Out-of-stock products are a normal part of running an e-commerce business. Whether due to high demand, supply chain issues, or seasonal trends, products go out of stock. But from an SEO perspective, how you manage these pages can make a huge difference in user experience, search rankings, and even future sales.
If you’re not sure whether to delete, redirect, or keep out-of-stock product pages, this guide is for you. Let’s break down the best SEO practices for handling unavailable inventory — without hurting your site’s visibility or performance.
Why Out-of-Stock Product Pages Matter for SEO
Search engines crawl and index every page of your site, including those that feature products no longer available. If handled incorrectly, these pages can:
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Deliver a poor user experience
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Cause high bounce rates
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Lead to wasted crawl budget
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Dilute internal link equity
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Result in lost rankings
That said, properly managing out-of-stock products helps you retain traffic, support customer loyalty, and preserve SEO value you’ve already earned.
1. Determine the Reason and Duration of Unavailability
Before deciding what to do with an out-of-stock product, ask two key questions:
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Is the item coming back in stock?
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Is this temporary or permanent?
Your answer will shape your SEO approach.
2. For Temporarily Out-of-Stock Products: Keep the Page Live
If the product will be restocked soon, the best option is to keep the page active.
Best practices:
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Show “Out of Stock” status clearly on the page
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Offer a “Notify Me” form for back-in-stock alerts
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Suggest related or alternative products
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Continue allowing the page to be crawled and indexed
Keeping the page live preserves its search rankings, inbound links, and user trust.
3. For Permanently Out-of-Stock Products: Use Smart Redirects or Consolidation
If the product is discontinued or won’t return, you need to decide between:
A. 301 Redirect the Page
Redirect the old product page to:
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A newer version or replacement product
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The parent category page
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A similar product with the same intent
Pros:
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Preserves link equity
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Improves user experience
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Avoids 404 errors
Tip: Only redirect when there’s a closely related product or destination. Don’t redirect everything to the homepage — that confuses both users and search engines.
B. Leave the Page Up with a Notice (If Valuable for SEO)
If the discontinued product page:
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Has backlinks
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Still gets traffic
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Offers historical or informational value
…you may want to keep it live.
On the page, clearly state the item is no longer available, and:
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Explain why (e.g., discontinued by manufacturer)
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Recommend alternatives
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Keep the metadata optimized (but reflect unavailability)
This approach can maintain rankings for long-tail keywords and continue delivering traffic.
4. Don’t Let Pages Return a 404 Error (Without Purpose)
When a page returns a 404 (Not Found) or 410 (Gone) error, it tells Google that the page is no longer available. If used excessively or without good reason, this can:
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Lead to broken internal links
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Waste valuable link equity
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Harm site trust
When it’s okay to return a 404/410:
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The product is permanently gone
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There’s no replacement
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The page never attracted meaningful SEO value
If you must remove the page, first check its performance in Google Search Console and analytics before deciding.
5. Update Structured Data for Out-of-Stock Products
If you use Product Schema, update the “availability” property to reflect out-of-stock status.
Use:
This tells Google the item is unavailable, which can prevent outdated listings in search results and reduce user frustration.
When restocked, update the schema back to:
Keeping your structured data accurate ensures that Google shows the most current information in search.
6. Maintain Internal Links and Site Navigation
If a product goes out of stock, review how it’s linked internally:
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Update internal links to redirect or remove outdated URLs
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Avoid linking from category or blog pages to products that return a 404
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Highlight alternative options or newer products on those linking pages
Broken links create poor UX and affect crawl flow.
7. Consider Creating an “Archive” or “Discontinued Products” Section
For sites with lots of discontinued products (e.g., electronics, fashion), an archive section can preserve SEO value and serve long-tail queries.
Use case example:
A discontinued smartphone model that still has thousands of monthly searches can drive traffic to a legacy page — if maintained properly.
Just ensure you:
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Mark the product as discontinued
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Remove “Buy Now” buttons
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Offer similar current models or guides
8. Keep Your Sitemap and Index Clean
Make sure your sitemap reflects only the URLs you want crawled and indexed.
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Remove permanently gone or redirected URLs from your sitemap
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Update the sitemap frequently
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Submit the updated sitemap to Google Search Console
This helps search engines focus on live, valuable content and improves crawl efficiency.
9. Monitor Performance and User Behavior
Use tools like:
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Google Analytics – to track traffic to out-of-stock pages
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Google Search Console – to monitor crawl errors, impressions, and clicks
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Heatmaps (Hotjar, Crazy Egg) – to understand where users go when products are unavailable
This data helps you refine your approach and prevent lost opportunities.
10. Communicate Clearly with Users
Whatever action you take, prioritize user experience. Communicate product availability transparently and offer next steps, such as:
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Similar items to view
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Contact information for customer support
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Expected restock dates (if known)
A user-first approach not only improves satisfaction but also keeps users engaged with your brand — even if they can’t buy that item today.
Conclusion
Managing out-of-stock products the right way is essential for long-term SEO health. Whether you’re keeping, redirecting, or removing a product page, your goal should be to preserve SEO value, reduce user frustration, and guide visitors toward relevant alternatives.
Instead of treating unavailable inventory as a dead end, treat it as an opportunity to build trust and retain traffic. Also, you can learn more about Category Pages here.