Broken links are also called dead links. It occurs when a link is directed to a page that someone has deleted or moved without a proper redirect. Users or search engines that follow these links see a 404 Not Found instead of the content they expect.
These links frustrate users because they cannot find the information they want. For website owners, they cause even bigger problems by increasing bounce rates, reducing conversions, and hurting search rankings on Google.
It is crucial to understand what are broken links. Also, it is important to know how to find and fix broken links to keep the website healthy. So, keep reading to find out how to improve your SEO performance so your site ranks higher.
But before moving forward, let’s answer this quiz:
What Are Broken Links
Any hyperlink that takes users to a page or resource that no longer exists. This happens when someone deletes a page, moves it without adding a redirect, or changes its URL.
For more context on what are broken links, when users follow the link or search engines crawl it, the server displays a 404 Not Found error. This error indicates that instead of accessing the expected content, users are redirected to an error page and cannot retrieve the desired information.
For example, if a website once had a page at “www.example.com/blog” but later deleted or moved it without a redirect, any link pointing to that page will result in a 404 error. Users clicking on that link will only see an error message, leaving them without the blog they expected to find.
The impact of broken links is clear, but identifying their types is crucial to addressing them effectively. Below are the types of broken links and how they affect your website:
Types of Broken link
To know what are broken links, it is important to know exactly what their types are, Here are the three types of broken links:
| Type of Broken Link | Description | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Broken Links | Links on your site that should lead to another page within the same site but fail to work. | Users face navigation issues, making your site harder to explore. |
| External Broken Links | Links on your site that point to pages on other websites but no longer work. | Users encounter errors when trying to access external resources. |
| Broken Backlinks | Links on other websites that direct users to your site but lead to a non-existent page. | Your site loses referral traffic and credibility with search engines. |
Types of Broken Link Error Code
The table below outlines the key types of broken links, their errors, and how they can affect the user experience:
| Type of Broken Link | Error Code/Message | What It Means | Impact on Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page Not Found | 404 Error | The requested page or resource no longer exists on the server. | Users are unable to locate the expected content, leading to frustration and a poor experience. |
| Bad Request | 400 Error | The URL is incorrectly formatted, making it unrecognizable to the server. | Users encounter an unclear error message, leaving them unable to proceed further. |
| Unauthorized | 401 Error | Access to the resource is restricted and requires user authentication. | Users are blocked from viewing the content unless they provide valid credentials. |
| Forbidden | 403 Error | The server has denied access to the requested resource despite understanding the request. | Users are restricted from accessing the page, which may cause confusion or frustration. |
| Gone | 410 Error | The resource has been permanently removed, and no forwarding link is provided. | Users face a permanent dead end with no way to access the desired content. |
Now that you know what are backlinks error codes and the specific causes of broken links, it’s time to dive into why links break in the first place, as discussed in the next section.
Why do Links Get Broken?
Links break for several reasons, and each one can disrupt your website’s functionality and user experience. Understanding these causes is essential to prevent broken links and maintain a healthy website.
Deleted or Moved Pages
Broken links occur when a page or content is deleted or moved. As a result, the link stops working because the page no longer exists. This can affect links within the website, and it can also impact links to files or other websites.
To avoid this, update or remove the links pointing to the deleted or moved page. You can also set up a permanent redirect to guide users to the correct or a similar page.
After understanding the concept of what are broken links on a website and the issues they cause, you can efficiently identify and resolve them to maintain a healthy and user-friendly website.
Incorrectly Formatted URL
Another reason for broken links is when the URL is written incorrectly. This happens because of simple human mistakes, such as adding extra slashes, missing characters, or using the wrong format. These errors make the link useless because it doesn’t lead to the correct page.
Domain Name Change
Another common reason for broken links is when a website’s domain name changes during a site migration. Shifting a website to a new domain or platform can cause links to break if they aren’t updated properly.
This often happens on large websites where it’s easy to overlook broken links.
Link Rot:
Link rot happens when links stop working over time. This is because websites often change, move pages, or delete old content. When this happens, links that worked before will now lead to error pages instead of the right content.
Link rot can cause problems for your website. Over time, more links may break, making it hard for users to find what they need. It can also make your website look poorly managed. Search engines may lower your ranking because broken links hurt your site’s SEO.
