The SEO topic of using 404 and 410 error status codes for pages not found is one that has been around for the past 20 years. And now Google's John Mueller has answered another question about it, saying the differences between the two are so minimal that it doesn't matter.
“It doesn't matter. The difference in handling 404 and 410 is so minimal that I can't imagine preferring one over the other for SEO purposes,” he said in a thread on Reddit.
His full response is below.
it doesn't matter. The difference in handling 404 and 410 is so small that I can't think of a time to prioritize one over the other for SEO purposes (because it's semantically/pedantically better: sure. Better tracking in logs Because: Certainly. So: No).
This is one of those things that is true in theory, but it ended up wasting so much time all over the internet that you would have been better off living with something incomplete instead . alt tag for HTTP code.
(And I know that if I write this out now, it will be another unnecessary reminder. Or is it really unnecessary? We would like to thank you and please support the Women in Tech SEO group. Floss.)
Here we take a look back at the history of SEO and tell you all the times Googlers have talked about this topic.
In 2012, John Mueller said that Google treats 404s and 410s the same. Prior to that he was known for his faster 410 in 2010 and the more persistent one in 2009. In 2014, Matt Cutts said 410 was immediate and 404 was delayed by 24 hours. And in 2021, John Mueller said both are fine and you can use whichever you want. Also, in 2021 he said Google may add a 404 vs. 410 report to Search Console.
This is just some of our previous coverage.
The sad part about this answer is that the topic of the thread was “Will just removing the offending content cancel the HCU penalty?” But John didn't talk about it…
Reddit forum discussion.