What is the Search 404 Module?

Instead of showing a standard "404 Page not found", this module performs a search on the keywords in the URL.

For instance, if a user visits http://example.com/does/not/exist, this module will do a search for "does not exist" and shows the result of the search instead of the 404 page.

It helps retain visitors coming in from old URLs linked from other sites or search indices. This improves the site's SEO by making sure old defunct URLs or typo errors do not detract visitors from getting to the content on the site relevant to their search.

The module allows the site admin to customize the message shown to the user after a 404 page.

It also includes search engine keyword detections as well as regular expression based term filtering from the URL.

One of the Top SEO Modules for Drupal 9

Search 404 is one of the top 10 SEO-related Drupal modules. It is included in the checklist provided by SEO Checklist to help in SEO. So go ahead and try this out on your Drupal site.

Features

  • Supports 404 Searches via Apache Solr Search Module if it is enabled
  • Supports searching via Google CSE, if the module is present
  • Supports Search by Page module as an option
  • Supports Lucene Search when available
  • Supports Lucene Did You Mean when available
  • Supports Xapian Search when available
  • Supports Fuzzy Search module as an option
  • Supports Search API using custom paths
  • Supports Custom Search using custom paths
  • Supports searching with views using custom paths
  • Support for redirection to a custom path with search keywords
  • Support for Custom Text and Title to be displayed in search404 pages
  • Option to choose between 301 and 302 redirects
  • Option to show side blocks when a 404 error occurs
  • Option to disable auto search for performance considerations and come up with the search form populated

Version Compatibility

Search 404 module version 2.1.0 is compatible with Drupal 10.x

Importance of Search 404 Module

This module redirects from defunct URLs( URLs that do not point to valid pages/content/menus) and avoids the standard error 404 ‘Page Not Found message and provide useful information to the site visitor, at the same time it returns the HTTP status 404 so that the search engine knows that the page does not exist.

Causes of Error 404

When websites are scaled or the content architecture is changed or say, when old content gets edited or deleted, there will be URLs to the site that do not point to valid pages/content/menus. Typically these URLs would result in an HTTP 404 error and ends up showing the default "404 Page not found" page in Drupal, which will give a frustrating experience for the visitor and make a bad impression on the website.

This SEO module searches for the keywords in the URL looking at all possible search results and thus improves the user experience of the Drupal website visitor.

The Search 404 module does not offer any search capability on its own. Instead, it uses the search capability already available on the Drupal website and shows the visitors relevant search result pages. It does not change the HTTP status from 404, so that search engines still identify invalid URLs.

Paid Support and Customization

You can reach out to the developers of this module for paid support or customizations - contact zyxware.

Sponsorship

This module is maintained by Zyxware Technologies. If you are interested in getting Drupal customization support or Drupal SEO support you can reach out to us.

Supporting organizations: 
Maintains the module

Project information

Releases