Have you ever clicked a link that took you to a big “404 Page Not Found” or “Error 404” page?

Isn’t that annoying?

What the error means is exactly what it sounds like — the page is no longer there. Maybe because a link changed. Or, the page was deleted because the site owner thought it was “thin content” and wanted to get rid of it.

Whatever the reason, landing on a 404 page is a bad user experience. After all, why hang out on a site when the first page screams, “Nope, what you’re looking for isn’t here”?

If you’re like me, you immediately hit the “back” button when you see them.

But here’s the thing…

If your site has been around for a while, you probably have your own broken links and deleted pages. After all, 404 errors are extremely common.

They’re like pimples — everyone has them from time to time, and nobody likes them. 

The important thing is how you handle them.

The solution? Get creative!

Instead of relying on an ugly, “hey, this content doesn’t exist anymore” page, why not create a custom 404 page that helps your readers?

For instance, here’s mine. (Sorry for the earworm — this song will be stuck in your head all day.)

Not only does my 404 page make me smile, it also leads readers to my blog and two of my most popular pages. That way, readers have something to click other than the back button.

Want other examples?

The Pixar 404 page doesn’t have any links, but it’s pretty darn cute.

Airbnb’s page is equally engaging, plus there are helpful links to other pages.

E-commerce retailer ModCloth’s 404 page may not be as cute, but it does have helpful product category and “contact us” links. 

You see? Custom 404 pages are like magical concealer for your website pimples. The page may not exist anymore, but the reader doesn’t necessarily notice or care.

(And yes, if you freelance, you can suggest custom 404 pages to your clients and offer to create the concept and to write the content.)

Pretty cool, eh?

What do you think?

Are you ready to create your own custom 404 page? Do you wish I didn’t stick that earworm in your brain? (Again, sorry!) Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Have you heard that publishing more often makes the Google gods smile upon your site and bless your content with top rankings? 

You’re not alone.

Many companies require their writers to post multiple time a week — sometimes even multiple times a day — because they believe it helps with search rankings. Their reasoning isn’t driven by what their readers want. Instead, it’s all about what they think Google needs to see.

Unfortunately, this can have an unintended side effect. 

I’ve chatted with many writers — and worked with many companies — who saw the quality of their content decrease after their publication schedules ramped up. There was less of a focus on creating authoritative content, and more focus on, well, more.   

The writers were writing as fast as they could, trying to keep up with “Google’s demands.”

Were the writers (and powers-that-be) comfortable with the approach? No. They knew the content wasn’t the best, and often felt embarrassed about the quality.

They just thought that publishing more often was the “magic bullet” that got Google’s attention.

Fortunately, they were wrong.

Here’s what Google says about publication frequency… 

In March 2018, Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz reported on a Twitter interaction between Google’s John Mueller and another Twitter user.

Here’s what went down.

The Twitter user asked:

“Do Google’s algorithms take into account the frequency/volume/schedule of publishing new content for a site? Say a site publishes 5 new URLs daily, but then begins to publish 2-3 instead. Does that make Google looks differently at the site?”

Good question. After all, it seems like a sudden drop in a publication schedule could be a negative signal to Google. It’s not like a print publication can suddenly change its publication schedule. Is a website any different?

Here’s what John Mueller said in response:

“Nope. A site isn’t a machine that pumps out content at a fixed rate. Well, it shouldn’t be :-).”

This means Google doesn’t care about your publication frequency. (Woohoo!)

And, your focus should be on quality — not on content quantity.

So, what does that mean to your content strategy?

If your company publishes a lot of content, and you feel the quality is slipping, it’s time to take a hard look at your analytics.

Check your bounce rates, your time on site and time on page statistics. Are people interacting with your content? Or taking off after a few seconds? Is it getting traction on social? Or is it falling flat?

You may find that you get better traction (and better positions, and more social shares) from publishing bigger, meatier content assets than from writing multiple, low-quality posts.

(Isn’t that why we create content in the first place — so people actually read and enjoy it?)

What’s more, you can easily repurpose a strong content asset. A large guide can be repurposed into multiple blog posts. You can use quotes and statistics for Instagram and Twitter. You can create PowerPoints that dovetail with parts of the main content asset.

Why not do it right the first time — and save yourself loads of time?

 What do you think?

Does reading, “Google doesn’t care about your publication frequency” make you breathe a sigh of relief? Or is your company (or your client’s company) stuck in the MORE CONTENT mentality?  Let me know in the comments!

Imagine this…

You’re checking positions for a page you wrote, and you see something that stops you in your tracks…

Another site has taken your content and has claimed it as their own. There’s no link, no byline, nothing. They copied your page and pasted it into their site.

What’s worse, the page is positioning for the keyphrases you targeted.

AHHHHHH!

Unfortunately, content theft happens all the time — even to smaller sites.

