OK, A Question about 404 Traffic............

[seeric]

WHY DOES IT EVEN EXIST?

hypothetically, even the dingiest of us on this site know that surfers are niche based in the brain. i propose this question to the veterans and intelligents here.

if 404 traffic is an error, why would you not want to fix the leaks in your network? 404 traffic is a mistake and not something the surfer was even looking for anyhow. i don't see, from a psychological standpoint of the surfer how selling your own mistakes off to someone else makes sense. wouldn't a few things happen when you do this:

1) if i was a surfer and i clicked a link for "big breasted blondes pic" and i got a page that had another companies upsell, or whatever,...... anything but that big breasted blondes pic, i'd close it in a minute and probably leave the site where i was 404'd from. doesn't this develop a lack of credibility in your surfers mind about your site and the integrity of the links on it? and, wouldn't this negatively affect the surfers decision to return to your site if they saw a link for it in the future?

2) since we all know that this whole internet game is a numbers game, purely mathematics, i don't see how in the long run, selling 404 traffic for a ridiculously low dollar amount like 20$ for 30,000 404's, can positively affect your business. wouldn't the revenue generated from fixing the errors and building a positive mindset in the surfer ultimately make you more money by instilling confidence in the surfer about the infrastructure of your site?

or, is this just a way for struggling webmasters to make some kind of money by generating their own 404s on purpose? discuss please, cuz i'm not getting it.

this is one thing that i have always wondered about even since the good old days.

discuss please.

no trolls. real webmasters only.

[cool1g]

well there is difference b/w 404 traffic for broken links or pictures versus someone snooping around different directories....if someone is lurking around my site for stuff....i'm not sure they would buy anything anyway - might as well monetize it. but if the 404 problem is an issue with my site, of course i want the surfer to stay there.

[seeric]

Originally Posted by cool1g

well there is difference b/w 404 traffic for broken links or pictures versus someone snooping around different directories....if someone is lurking around my site for stuff....i'm not sure they would buy anything anyway - might as well monetize it. but if the 404 problem is an issue with my site, of course i want the surfer to stay there.

cool. yes, i am sure that there are many many situations out there. thats what im hoping to gain out of this. theres a lot fo smart people here. i know there are many many reasons that it exists, i am curious as to all the different scenarios and mindsets on it. thanks, good reply. i appreciate it that you didnt say i hit it on the first post. LOL.

[Sly]

Surfers type things in snooping around. They're curious creatures. We don't want them to be looking around. We want them to go where we tell them to go.

[Theo]

Convert 1:180 with your 404

read here how
http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showthread.php?t=427213

[seeric]

Originally Posted by Soul_Rebel

Convert 1:180 with your 404

read here how
http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showthread.php?t=427213

[seeric]

Originally Posted by Sly

Surfers type things in snooping around. They're curious creatures. We don't want them to be looking around. We want them to go where we tell them to go.

how about stuf other than surfers snooping?

thanks btw.