To avoid link rot, check your website’s links often. Fix or update any links that no longer work. If the content is gone, you can remove the link. Using tools to find broken links can also help you fix them quickly. T
Why Broken Links Are Bad for SEO
Broken links don’t directly influence your search engine rankings, but they can harm your website’s overall performance.
- Crawling and Indexing Issues: Search engines spend their crawl budget on broken links instead of indexing important pages. This makes it harder for Google to discover and rank your content.
- Link Equity: Broken links stop link juice from flowing to other pages on your site. This means you lose the chance to pass on SEO value to those pages.
- User Experience: Users feel frustrated when they click on broken links. This increases bounce rates and reduces the time they spend on your site, which can hurt your rankings indirectly.
- Impact on Credibility: A website with too many broken links looks poorly maintained. This can make users lose trust in your site, as the links don’t work and damage its reputation.
Additionally, broken links can signal poor site structure and, when combined with issues like duplicate content, reduce a website’s overall authority and trust in the eyes of search engines.
Fixing broken links helps maintain your website’s health, improves user experience, and ensures you don’t miss out on SEO benefits.
How to Find Broken Links
Finding broken links on your website is important to keep it user-friendly and SEO-friendly. There are several tools and methods you can use to easily identify and fix these links.
Using Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a great tool to identify broken links on your website. Here are the steps to find them:
- Log in to your Google Analytics account.
- Go to Reports > Engagement > Pages and Screens from the left-hand menu.
- Add the following fields to the report: Page title and Screen Name> Page/Name> Page Path and Screen Class.
- In the search bar, type “Page not found” and press Enter. Then, look for the title of your 404 error page.
- Review the list of URLs to identify pages leading to 404 errors.
With Google Analytics, find broken links and start fixing them, which is a vital part of any effective SEO strategy. Next, let’s see how Google Search Console can help with the same task.
Using Google Search Console
Google Search Console is another effective tool for identifying broken links. It provides detailed reports on crawl errors and broken URLs. Follow these steps to use it:
-
- Log in to your Google Search Console account.
- Select the property (website) you want to analyze.
- Go to the Pages under the Index section in the left-hand menu.
- Look for errors labeled as Not Found (404) or similar issues.
- Click on each error to view the affected URLs and see where the broken links are located.
Using this method, you can easily track and fix broken links. Now, let’s explore how the WordPress Plugin can help with this process.
Using a WordPress Plugin
WordPress plugins make finding broken links effortless, especially for WordPress-based websites. They automate the process and provide easy-to-read reports. Here’s how to use a plugin like Broken Link Checker:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Go to Plugins > Add New in the left-hand menu.
- Get Broken Link Checker and install the plugin.
- Activate the plugin and go to its settings under Tools > Broken Links.
- Allow the plugin to scan your website for broken links.
- Review the report to see all broken internal and external links.
Using this plugin makes it quick and easy to locate broken links on your site. Next, let’s look at how Screaming Frog can help detect broken links on your site.
Using Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is a powerful desktop tool for crawling websites and detecting broken links. It provides detailed insights into your site’s structure. Here’s how to use it:
- Download and install the Screaming Frog SEO Spider from the official website.
- Open the tool and enter your website’s URL in the search bar.
- Click the Start button to begin crawling your website.
- Once the crawl is complete, go to the Response Codes tab.
- Filter by Client Error (4xx) to see all broken links on your site.
- Review the list to identify the source of each broken link, and plan fixes accordingly.
Screaming Frog offers detailed and precise information about broken links. Finally, let’s explore the tested AI method, which provides an innovative way to find broken links.
Tested AI Method
AI-powered tools are an essential component of AI SEO, enabling users to identify broken links with precision and efficiency.
These tools help ensure websites meet SEO guidelines by providing a comprehensive list of broken URLs, which improves site health and enhances search engine rankings.
