410 Gone

A 410 Gone is an HTTP status code that explicitly tells search engine crawlers that a webpage has been permanently deleted and will never return. Unlike a 404 error, which Google might re-crawl repeatedly just to check if the page comes back, a 410 directive forces the algorithm to immediately de-index the URL and stop wasting crawl budget on it. Using a 410 status is the most efficient, technically sound method for purging massive amounts of low-quality, obsolete, or cannibalizing content from a domain’s architecture.

410 Gone Simplified

A 410 code is a permanent “closed for business” sign. It tells Google that a page has been deleted on purpose and will never come back, so Google should immediately remove it from its search results and stop checking it.