Managing discontinued products on your ecommerce website can be tricky. But with the right approach, you can keep your SEO strong and your customers happy. Let’s dive into some smart strategies for handling discontinued products!

Understanding Discontinued Products in SEO

First things first, discontinued products are items you no longer sell or make. They matter for SEO because they can affect how well your website shows up in search results. (Trust me, I’ve been there!)

Discontinued products can impact your SEO in several ways:

• They might create broken links if not handled properly
• They could lead to outdated content on your site
• You might lose valuable traffic if these pages aren’t managed well

Types of Discontinued Products

Moreover, there are different reasons why products get discontinued:

• Seasonal items that are no longer in season
• Old tech replaced by newer models
• Limited edition items that have sold out
• Products stopped due to safety concerns

Why Discontinued Products Matter for SEO

Even when you stop selling a product, its page can still be valuable for your website’s SEO:

• These pages often have built up authority over time
• They might rank for specific keywords
• People might still find and interact with these pages
• They provide useful data about what customers like

Quick Actions for Discontinued Products

When a product is discontinued, there are some immediate steps you should take:

1. Mark Products as Out of Stock

Clearly show that the product is no longer available:

• Add an “Out of Stock” or “Discontinued” label on the product page
• Update the product schema to show it’s out of stock
• Change the meta description to reflect the product’s status

2. Update Product Descriptions

Modify the product information to:

• Include “Discontinued” in the product title
• Explain in the description that it’s no longer made
• Add the date when it was discontinued
• Suggest similar products customers might like

3. Use Schema Markup

Schema markup helps search engines understand your product status:

• Use the ‘Product’ schema type
• Set the ‘availability’ to ‘Discontinued’
• Update the description to explain the product’s status

In addition, if you’re using Shopify, our Shopify SEO services can help you implement these changes effectively.

Long-term SEO Strategies for Discontinued Products

After taking immediate action, consider these long-term strategies:

Redirect vs. Keeping the Page Live

Decide whether to redirect the page or keep it live based on:

• How much traffic the page gets
• If it’s related to products you still sell
• Whether you might bring the product back later

If you keep the page live, update it to acknowledge the product is discontinued and suggest alternatives. (I once kept a page for discontinued sneakers and it became a hit with collectors!)

Create a Custom 404 Page

For fully discontinued products, a custom 404 page can:

• Explain the product is no longer available
• Suggest similar products
• Provide a search function
• Link to popular categories

Use Internal Linking for Related Products

Link to similar active products to keep customers engaged:

• Update product descriptions with links to related items
• Add a “You may also like” section
• Use breadcrumbs to guide users to similar product groups

Furthermore, if you’re looking to improve your overall ecommerce SEO strategy, check out our guide on what is ecommerce SEO.

Maintaining Search Rankings

To keep your search rankings strong:

Preserve Valuable Backlinks

Don’t lose the SEO value of links pointing to discontinued product pages:

• Use 301 redirects to send traffic to relevant pages
• Create informative landing pages for discontinued items
• Ask websites linking to your discontinued products to update their links

Update Sitemaps and Robots.txt

Keep your technical SEO in check:

• Remove discontinued product URLs from your sitemap
• Use ‘Disallow’ in robots.txt for pages you don’t want crawled
• Implement ‘Noindex’ for pages you want to keep but not in search results

Monitor Search Console for Errors

Regularly check Google Search Console for:

• 404 (Not Found) errors
• Soft 404 errors
• 301 (Permanent Redirect) errors
• Server errors

Communicating with Customers

Keep your customers in the loop about discontinued products:

Provide Clear Information on Product Pages

On discontinued product pages, clearly show:

• A ‘Discontinued’ label
• The date it was discontinued
• Suggested alternatives
• A brief explanation if appropriate

Offer Alternatives or Substitutes

Help customers find similar products:

• Use automated recommendations
• Have experts suggest good substitutes
• Add “You Might Also Like” sections
• Send emails with alternative product suggestions

Use Email Marketing

Keep loyal customers informed through email:

• Clearly state the product is discontinued
• Explain why it’s no longer available
• Suggest similar products
• Offer special deals on alternatives

Leveraging Discontinued Products for Future Success

Turn discontinued products into opportunities:

Create “Nostalgic” Content

Use discontinued products to create engaging content:

• Start a “Throwback Thursday” series
• Write blog posts about the product’s history
• Encourage customers to share their stories
• Make a virtual museum of old products

Use Old Pages for New Product Launches

Repurpose discontinued product pages:

• Redirect the old URL to a new product page
• Update content to focus on the new product
• Keep some info about the old product for context

Analyze Data for Future Decisions

Learn from discontinued products to improve your business:

• Look at sales patterns
• Review customer feedback
• Check search volumes for related keywords
• Compare discontinued products with successful ones

(I once analyzed data from a discontinued product line, and it led to our most successful launch ever!)

Balancing SEO and User Experience

Remember, the key is to keep both search engines and customers happy:

• Keep product pages when possible
• Use redirects when necessary
• Update internal links
• Use data from old products to improve

Always monitor and adjust your approach:

• Watch traffic patterns
• Check user behavior
• Track search rankings
• Monitor conversion rates

By following these strategies you can handle discontinued products in a way that maintains your SEO strength and keeps your customers satisfied. (And trust me, your future self will thank you!)