Sometimes, it’s because the offender is totally clueless and thinks it’s OK to post your content on their site.

Sometimes, it’s because the site owner paid for “original” content and an unscrupulous writer copied your post and sold it as their own.

Sometimes, it’s because someone wants to steal your content (and traffic) because they are too lazy to do things the right way. I had a large SEO agency do this to me.

And sometimes (fortunately, not as often,) someone is doing it to target your site specifically and to hurt your rankings.

Fortunately, you DO have recourse — and there are things you can do.

Here’s how to handle content theft (ugh)…

Best case scenario, all it takes is an email to the site owner that says, “The article originally appeared on my site. You need to take it down.” 

The site owner may email you back and beg for forgiveness. Or, you may not hear a peep out of them — but the post magically disappears. 

When the above SEO company swiped my article, it took a couple emails to the CEO to set things right again. But, I got it taken down. (Oddly, the CEO kept insisting he wrote the article, and he only took it down after “agreeing to disagree.” That still irks me to this day.)

So, what happens if your “hey, take it down” email goes into a deep, dark hole and nobody responds? 

Fortunately, you have the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) on your side. This means you can do two things:

You can file a signed DMCA notice with the offending site’s web host. This site helps you track down the host and has an easy-to-use DMCA notice generator. Some hosts may require you to mail this information, while others have an online form.

You can go straight to Google and file a complaint. Google is typically very responsive and will sometimes respond to DMCA notices the same day (at least, that’s what happened when I’ve had to do it.)

Here’s what the form looks like — and you have the option of choosing, “I have found content that may violate my content” on another page:

If you’re short on time, there are also companies that will handle this for you. You can Google [DMCA takedown companies] for a list. 

Know this process can be extremely time-consuming. It takes a long time to research URLs, to make a list of offending pages, and to submit notices.

Plus, the process is like playing wack-a-mole. You may “beat” one content thief, just to have another pop up in its place.

That’s why some people choose not to bother with it unless the stolen content is out-positioning theirs. 

Sigh.

The good news is, it’s extremely fun to see stolen content disappear from Google’s search index. And oh-so-satisfying when it’s gone.

What about you?

Have you had someone steal your content? What did you do? Is it still there? Hit “reply” and let me know!

Every once in awhile, someone will call me with this great, “guaranteed not to fail” idea.

The conversation goes something like this.

“Why don’t we build out another site, write a whole bunch of new, optimized content and target the same keyphrases. That way, BOTH sites can position in Google, and we can dominate the search listings. Cool idea, eh?”

Unfortunately, I tend to be the cold, dreary rain on their SEO parade.

This strategy can be a cool idea — for the right reasons.

But, if you’re doing this purely for SEO, splitting your site will be a major hassle for little return.

Here’s why…

Twice the sites can mean triple the efforts

Think about your current site (or your clients’ sites.) How much content do you produce a month? How are you promoting it on social media? How long does everything take — and how much does it cost?

Building a brand-new site just for Google means tripling your efforts, costs and output. It means a new wireframe, a new design, and new technology to manage.

Plus, it takes a long time for new sites to position, even if there’s a solid content strategy in place. Assuming the site does position.

Many times, the ROI never pencils out.

What does Google say?

The SEM Post reported how Google’s John Mueller had this to say during a Twitter chat:

“If you split a site into two sites, each site will have to rank on its own. That can result in the 2 sites not being as visible in search (or as much traffic) as the single old site (eg, very simplified: 2x page 2 probably gets fewer visits than 1x page 1).”

So, if you’re splitting out your existing site — or creating a new site “just for Google,” you may be creating more trouble than it’s worth.

You have been warned. :)

But (because there’s always a but…)

Some companies create multiple sites because it makes sense for their customers. For instance, a company may have separate sites for B2B and B2C customers.

Or, a company may offer a new service/product that’s completely unrelated to their main target audience — so, a new site makes sense. For instance, my coaching site will be a brand-new site. It won’t have anything to do with SEO writing.

Or, a company may have another, technical reason. My SEO Content Institute site is where my products (and training back-end) live. It used to be all under my SEO Copywriting domain, but selling products AND services AND the training/technical back-end caused things to be confusing. And break. A lot.

As you may have noticed, I am the queen of multiple sites — but, I do it because it makes business sense. Not for Google.

And yes, it’s a pain to manage multiple sites. :)

What do you think?

When I first talked about multiple sites in my newsletter, many subscribers emailed me saying, “Yes, our company has multiple sites, and its a nightmare.” Sometimes, the multiple site strategy was for SEO. Sometimes, the powers-that-be thought it was a “good idea” to build something new.

In almost all cases, unless there was a compelling business purpose, the ROI wasn’t there.

But, what do YOU think? What do you see? Leave a comment below and let me know what’s on your mind. I’d love to get your take.