Multiple links to dead pages

[driansmith]

I have just taken over a client and have been shocked to see a lot of wasted 'link juice' from hundreds of websites linking to old/dead pages within my client's domain.

My question is - what is the best method to re-capture that juice given that it is impractical to change the links at source.

Thanks.

[driansmith]

Having looked into this further, does the following code deliver?

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ErrorDocument 404 http://www.mydomain.com/

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I am unsure, given your comment - "You must explicitly code 301 in your redirect or it is 302 by default and 302 redirects won't pass link juice like 301's will."

Regards

[driansmith]

Many thanks guys.

[irvingw]

correct, you 301 redirect the dead 404 pages to the most relevant related page, if there is no similar type page then redirect it to the home page. You can do that in your .htaccess file. You must explicitly code 301 in your redirect or it is 302 by default and 302 redirects won't pass link juice like 301's will.

Here's how to do it:

http://www.isitebuild.com/301-redirect.htm

[RyanKent]

Malachi's answer is perfect. Those are the only two options if the source link cannot be changed.

[malachiii]

either 301 redirect the link to new relevant content or update the dead links with proper URL's and quality content.  301 May be the must efficient if you're going to create new fresh content.