In my Search Console, I have some 404 links. Those links belong to pages that are deleted. I read online and realized that I should return 410 (Gone) for those pages. Yet Google Search Console does not recognize my 410 code and still shows 404 to me.
Even when I use START NEW VALIDATION 404 would be shown to me.
So, why Google Search Console does not recognize my 410 codes?
And do I do the right thing here? Should I return 410 for pages that are gone forever?
The search console reports 404 and 410 responses under 404 as it considers them the same thing, a missing page. People have asked for them to be separated, but that has not happened yet.
This may not be applicable to you, but perhaps will be useful to someone else. Just to be thorough, since you didn't state how you applied the 410 code nor confirm that the server is sending a 410 response, that is the first thing that should be verified.
An easy way to confirm what status code is being given:
Open your browser's Developer Tools, go to the Network tab, and then go to the URL for the deleted page. You should see either 404 or 410.
You can also see the headers for any given URL at this webpage: HTTP Header Checker - Server Headers Check
I put a RewriteRule in the .htaccess file to indicate when a deleted page is 410 Gone
RewriteRule ^path/to/page.html - [G]
The G flag returns a 410 Gone status.
