Google is hijacking 404 error pages 14 Feb 2008

SEOker reports that Google is hijacking 404 error pages:

"This morning I installed the Google Toolbar beta version on one of my computers and my oh my - there is something that can have huge impact to many webmasters. Google grabs the 404 error code returned to the web browser in certain situations and instead of displaying the 404 error page of the website you are on, it creates a custom 404 error page - made by Google."

So what? Well, Google's 404 page includes a Google search box that will almost certainly drive users away from your website!

This isn't just a rumour by the way, Google's own Matt Cutts confirmed the story yesterday. Unsurprisingly Cutts feels that hijacking 404s is a helpful measure since it only takes place where a website's 404 page is under 512 bytes. And as pages that come in under this size limit are likely to be the server's default 404 page - a page that typically provides a confusing HTTP error code, a brief-but-jargon-filled message and absolutely no advice as to how the user should proceed thereafter - hijacking them does actually provide a useful service to users. The question, however, is this: Is determining what users see when visiting your website Google's decision to make?

We can see both sides of the argument...What do you think?