What to do with non-existing products (removed products)?

[BeytzNet]

Hello,

I'm selling unique products - only one of a kind of each product.
This means that whenever a product is sold, it is removed from display.

In order  not to upset Google by keep removing indexed pages I created a "sold items" page which links to all of the removed products.

The problem is (or maybe it's not a problem) is that I got to the point where I have more "sold items" then existing items (and the list keeps adding up).

What should I do with the non-existing items?
Was I correct?

---------------------------------------- ADDED INFO ---------

The way the site is built is that I have main category pages and each of them is showing a large amount of products. Most of these products got indexed by Google. Each product has its own unique URL (Products do not return...)

Once a product is sold it does not come up in the product categories - I only have a general "sold items" in the footer that shows all of them (with a lot of pagination).

Since the products are rapidly changing, i thought it would upset Google to have a hundred 301 redirects in each week or two.

Since the products are very similar to one another (only different measurements / colors etc.), I thought of having a link from a sold Item to a similar available item so if Google will direct someone it will probably be to the available product.

The problem is that the sold items are now 4 times more than the number of available items... I don't think that a store should display 2008's t-shirts on 2012...

Another problem that may rise with so many products is that I'm afraid that the one type of product that is being sold much more often will take charge at the end on the entire site since I will end up with 8,000 sold items of this product, 1000 sold items of other products and 1000 available misc products... this might also start causing duplication problems as the products are quite similar.

Should I stop with the "Sold" products and use 301's?

Thanks

[ClickConsult]

Hi there,

Would you be able to give us an example URL (if you don't want to mention the URL in-case this page ranks for the site, perhaps you could link to a pastebin.com page containing a URL)?

Do the individual products have their own URL?

If so, I wouldn't worry about having a page for "sold items", unless of-course that's the only section of the site that mentions the said products.

Without looking at the site, I'd expect there to be categories within the site and within the categories there would be products and each product would have it's own individual page. If that's the case, there should be no need for a page listing "sold items". I'd suggest that the sold items are kept within the category that they're meant for so that they're still linked to internally; perhaps at the bottom so that the active products are at the top and the inactive are at the bottom?

If you could explain how the site works a little further (or provide a URL, I'll be able to give you a more relevant answer).

[legalseo]

As SEOconsult noted, knowing a little more about the nature of your products would be helpful. I'll make an assumption that these products, while unique, have a relationship or similarity with other products you have. You could judiciously use 301 redirects (or possibly a 302 if you expect the non-existent item to eventually reappear). This is especially important if an item has acquired an external link. Eventual kill the 301 when the SEs have cleansed their index of it.

Situations like this are very common for eCom retailers - 2011 Fall Sweaters are no longer relevant (or available) - but for a good UX you'd want a searcher who found you (your sweaters) through a SERP to be redirected to a similar product (2012 Spring Sweaters).

Having a page of sold items may do you better service as a means of demonstrating credibility to potential customers as a trusted purveyor who has sold many items of XXXXXX. As for upsetting Google by removing indexed pages, quite the contrary - by removing pages and using redirects, you're telling Google come back frequently, this site is dynamic and changes often, therefore it is current and more relevant than a static, unchanging site.

[ClickConsult]

Hi Chas,

If a product is likely to come back in the future, I'd strong suggest against redirecting the product at-all. Simply leave it to build authority whilst inactive but do display a message saying that it’s not available for purchase.

[BeytzNet]

see update on top. Thanks

[BeytzNet]

see update on top. Thanks

[Chasmo]

True, if the more desirable goal is building page authority rather than selling product. "Sold out" or "out of stock" invites a bounce.

Both could be achieved with a link to a like product from the sold out page, but from a real world eCom standpoint asking product maintenance staff to insert contextual links in product copy is to invite errors or indifference - most platforms have a user friendly redirect mechanism.

[BeytzNet]

Dear Chas,

You are actually correct - Google often sends people to the sold items pages and while I assumed that they will look for a similar product - they actually bounce!  This is why I thought that if I will add a one way link from a sold Item to an available item Google will direct them to the available item.

About redirection - I can do that but it will be lots of redirections - products are rapidly changing.

Maybe I really should simply remove a product completely when it is sold (make it unreachable from the website - no links to it at all) and have a 301 on it and call it a day... What do you think?

[legalseo]

301 it to the most appropriate substitute. I think it'll be easier to manage your redirect list than to juggle so many pages. You should see the impact in analytics, especially if you are tracking eCom and/or goals. Bounce rates will probably come down and time on page go up. Good luck on this.

[BeytzNet]

Creating 301 to non-existing products is easy (technically speaking) - are you sure that it not considered a bad thing by Google? (pages keep being removed).

Thanks again