While surfing the net many times you might have got a 404 or not found error. They occur when the Http response code is able to connect to the server but unable to find the page or the information requested. With the increase in the number of people using the Internet for finding information needed such 404 errors are very displeasing and often hinder the site SEO. UK SEO Company finds that the visitors as well as the webmasters find these errors annoying.

Just imagine how much you hate when you find a 404 page while searching something important on the internet. SEO consultant is always concerned about how to deal with the 404 errors? Should they be 301 redirected or left as they are? Or should a customized page guiding the visitor to go to some other relevant page be made?

The answer to these depend on an analyses of the important links received to the page from outside sources, the number of people visiting the page, and lastly if the page has an important link the visitor might wish to go through. If you think that yes the page has good traffic and external links and that it has important link for the visitors then you can 301redirect it.
 
For the users they find it even more irritating when the page is 301 redirected. 301s are more confusing than 404. 404 straight away declares the non availability of the information needed however 301 might misguide the user. They displease visitors more as when they are actually searching for something else and after going through the baffled situation are presented with the home page. The best option here for both webmasters and customers can be to have customized 404 pages. This tough will not affect the SEO but will make it more users friendly. The merrier the user the better will be the chances of repeat traffic.