Informed Webmaster

...From an SEO standpoint, it's essential that these pages continue to rank, both for consumers and retailers, but in the short-term, the experience is also frustrating for consumers and can drive them to other sites...

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Maintaining SEO ranking with out of stock pages

Another matter of concern is maintaining ranking on these pages while you are out of stock. That is a valid worry but easy enough to deal with. Unlike when you have a page that is not going to be in production, we know that eventually these products are going to be back on the shelves and available.

Avoid anything that suggests otherwise. I have seen a few storefronts going to a 404 and I get the impulse. Rather than showing that they are lacking something, they are removing the page altogether. The problem with using a 404 is that your customers won’t know if the website is down or if they will be able to purchase those items in the future. The unknown is poison in this climate. Don’t make users guess...