This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 1:37 pm and is filed under Mashable. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
|
|||
 |
|
There’s a mini-controversy brewing in the webmaster world today over a new feature in the latest beta of Google Toolbar. According to Seoker.com, when a user with the toolbar installed goes to a 404 page, they see a Google page with a pre-populated Google search box. Here’s what it looks like:
Matt Cutts of Google has responded to the post in the comments on Seoker, writing:
In other words, according to Cutts, the Google page will only show up if you’ve chosen not to customize your 404 page. However, there is some dispute over whether or not this is really the case, as some webmasters claim that their custom 404 pages are still re-directing to Google search. The issue is that most webmasters with any sort of traffic customize their 404 page with helpful links, and in some cases, their own Google custom site search where they can enjoy a revenue share if it leads to AdWords clicks. On one hand, Google’s argument is that they’re providing a useful service versus a generic “page not found” message. On the other, they are driving people away from the webmasters’ site and making money on their traffic. Meanwhile, it should also be noted that attempting to monetize 404 pages is nothing new; domain registrar Network Solutions tried it (to much public outcry), while as Zoli’s blog points out, it’s basically the business model of OpenDNS. So, let’s put the issue up for debate:
Is Google in the wrong for “hijacking” 404 pages?
Popularity: 5% [?] |
