Applying a 410 code to permanently deleted pages

I would like to know how to apply a 410 to pages that I have permanently deleted off my website.

410 codes tell google that the pages it is crawling/trying to index no longer exist and, as a result, google drops them from the crawl, making your page more efficient.

I am not asking about redirects. I am asking about removing URLs from Google's search permanently.

I've read countless articles talking about why this is beneficial, but I can't find a tutorial on how to do it.

Can someone please help?

Hi @Ellllla. If you permanently remove a page, the server returns a 404 (not found) — this will cause search engines to eventually drop the page. If you need immediate removal for legal or urgent reasons, search engines offer removal/blocking tools:

• Bing: https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/?topicid=264e560b
• Google: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9689846?hl=en

Hi - @Ellllla

I understand your concern. Let me help you out here. Here are a couple of potential solutions:

• Unfortunately, on Squarespace, you can’t implement the 410 status code. URL Mappings only allow us to implement 301 and 302 status codes.
  • How to Set Up 301 Redirects in Squarespace: https://youtu.be/XkFcD9EukBY?si=OPr_2PVcTFwi1qCu 

To take care of the deleted pages:

• Remove all the internal links (if you have any) to those pages so that Google doesn’t crawl them.
• Submit URL removal requests for the deleted pages via Google Search Console, and Google will remove those pages from the index and search results.
  • Google Search Console's screenshot: https://prnt.sc/TbkdDzLpeXK0 
  • Removals in Google Search Console: https://youtu.be/h223mCgbmf4 

These steps should aid in effectively removing the URLs of permanently deleted pages from Google's search results. If you require further clarification or assistance, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks,
Sadul Sifat.