Running an online store in Australia means keeping your product listings fresh. But what happens when you need to clear out old or out-of-stock items? Deleting products without a solid strategy can seriously damage your SEO. Let’s explore how.
User experience
First, your customers’ experience is crucial; deleting products haphazardly can lead to a frustrating experience. Imagine a customer clicking a link from Google or a social media post, only to be greeted with a “404 page not found” error, leading to instant frustration. Google notices when users quickly leave your site, this metric is called the “bounce rate”.
A high bounce rate signals to search engines that your site might not deliver what users want, which can negatively impact your rankings. In today’s competitive online market, a negative user experience can mean lost customers and damaged brand reputation.
Internal and external links
Your website’s link structure is crucial for SEO. Deleting product pages can create a tangle of broken links. Broken links hinder search engine crawlers, making it harder for them to index your site correctly. Internal links from other pages on your site, such as related products, category pages or blog posts, to the deleted product will result in 404 errors.
If other websites have links to your product pages, these external links will also break, resulting in lost backlinks that can negatively impact your site’s overall authority.
Content featuring valuable keywords
Product pages are often optimised for keywords that drive traffic to your site. Deleting these pages means losing valuable keyword rankings. Each product page should target keywords relevant to your product or product categories. Deleting these pages eliminates the content that ranks for those keywords. A fast drop in rankings will significantly reduce organic traffic, especially if those pages rank well.
Even if you no longer want to rank for a keyword specific to the product you’re deleting, removing that content can negatively impact related product rankings. If you have built up keyword authority over time, losing these pages can set you back considerably in search engine rankings.
Best practices for handling out-of-stock products
So, how do you manage “out-of-stock” or discontinued products without harming your SEO? It will depend on a number of reasons, but here are some best practices.
Option 1: Add a 301 redirect (our recommendation)
Creating redirections for removed products can be a powerful tool but requires careful consideration. A common mistake is using a catch-all redirect to the home page for all 404 errors. While this avoids users seeing error pages, it creates a confusing experience for those who click on product-specific links.
Instead, we recommend a more targeted approach, redirecting the old product page to the most relevant alternative product or category/subcategory. For example, if an “adult men’s t-shirt in black” is discontinued, redirect it to the “Men’s t-shirt” category page and provide visitors with relevant alternatives. This will improve their user experience and increase your chance of making a sale.
Why use a 301 redirect?
We choose a 301 redirect because it signals a permanent move to the search engines. The 301 status code explicitly tells search engine crawlers that the page has been permanently relocated. This is very important. Search engines will then update their indexes to reflect the new URL; over time, the old URL will be de-indexed. In essence, a 301 redirect is a way to tell search engines, and users, that “this page has moved, and here’s where it is now”. It is the most efficient method for preserving the SEO value of a deleted URL.
Pros:
- Visitors find products similar to their initial search, enhancing their browsing experience.
- It showcases newer products within the same category, providing the option to purchase a different product.
- Link equity from redirected pages is largely retained, boosting the category page’s authority.
Cons:
- Managing redirects for an extensive product catalogue can become complex.
- Redirecting products in multiple categories without clear rules can be challenging.
- Redirecting categories/subcategories can lead to redirect chains, which are bad for SEO.
Implementing targeted redirects requires balancing, providing a smooth user experience and maintaining SEO integrity. Strategic planning and execution are crucial to avoid potential pitfalls.
Option 2: Delete the product
Deleting products outright is an option, but it comes with significant risks. Before hitting that delete button, carefully consider whether it’s truly necessary. Ask yourself if the product might return in the future.
Keeping the page live might be the better option if it’s a seasonal item or likely to be restocked. Consider whether the page still provides value, even if the product is unavailable. It could serve as a resource for information or comparisons.
While simply deactivating a product so it no longer shows on your site sounds like the easiest option, it can cause a variety of long-term disadvantages. For example:
- Many users will quickly leave a site that doesn’t deliver the expected page.
- Former product pages generating 404 errors will be penalised by Google in time and lose search engine rankings.
- Your website will also lose image rankings associated with those pages.
- As pages and images are de-indexed, any links pointing to them will lose value.
Option 3: Keep the product but remove the option to buy
When faced with a product that’s temporarily unavailable, it’s tempting to take it down. However, if your product is temporarily out of stock, you should leave your product page up and update the description to tell customers when the product will be back in stock and how to join a waitlist or link to a similar product.
Keeping the page up preserves your SEO and keeps users engaged. Similarly, you can leave the page up for discontinued products and offer your customers a similar product, allowing you to retain valuable keyword rankings.
Pros:
- You retain organic search rankings, potentially outranking competitors and driving search traffic.
- You also retain image rankings associated with the product.
- Inbound links continue to provide their full value to the page.
- Visitors find the exact page they seek, and you can sell them a similar, available product.
Cons:
- Maintaining a large database of product pages requires ongoing management.
- Visitors may experience frustration when they cannot purchase the product they find.
- If the product has been replaced, visitors might miss the newer version.
Keeping the page live preserves SEO, and a strategy focused on providing visitors with a straightforward way to view similar products or categories can help prevent frustration about being unable to make a purchase.
The cons are outweighed by maintaining a consistent flow of traffic to your website. None of the above matters if you don’t have customers visiting your website.
How to monitor performance after deleting products
Once you’ve made changes, monitoring your website’s performance is essential:
- Use Google Search Console to check for 404 errors and identify broken links.
- Monitor your keyword rankings and organic traffic to see if there’s any negative impact.
- Track your bounce rate and user engagement metrics to assess the user experience.
- Regularly crawl your site with SEO tools to find and fix any broken links that may have occurred.
Summing up
At GO Creative, we strongly recommend implementing strategic 301 redirects when dealing with out-of-stock or discontinued products. By redirecting users and search engines to relevant alternative pages, you can preserve your link equity, maintain a positive user experience, and avoid negative impacts on your SEO.
If a product is discontinued, redirect it to a similar product or a category page. If a product is temporarily out of stock, consider redirecting it to a waiting list or a related product. Always ensure that the redirect is relevant and provides value to the user. By following these best practices, you can effectively manage your product listings and maintain a strong SEO presence.
If you want to leave the technical stuff to the experts, book a meeting and let GO Creative provide you with a tailored SEO plan that suits your needs.
