Discontinued Parts: Keep, Redirect or Remove

A distributor’s catalog has thousands of part pages for numbers that manufacturers discontinued months or years ago. Every one of those pages is a decision: keep it live, redirect it, or remove it. The wrong choice either loses the traffic the old number still brings, or clutters the catalog with dead pages that erode trust. This guide covers the decision framework.

The three options

Keep the page (the default for most parts)

If a part has a known successor and people still search for the old number, keep the page. Update it to show:

1. The successor part — prominently, above the fold, with a direct link
2. The supersession chain — if there are intermediate steps, show them
3. Availability status — mark the product as discontinued using schema.org/Discontinued in the structured data (a valid ItemAvailability value)
4. The effective date — when the discontinuation happened

This preserves the page’s search equity, captures the old-number traffic, and directs it to the successor. The page is still useful: a customer searching for the old number finds it, sees the successor, and can order the replacement.

301-redirect to the successor

Use a 301 (permanent redirect) only when:

• The successor is a confirmed one-to-one replacement
• The old page adds no independent content (no unique specifications, no installation notes, no “why this changed” context)
• The mapping is permanent — you are confident it will not change

A 301 tells search engines to transfer the old page’s ranking equity to the successor. Over time, the old URL drops from the index and the successor page inherits its traffic.

Do not redirect to a category page. Google’s own guidance is clear: a redirect from an individual product page to a generic category page is treated as a soft 404. The old URL loses its equity rather than transferring it, and the category page does not benefit. Redirect only to the specific successor product page.

404 or 410

Use 404 (not found) or 410 (gone) when:

• There is no successor
• The page receives no meaningful search traffic
• There are no inbound links worth preserving

A 410 signals that the removal is intentional and permanent, which speeds up de-indexing compared to a 404.

Schema.org Discontinued availability

Schema.org defines Discontinued as a valid value for the availability property of an Offer (under ItemAvailability). Applying it to a product page’s structured data tells search engines that the item is no longer sold. This can prevent the page from appearing in shopping results (Google Shopping, merchant listings) while keeping the informational page indexed in organic search.

The markup applies to the Offer, not the Product itself:

{
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Hydraulic Seal Kit HY-3200",
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/Discontinued"
  }
}

This is distinct from OutOfStock (temporarily unavailable, expected to return) and SoldOut (sold out of current inventory, may or may not return). Discontinued means the manufacturer has stopped production.

Decision tree

1. Does a known successor exist?

   If no → is there search demand or inbound links? If yes, keep a “no longer available” page. If no, return 410.

2. Is the successor confirmed and permanent?

   If yes and the old page has no independent value → 301-redirect to the successor page. If the old page has unique content or the mapping is uncertain → keep the page with a successor link.

3. Is the supersession one-to-one?

   If yes → redirect or keep as above. If it is a split (one old part → multiple new parts), keep the page and show all successors with their roles and quantities. A redirect cannot point to two pages.

4. Mark availability in structured data

   Whether keeping or redirecting, update the structured data: Discontinued on the old part’s offer. This prevents stale shopping listings.

Common mistakes

• Mass-redirecting discontinued pages to the category page — treated as a soft 404 by Google.
• Returning 404 for parts that have a known successor — loses the traffic that the old number still generates.
• Keeping the old page without showing the successor — the customer sees “out of stock” and leaves.
• Using 302 (temporary redirect) instead of 301 — does not transfer equity.
• Not marking the offer as Discontinued in structured data — the page may still appear in shopping results.
• Redirecting a split (one-to-many supersession) to only one of the successors — the customer misses the other component(s).

Where Claro fits

Claro resolves the supersession chain and provides the successor data, including quantity ratios and source evidence, that the catalog needs to populate the discontinued page or decide on a redirect. When the chain changes (a successor is itself superseded), Claro surfaces the update so the catalog team can adjust the page or redirect target before the old link goes stale.

Related

FAQ