What is a 410 Gone status code?
A 410 Gone is an HTTP status code meaning the page used to exist, was removed deliberately, and is not coming back. A 404 only says "nothing is here", which could be a typo, a temporary mistake, or a page that never existed. A 410 states the removal was intentional.
For search engines the practical difference is small. Google treats 404 and 410 similarly: neither is indexed, and URLs returning either are dropped from the index over time. A 410 can lead to slightly faster removal, because it is a clearer signal, but it is not a required tool.
When to use a 410
A 410 makes sense when you are sure the content is gone for good and there is no relevant replacement page to redirect to:
- Discontinued products with no successor
- Spam pages created by a hack, after cleanup
- Expired event or listing pages you do not keep archived
- Batches of thin posts removed during a content cleanup, see pruning thin content
If there is a close replacement, a 301 redirect is better, because it passes visitors and link signals on. If you are not sure whether the page will come back, a plain 404 is fine.
How to send a 410
On Apache, a single line in .htaccess returns 410 for one path:
Redirect gone /old-product/
On Nginx, inside the server block:
location = /old-product/ {
return 410;
}
For many URLs under one path, use a pattern, for example RedirectMatch gone ^/spam-folder/ in Apache. Check the result with curl -I https://example.com/old-product/, which should show HTTP/1.1 410 Gone or HTTP/2 410.
In WordPress
WordPress sends a 404 for any URL it cannot match. It has no built-in 410 option. Hydrogen SEO's Redirection Manager handles 301 and 302 redirects, so for a 410 you can use a server rule like the ones above, a redirect plugin that supports 410, or a short snippet in your theme or a custom plugin. For most removed pages, a 404 does the job; the 404 guide explains when leaving a URL dead is the right call.
Common mistakes
- Sending 410 for pages that still get traffic or have backlinks when a relevant replacement exists. Redirect instead.
- Returning 410 with a page body that says "moved", which mixes messages. Keep the body a short, helpful not-found page.
- Leaving removed URLs in the XML sitemap, which keeps asking crawlers to fetch them.
- Expecting instant removal. Google must recrawl the URL to see the 410. For urgent cases, Search Console's Removals tool hides a URL temporarily.
Common questions
Is 410 better than 404 for SEO?
Only slightly. Google may drop 410 URLs a little sooner, but both end up out of the index. Use 410 when removal is deliberate and final, and do not worry about converting existing 404s.
Will Google keep crawling a 410 URL?
It may recheck it occasionally, especially if other sites still link to it, but less often over time. That is normal and does no harm.
Can a 410 page be indexed?
No. Google does not index content from URLs that return 4xx codes.