Out-of-stock product: 404, 410, redirect, or keep it live?

Out-of-stock product: 404, 410, redirect, or keep it live?

'Q: A product is permanently discontinued. Do I 404 it, 301 it, or leave the page up?'

Short answer: Keep it live if it has links/rankings and you'll restock; 301 to the closest match if gone forever; 410 only if there's truly no replacement.

The longer version: Each tool has a cost. Keeping the page live preserves rankings and link equity but needs an honest 'out of stock, notify me' state plus related products. A 301 to a similar product passes most equity but annoys users if the match is loose. A 410 ('gone') tells Google to drop it fast — clean, but you forfeit every backlink and ranking that page earned.

Example: discontinued running shoe with 30 backlinks? 301 to the successor model. Seasonal item back next year? Keep it live with a restock signal. One-off clearance junk with zero links? 410.

Rule of thumb: Has equity → preserve it (live or 301). Has nothing and never returns → 410.

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