It’s likely not a stretch that you’ve seen a 404 error in your life. Maybe in the last week. This error is server code for “page not found” and usually happens when a link address has been changed, a URL had a typo, or any one of a hundred other reasons the address in the browser doesn’t match any content on your site.

But, just because the content doesn’t exist doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity.

Hello 404s
Like the nerd that I am, I spent 30 minutes one day opening an intentionally bad link on every resort page to see what I’d find. Actually, it was every US resort page. I sort of automated it, but was worn out by the time I hit the last of the American resorts.

First, I found a lot of this:

And by a lot, I’d say close to 100 resorts (out of 420-ish) had some sort of error page along that line.

But some resorts did better. Their 404 page was populated and typically took a useful route like:

And others went a bit further, injected a bit of humor, and turned a mistake into an slightly more fun experience.

But these were my favorites.

To Do List
The to-do list today is simple:

1. Go to “yourwebsite.com/adfkjlafd”
2. Decide if you like what you see
3. If you don’t, do something about it.

See you on Monday.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.