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  Daily Search Forum Recap: January 27, 2010

  Posted: January 27th, 2010, 10:00pm CET by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

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  Remove Pages From Google ~Forever Using a 410 Status Code

  Posted: January 27th, 2010, 2:32pm CET by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  In October, we reported that Google treats a 410 stronger than a 404 status code. I am not sure exactly when Google made the 410 status code that important, but I believe it was sometime in October.

  A new thread surfaced in Google Webmaster Help where it was suggested by a Googler to use the 410, once again.

  Googler, Jonathan Simon said:

  Last year we started started treating 410 Gone responses as being a stronger signal for indicating when a page no longer exists. So for the situation you describe (where 301 redirects aren't practical) returning a 410 response is the way to go.

  It seems to me that when Googlebot discovers a 410, it will communicate to Google to not index that page for a really long time. I believe Google will check pages they know to be 404ed every now and then. Maybe a 410 will tell Googlebot to never check back or check back extremely rarely?

  Just keep in mind that the 410 is much stronger than a 404 response - it may come in handy in your future SEO projects.

  Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.