Comments on: Ecommerce 404 Page Test

By: Mitch Tarr

Mitch Tarr — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:28:40 +0000

I really like that the tracking on this test made it all the way through to the measuring orders. Often, measuring a lift in opens or clicks is the end of it.

By: C vos man

C vos man — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:36:54 +0000

Very creative method for increasing conversions.

If I saw this landing page on one of my favorite sites I would feel like they cared about me by showing me a pleasing image instead of making me hunt through hundreds of links.

By: Personalized Ribbon girl

Personalized Ribbon girl — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:48:22 +0000

I think the link page just confuses the person. Whereas the picture page makes them think they are still on the site and not a cheap looking link page for click through s.
Make a simple 404 and they will come! Or stay……

By: Nathaniel Stott

Nathaniel Stott — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:01:08 +0000

Hi Anne,

This is a great little test.

I believe here it is a question of emotion too when considering the wording used on the different test pages. The site does appear to have taken that into account when using “!Oops, wrong track” (test: “!Oops, product not found”) and “We’re Sorry…” on the two types of error pages as discussed above.

Analysing the pages using attention heatmaps also shows how an image draws focus to the main message. In a recent blog post you can see what I mean:
http://www.stott.nl/2010/03/404-error-and-spend-more.html

Thanks for the continued insights your site gives.

By: Andy Beard

Andy Beard — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:01:27 +0000

Was the conversion better than just fixing the 404s and sending the visitors to an appropraite landing page with exactly what was initially promised by whichever link they clicked?
Plus those are free links thus potentially more long-term traffic

By: Yaj R

Yaj R — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:51:55 +0000

We should have an actual comparison as to what it was on those pages that caused the added conversion, or if it caused it at all.

But, if I were a consumer of the product, I would have loved page B simply because it reminded me of what I wanted. I know I want buy mountain equipment, but picture B placed that image in my mind and evoked the excitement in doing what I loved. It showed me what I was going to gain out of visiting this website, not just a bunch of words.

Or maybe I’m a simpleton. Pictures always do it for me

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:51:18 +0000

@Robin, they’re probably using programming logic to manipulate their sitemap, I see the page just fine… but it looks like they are still testing. I saw a different variation: http://www.mec.ca/Sitemap/404_page.jsp

By: Robin

Robin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:07:58 +0000

I wonder why the old 404-page is still on line? Or are they still testing?
http://www.mec.ca/Sitemap/sitemap.jsp?type=404

By: Jessie Provost

Jessie Provost — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:50:39 +0000

My choice between version a and b wasn’t based on the image itself, so I don’t if branding is what helped sales. I chose version b because it did a better job of explaining the situation to the customer (3 reasons as opposed to 1) and it very clearly directed the customer how to solve the problem in a variety of ways. With the site map, I would have been frustrated, feeling that I need to hunt down a page that I might not even be able to find in the site map’s contents. The nice thing about the image in my mind was it put the focus on the text directions, thereby making the solution seem simpler and with less work on my part. Even though it is a beautiful shot, I would be interested if the company could get the same drastic improvements with a different photo or even a generic image.

By: Elizabeth Ball

Elizabeth Ball — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:25:13 +0000

Wow – who would have thought there was a branding opportunity in the much-unloved 404 pages, which of “course” none of us ever strive to have!