I've blogged about 404 pages before - they are something of a hidden optimisation opportunity for most websites. You see a 404 page when you mistype a URL or follow a link to a page which no longer exists. And normally they represent a frustrating dead end - a page that simply points out that the content you are looking for no longer exists.
Google has now created a simple widget you can use to create an enhanced 404 page which delivers a search box and suggests potential links within your site if they exist in Google's index. For instance, on this blog, if you accidentally type http://indolent.com/socail networks/ into the browser, Google's widget corrects the spelling mistake and makes a good guess at a potential page.
All in all, it's a quick and easy way to keep valuable traffic spinning around in your website.
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