How many times have there been times when you tried to purchase a product on a website, but the item wasn’t in stock. Most of the time, you will be more inclined to go to other sites to find what you are looking for. Ecommerce businesses will have out-of-stock products. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you must give up the sale.

Out-of-stock pages can be used to promote your product or engage with customers. These pages might not have high conversion rates but you will still miss opportunities if they aren’t used properly. Each page of your website has the potential to improve your search engine ranking and increase conversions.

This guide will explain why these pages should not be ignored and how redirecting out of stock pages can affect your search engine rank. Six ways to repurpose these pages will be discussed to help you save sales, engage your customers, and open up the possibility of future purchase.

Let’s start!

These pages should be “404” errors.

If a user receives the “Error 408” message, it is a warning that the page can’t be found or has been removed. If the product is not in stock, it is best to delete the page. It will be more difficult to put the page back once the product is back in stock. 

You will also lose valuable backlinks that can help you rank well in search engines if your site becomes a 404 error. A 404 page can negatively impact your search engine optimization (SEO). It will take time for the product page to recover its SEO value.

You don’t have to remove the product page if an item is out-of-stock. Instead, you can use it to provide alternatives or modify the page to improve the user experience. A product that is out of stock can still be a powerful way to encourage shoppers to make another purchase.

A consumer who lands on your page from a Google search will not click on any of your links again if they see a broken page. These pages should be kept alive and thriving in order to improve your Google Ads conversions as well as your organic search performance.

We will be discussing how to change your product pages if an item is out-of-stock.

SEO and out-of-stock stock pages

An ecommerce site can have three types of out-of-stock pages. Each page has a different relationship to how search engines like Google index them. This can impact your SEO ranking.

The page for a product that is temporarily unavailable is the first type. These pages will be converted to 404 error pages by Google, although this should not be your first choice. If the page has high quality backlinks, online stores should consider redirects that have a 301 message. This will allow you to direct customers to the correct place without affecting your SEO.

The second type of out-of-stock product page means that the item is temporarily unavailable, as in when you wait for additional products from your supplier. These URLs can be kept in their current state, and you can wait until the product comes back in stock. Make sure that you update the page regularly with stock information and when it will be back in. Google will index the page and show it as such once it is back in stock. In the next section, we will discuss some other ways to optimize this type of page.

This third type of out-of-stock page appears when the product is temporarily unavailable but you have repurposed the product URL to display a new product category. Ecommerce store owners don’t need to worry about redirects and can build on the URL.

Six ways to handle out-of-stock products and keep your sales up

It can be difficult to manage out-of-stock product pages. You don’t want them to be removed, but you need to make sure they are not too obvious. It’s not a good idea to draw too much attention to products you don’t offer. Instead of redirecting customers or showing broken links, you can repurpose the pages to keep shoppers’ attention.

This section will discuss six methods to help buyers return to out-of-stock product pages. This will increase your chances of closing a deal and will also increase your customers’ lifetime value. They will also be more likely to return. These tips will enhance your visitors’ experience on your site.

1. Indicate whether a product is temporarily or permanently unavailable

You can classify out-of-stock products into one of two categories. The product page should clearly indicate which category applies to it. This will let customers know if they can expect it to return.

Many sites allow customers to save out-of-stock products and receive notifications to let them know when they are back in stock. This strategy allows you to engage with your users instead of just removing the page.

You can keep the product on the page to retain the Google SEO benefits. Customers can save the product for later, which encourages customers to return to the page and drives future sales.

2. Other suggestions?

The product page can be used to show alternatives to customers based on customer preferences. Segmenting and showing the relevant products to your customers is a great way of driving sales.

You can also create alternative product groups to show when one product is not available. Automated product groups are a great way to keep your customers interested and save money.

Redirecting users from the product page to the homepage is not a good idea. This will increase bounce rates and add unnecessary steps for customers. Your shoppers will continue to move forward if you show them more products.

Sephora’s out-of-stock product page shows you what it can do. It includes links to various product categories. Sephora recognizes that it has the opportunity to highlight its bestsellers as well as a wide range of brands and seizes this chance. This clever trick encourages users to explore the site more.

Another option is to use chatbots for customer service to answer questions about stock availability or recommend alternative options based on customer requirements.

Customers are more likely to make a purchase if they can quickly find products that match their needs.

3. Inform your customer about the return policy

Your ecommerce platform may be able to offer temporary out-of-stock products and allow customers to join your email list. Instead of redirecting to a different product page or offering alternative options, ask your customers for their email addresses so that they can be notified when the item returns in stock.

Rainbows and Sprinkles is an apparel retailer that allows customers to sign up for email notifications when the product they are interested in returns in stock.

This will help you increase your subscriber base, and encourage future purchases. You can also use their inboxes as promotional tools to ensure they return.

A study about the impact of out-of-stock pages found that 58% of dissatisfied shoppers lost sales. This means that they either bought from another seller, or didn’t buy the item. This trend can be countered by email marketing, which allows you to reach potential customers when the product is back in stock.

These options help the user to move along the customer journey, and keep them from increasing the bounce rate of the website.

4. Limit out-of-stock page visibility

Pushing the product listing to the page or search results at the bottom is one way to handle out-of-stock items. You can limit the visibility of your listing to reduce clicks, which will result in less disappointed customers. This is a straightforward “out of sight, not of mind” approach.

It can be difficult to keep track of your inventory in order to make these automatic changes. Multi-product businesses often use inventory tracking software which allows them to predict product shortages. This is a great way for businesses to be ahead of the curve when a product appears to be in danger of going out of stock.

5. Clearly indicate the availability status

You can also mark products that are not available on category search pages to avoid disappointing customers. This ensures that customers don’t click through to the page for an unavailable product, or if they do, only to see if it will be made available again.

You can indicate the availability of a product right away and allow the customer to go to a page with a higher conversion rate than a dead-end one.

Sometimes certain product sizes and variants may not be in stock. You can indicate whether the entire product is in stock, but you might also include information about each size and variant.

This practice will save your customers time, effort, and money. This will increase their loyalty and make them more loyal.

6. Pre-orders are accepted and shipping times can be extended

You can also provide pre-orders on products that aren’t yet available but will in the near future. This gives your customers something to look ahead to. This strategy secures the sale, even if the product is not yet available.

Another effective way to secure the sale is to offer a longer shipping period or pre-order option. Your customers might be more willing to wait if you inform them upfront about product availability. Here’s a great example from Scan, a tech retailer:

Pre-orders and longer shipping times are options you can offer. Make sure to provide all information necessary for consumers to make informed decisions. You should keep an eye on the track record of your order fulfillment and give consumers an accurate time frame when it can ship.

Unfulfilled orders can have a negative impact on customer relations. It is better to offer proactive customer support than having customers chase you about missing orders.

In Closing

A customer who is not satisfied with the product or service they received does not have to be disappointed. You should not remove or modify these pages without taking into consideration the possible loss in SEO value. You could lose your position in search results.

You can modify the product page content to increase sales, in addition to redirecting the user on to another page. You can limit visibility to products that aren’t available or allow customers to sign up for your email list to be notified when they become available. Customers who are willing and able to wait can be encouraged to place orders by using pre-orders or longer shipping times.

These strategies can help you repurpose out-of-stock product pages for conversion and engagement. These strategies can be applied to your own ecommerce website. Let us know how they work for you!