Google recently added a tool to Webmaster Tools that shows links directed at 404 pages on your website.

Running the tool will generate a report that lists the links pointing to 404 pages. Useful, since (among other things) links to 404 pages don’t pass any ‘authority’ from a search engine optimization (SEO) point of view.

Armed with your report you will be able to contact the sites linking to those 404 pages and ask them to redirect or change those links. Alternatively, you can use 301 redirects to effectively pass the link authority over to one of the ‘real’ pages on your site.

Source: Frank Watson, “Google’s New Tools for Site Link Strengthening”, Search Engine Watch, Oct 17, 2008

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