404 vs 301

[theLotter]

My company is planning on discontinuing one of the product lines we currently offer.  In terms of SEO, would it be better to implement a 301 redirect to a generic page page (such as the homepage or main product page), or to create a custom 404 page explaining that the product line with links to other pages (according to the most next viewed pages in Google Analytics).

Thanks!

[sesertin]

It is usually better to use 301 both from user and SE perpective.If you use 404 page you lost all your current rankings för those pages in google and all the linkj juice coming through those pages. Do not use 404 if you want to keep theye values. Here's an article that gives further points for your consideration: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/are-404-pages-always-bad-for-seo

[AlanMosley]

Zsolt is correct, but i would add, dont bother redirecting pages you know have no links, just get the ones with links, and dont 301 all of them to tghe same page or they will be ignored anyway, redirect them to a relevant page or let them 404

[Charlessipe]

A 301 redirect is generally the preferred option to keep credit for any links you have gained to those pages. You can check if the page has links in Open Site Explorer but it doesn't always find every inbound link so there might be inbound links you don't know about. My suggestion would be to create a page that explains that the product line has been discontinued with links to recommended alternatives. Then 301 redirect the old pages to this new page. Otherwise customers might be confused as to why they are being redirected to your homepage and bounce.