As an SEO, you may have encountered a 410 Gone error while trying to crawl or index a website. This error indicates that the requested resource has been permanently removed and is no longer available on the server.

While this error is not as common as a 404 Not Found error, it can still have a significant impact on your website’s search engine rankings and user experience. In this article, we’ll explain what a 410 Gone error is, why it occurs, and how you can fix it.

A 410 Gone error is an HTTP status code that is returned by a server to indicate that the requested resource has been permanently removed and is no longer available. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as:

• The resource has been deleted or moved to a different location.
• The resource has been replaced with a newer version.
• The resource is no longer relevant or useful to the website.

Unlike a 404 Not Found error, which indicates that the requested resource could not be found, a 410 Gone error suggests that the resource was once available but has now been permanently removed.

A 410 Gone error can have a negative impact on your website’s search engine rankings and user experience. When search engines crawl a website and encounter a 410 Gone error, they may remove the affected pages from their index. This can result in a decrease in traffic and search engine visibility for your website.

In addition, users may become frustrated if they encounter a 410 Gone error while trying to access a resource on your website. This can lead to a high bounce rate and a decrease in user engagement.

If you encounter a 410 Gone error on your website, there are a few steps you can take to fix it:

1. Identify the affected pages: Use a tool like Google Search Console or URLinspector to identify which pages on your website are returning a 410 Gone error.
2. Determine the cause of the error: Try to understand why the affected pages are returning a 410 Gone error. Is it because they have been deleted or moved to a different location? Or is it because they have been replaced with a newer version?
3. Take action: Based on the cause of the error, you can take the following actions:

• If the affected pages have been deleted or moved to a different location, update any internal or external links to the new URL. If the pages have been permanently removed and are no longer relevant to your website, consider redirecting users to a relevant page or displaying a custom 404 page.
• If the affected pages have been replaced with a newer version, update any internal or external links to the new URLs.

4. Monitor the results: Use a tool like Google Search Console or URLinspector to track the progress of your fix and ensure that the 410 Gone error has been resolved.

A 410 Gone error can have a negative impact on your website’s search engine rankings and user experience. To fix this error, it is important to identify the affected pages, determine the cause of the error, and take action to resolve it. By following these steps, you can improve the crawlability and indexability of your website and enhance the user experience for your visitors.

Here is a diagram in mermaid syntax that illustrates the process of fixing a 410 Gone error:

• Step A: Identify the affected pages on your website using a tool like Google Search Console or URLinspector.
• Step B: Determine the cause of the 410 Gone error by understanding why the affected pages are returning the error.
• Step C: Take action to fix the error based on the cause. If the pages have been deleted or moved, update any internal or external links to the new URL. If the pages have been replaced with a newer version, update the links to the new URLs. If the pages have been permanently removed and are no longer relevant, consider redirecting users to a relevant page or displaying a custom 404 page.
• Step D: Monitor the results using a tool like Google Search Console or URLinspector to ensure that the 410 Gone error has been resolved.