Title: Simple 404 Keyword Insertion Author: George Stephanis Published: December 8, 2011 Last modified: June 15, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://s.w.org/plugins/geopattern-icon/simple-404-keyword-insertion.svg) # Simple 404 Keyword Insertion By [George Stephanis](https://profiles.wordpress.org/georgestephanis/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/simple-404-keyword-insertion.1.0.1.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-404-keyword-insertion/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-404-keyword-insertion/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-404-keyword-insertion/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-404-keyword-insertion/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-404-keyword-insertion/) ## Description Simple 404 Keyword Insertion creates a page called “404-page” on activation. When a visitor hits a 404, the plugin serves that page with a `[404-keywords]` shortcode replaced by the sanitized keywords from the request URI. This helps create SEO-friendly 404 pages that reflect the content the visitor was looking for. ## Installation 1. Upload the plugin to `/wp-content/plugins/`. 2. Activate it through the Plugins menu. 3. The plugin will automatically create a page with the slug `404-page`. Edit it to add your preferred 404 message, using the `[404-keywords]` shortcode wherever you want the request keywords to appear. ## FAQ ### Why does my 404 page return a 200 OK status instead of 404? This is intentional. To serve the keyword-aware page so search engines can index it, the plugin sends a `200 OK` (“soft 404”) rather than a true `404` response. This is the plugin’s core behavior. Note that search engines generally discourage soft 404s for genuinely missing content, so enable this deliberately on sites where keyword-aware landing pages are worth more than strict 404 signaling. ### How do I customize the 404 content? Edit the **404-page** Page that the plugin creates on activation, like any other Page. Place the `[404-keywords]` shortcode wherever you want the keywords from the failed request URL to appear. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Simple 404 Keyword Insertion” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ George Stephanis ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/georgestephanis/) [Translate “Simple 404 Keyword Insertion” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/simple-404-keyword-insertion) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-404-keyword-insertion/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/simple-404-keyword-insertion/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/simple-404-keyword-insertion/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/simple-404-keyword-insertion/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 1.0.1 * Security, escaping, and code quality fixes. #### 1.0 * Initial release. ## Meta * Version **1.0.1** * Last updated **1 month ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 3.0 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0.2** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Tags * [404](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/404/)[keywords](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/keywords/) [search](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/search/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-404-keyword-insertion/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-404-keyword-insertion/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-404-keyword-insertion/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ George Stephanis ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/georgestephanis/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-404-keyword-insertion/)