Deleted Products

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I am working for an ecommerce sites where products sometimes go out of stock for a while - may even be a year or two. When they go out of stock, we remove the page from the site but keep the page up so that we don't lose the ranking for when the item comes back in stock. If the page is not attached to the site anymore will it eventually get de-indexed or as long as it is indexed and exists, it will remain?

Thanks.
#search engine optimization #deleted #products
  • Google will probably keep the pages indexed, but orphaned pages probably lose their rankings. Unless the majority of links are external which is usually not the case. In my opinion it's a good idea to keep the pages up if you're still selling the products, but I would not keep out-of-stock products for years.
  • Hi leowald,

    I would do a few things. I would show related products on the page of the sold out product. I would add a little Sold Out banner at the top right hand corner of the image of the product. And I would continue to show it on the page where people can see all of the products in that category. The words Sold Out or Out of Stock often create a sense of urgency and popularity.

    If you never plan on carrying it again, I would 301 redirect that page back to the category page.

    Best,
    Matt
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    Deleted Products

    I am working for an ecommerce sites where products sometimes go out of stock for a while - may even be a year or two. When they go out of stock, we remove the page from the site but keep the page up so that we don't lose the ranking for when the item comes back in stock. If the page is not attached to the site anymore will it eventually get de-indexed or as long as it is indexed and exists, it will remain? Thanks.