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``` In nginx, an entire section can be marked as gone: ```nginx location /promotions/2023/ { return 410; } ``` ## Common mistakes - Using 410 for pages that are only briefly offline. 503 fits that case. - Returning 410 although a replacement page exists and a 301 would be better. - Removed URLs stay in the XML sitemap and in internal links. - The error page returns 200 and becomes a soft 404. ## Frequently asked questions **What does error 410 mean?** The requested resource was removed and is likely not coming back. **Is 410 better than 404?** For Google's systems the documentation treats them the same. For people and other clients 410 is the clearer statement. ## At a glance - **Status code:** 410 - **Class:** 4xx (client error) - **Duration:** no longer available, likely permanent - **In Google:** same as 404 and other 4xx except 429, indexed URLs are removed - **Caching:** cacheable by default - **Specification:** [RFC 9110, section 15.5.11](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-410-gone) Last checked: October 8, 2026 ## 404, 410 and soft 404 compared | Response | Status code | Meaning per RFC 9110 | What Google does | When to use it | |---|---|---|---|---| | Not Found | 404 | no current representation found; doesn't say whether this is temporary or permanent | doesn't use the content, removes a previously indexed URL and gradually crawls it less often; newly found 404 URLs aren't processed | Page removed with no replacement | | Gone | 410 | no longer available, likely permanently | same as 404 | same as 404; per the RFC preferred when the removal is known to be permanent | | Soft 404 (error message or empty page) | 200 | request succeeded | detects an error page from its content, excludes it from Search and reports a soft 404 in the Page indexing report | avoid; depending on the case, return 404/410, redirect to the replacement or fix the loading problems | | Redirect to replacement | 301 | moved permanently | follows the redirect; a strong signal that the target should be processed | Content has moved or has a clear replacement | | Page with content | 200 | request succeeded | passes the content on to indexing; inclusion isn't guaranteed | Page exists and shows real content | Sources: [Google Crawling Infrastructure: How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers (last updated 2026-02-04)](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/troubleshooting/http-status-codes); [Google Search Central: Troubleshoot Google Search crawling errors, soft 404 errors (last updated 2025-12-18)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/troubleshoot-crawling-errors#soft-404-errors); [RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics, 15.3.1 200 OK, 15.4.2 301, 15.5.5 404, 15.5.11 410](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-client-error-4xx). Last checked: October 8, 2026 ## Controlling crawling and indexing: the options compared | Method | Prevents crawling? | Keeps the URL out of Search? | What Google says | Typical use | |---|---|---|---|---| | robots.txt Disallow | yes | no, the URL can be indexed without its content if other pages link to it | used mainly to avoid overloading the server with requests; not a mechanism for keeping a page out of Google | Limiting crawler load, excluding areas from being fetched | | noindex in the robots meta tag | no, Google has to be able to fetch the page | yes | only works if the page isn't blocked by robots.txt; Google then drops the page even if other sites link to it | HTML pages that stay reachable but shouldn't show up in search results | | noindex in the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header | no, Google has to be able to fetch the URL | yes | any robots meta tag rule can also be sent as a header; same prerequisite as the meta tag | Files without an HTML head, such as PDFs, images or videos | | rel="canonical" | no | not directly; a strong signal for which of several duplicate URLs becomes canonical | helps consolidate signals such as links into the preferred URL; don't use robots.txt or noindex for canonicalization | Duplicate and very similar pages, for example from parameters | | Status code 410 (or 404) | no, but Google gradually fetches the URL less often | yes, a previously indexed URL is removed | treats 404 and 410 the same way | Page permanently removed with no replacement | | Password protection (login) | yes, crawlers can't reach the content | yes | one of the ways Google lists for permanent removal; authorised users see the page, crawlers don't | Private or confidential content | | Search Console: Removals | no, Google can keep crawling the URL | hides the URL from search results for about six months | temporary only; 404/410, password protection or noindex make it permanent | Urgent cases, until a permanent measure takes effect | Sources: [Google Search Central: Introduction to robots.txt (last updated 2025-12-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots/intro); [Google Search Central: Block Search indexing with noindex (last updated 2025-12-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/block-indexing); [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications (last updated 2026-03-24)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag); [Google Search Central: How to specify a canonical URL (last updated 2026-07-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls); [Google Crawling Infrastructure: How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers (last updated 2026-02-04)](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/troubleshooting/http-status-codes); [Google Search Central: Remove information from Google (last updated 2025-12-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/remove-information); [Search Console Help: Removals and SafeSearch reports tool](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9689846). Last checked: October 8, 2026 ## Not to be confused with - [404 error](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/404-error/index.md): reports that the resource was not found and leaves open whether that is temporary or permanent. 410 says the resource was removed on purpose and is unlikely to return. ## Related terms - [HTTP status code](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/http-status-code/index.md) - [404 error](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/404-error/index.md) - [301 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/301-redirect/index.md) - [451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/451-unavailable-for-legal-reasons/index.md) - [Deindexing](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/deindexing/index.md) - [Soft 404](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/soft-404/index.md) ## Sources - [410 Gone – MDN Web Docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Status/410) - [RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics, section 15.5.11 (410 Gone)](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html) - [How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers – Google Crawling Infrastructure (2026-02-04)](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/troubleshooting/http-status-codes) --- Last updated: October 8, 2026 URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/410-gone/