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I do fully understand the link juice issue but is it not confusing to the user to be taken to content they didn't request without explanation? Perhaps I am thinking that the a descriptive 404 might be more useful.

The client is currently suggesting redirecting to the homepage from these pages which doesn't bear that much relevance, in this instance are 301s still the best option?

Thank you for your help!

I have a client that has a around 15 "products" (they are pages containing details of the products rather than e-Commerce products) that have been discontinued. The client has suggested 301s but unless the alternative products are replacement products am I correct that we should be using a 500 error?