What to do with not found URL's ?

[nicknick]

I have a stack of not found urls from changes ive made to my one site ?

What is the best advice to do with those urls ?

Redirects ?
robots.txt ?

cheers

[sandyk20]

send a proper 404 page like this

=webmasterworld.com/webmaster/sdfsdf3722752.htm=

[Marshall]

If the pages have been moved/renamed, a 301 redirect is best. It will let SE's know the page, as it was, is no longer called what it was.

If the page has been deleted, a custom 404 error page is best. I usually put some text on it stating to the effect "Due to our redesign, the page or directory you are looking for has been moved, renamed or no longer exists. Please use the links below to continue your visit. You patience and understanding is greatly appreciated. Thank you, The Web Site's Name"

Then I basically put a human site map below the text. I find it works like a charm.

Marshall

[sandyk20]

Then I basically put a human site map below the text.

What does this means Marshall ?

[Marshall]

Then I basically put a human site map below the text.

Not an xml site map but one which is really nothing more than your regular navigation in plain text:

Home
Section 1
Section 1a
Section 1b
Section 1c
Section 2
Section 2a
Section 2b
Section 3
Section 4
Section 4a
and so on...

Marshall

[nicknick]

Thats a clever idea thanks

[sandyk20]

Thanks Marshall, but I have also read that, adding links to internal pages from a 404 page devalues those human links ?

[stapel]

sandyk20 said: I have also read that, adding links to internal pages from a 404 page devalues those human links

Users appreciate seeing an intelligible page (rather than the generic Apache error-message page), and having links to major sections of one's site allow the user to quickly get back on track. And the existence of such a custom-designed page would appear to show care, not spamminess. It would seem to be a fairly stupid search-company that "penalized" a site that sensibly assisted its users.

If I may venture to suggest: For those who have some sort of "search" utility on your site, it might be helpful to include the "search" box on your 404 page.

Eliz.