the following:

• Language & Message
  

Anticipate prospects’ desire for an explanation from you. Yes, the fault may be their own, but they’ll still think it’s yours. A simple, plain-language apology and reason why they’ve arrived at the page will do. Keep the tone friendly and inviting- even humorous or interesting. Doing this can reestablish the connection between your prospect and your website that was temporarily lost.

• Products
  

Have a popular product? Provide a link to it to help conversions. Find out what other products you should link by consulting Google Analytics. Try linking to top-level categories if you sell many different products and can’t narrow it down to just one...

full article: http://www.invesp.com/blog/sales-marketi...sales.html