- Enter the following prompt into an AI tool that supports link analysis:
Prompt: “Please validate the following URLs and determine their status. For each URL, confirm if it is functioning correctly (‘Active’) or if it returns a 404 Not Found error (‘Broken’). Provide the results in a structured table with two columns: ‘URL’ and ‘Status’ (indicating either ‘Broken’ or ‘Active’). Ensure only 404 errors and valid URLs are reported.” - Input URLs for Validation
Add up to 25 URLs in the input, ensuring a mix of internal and external links, if applicable. - Review AI-Generated Results
The AI tool will process your input and return a structured report highlighting each URL’s status. The output will include a clear table categorizing URLs as either ‘Active’ or ‘Broken.’
Note: The provided prompt is customizable to meet your specific needs. You can adjust the format, include additional error types, or request more detailed explanations for each URL status.
The AI tool processes the request and provides a list of broken URLs along with their error codes. This output makes it easy to identify and fix the broken links without manual effort.
How to Fix Broken Links
Fixing broken links is crucial for maintaining a healthy website and improving user experience. Different types of broken links require specific solutions to ensure your site runs smoothly.
Resolve Broken Links for Removed or Relocated Pages
Deleted or moved pages often cause broken links. A deleted page is one that has been permanently removed from a website, usually because the content is outdated, unnecessary, or due to a site restructure.
A moved page, on the other hand, is one that has been relocated to a new URL, often during a site redesign or platform migration.
Below is a table of common methods to fix these types of broken links:
| Method | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Create a redirect | Redirecting ensures visitors and search engines reach the new page seamlessly, preserving your website’s traffic and usability. |
| Correct internal links | Updating or removing broken links makes it easier for users to move around your site, enhancing navigation and reducing errors. |
| Notify search engines | Submitting sitemaps and removing outdated URLs enhance indexing and visibility. Proactively mapping active pages ensures better site maintenance, and a sitemap generator helps track live and broken links. |
| Offer a replacement resource | Replacing deleted pages with similar content or a helpful 404 page ensures users still find useful information, keeping them engaged. |
These methods address issues caused by deleted or moved pages, but broken links can also result from incorrectly formatted URLs, which require a different approach that I discussed below.
Fix an Incorrectly Formatted URL
An incorrectly formatted URL has errors, missing parts, or inconsistencies that make it invalid and unusable. These issues often lead to errors like “400 Bad Request” or “Page Not Found.” Fixing these URLs ensures users can reach the correct page without facing any problems.
| Method | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Double-check URLs | Testing each link ensures it directs users to the correct page, reducing errors and improving user experience. |
| Use URL validators | Tools like the W3C Link Checker identify and highlight URL issues, saving time and effort in spotting errors. |
| Follow proper encoding standards | Replacing special characters with their encoded equivalents, such as using %20 for spaces, makes URLs functional and error-free. |
| Standardize URL structure | Using consistent naming conventions, like lowercase URLs, makes managing and troubleshooting links easier. |
| Set relative vs. absolute links correctly | Using absolute URLs for external links and relative URLs for internal links ensures proper navigation and avoids confusion. |
Fixing these issues ensures your links work correctly, providing a seamless user experience. Let’s now look at how to resolve broken links caused by domain name changes.
Fix Broken Links Caused by a Domain Name Change
Broken links can occur when a website’s domain name changes, such as from www.oldsite.com to www.newsite.com. These links stop working because they still point to the old domain.
Fixing these issues ensures that users and search engines can access the new domain without disruptions.
| Method | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Use 301 redirects | Redirect all traffic from the old domain to the corresponding pages on the new domain, ensuring no visitors land on error pages. |
| Update internal links | Review your site and replace old domain links with new domain links to avoid navigation issues. |
| Notify external link owners | Contact websites that link to your old domain and provide them with your updated domain details, ensuring external referrals remain intact. |
| Update sitemaps | Submit an updated sitemap to search engines like Google and Bing to help them index the new domain faster. |
| Update hardcoded links | Replace old domain links in emails, PDFs, social media profiles, and other external resources to ensure consistency. |
These steps make it easy to resolve broken links caused by a domain name change. Next, let’s explore how to prevent broken links from happening in the future.
Prevent Broken Links
Avoiding broken links requires careful planning and regular maintenance of your website. By taking proactive measures, you can ensure that your links remain functional and provide a smooth user experience.
| Method | How It Helps |
|---|---|
| Plan for file locations | Organize files in dedicated folders, like an “images” folder, and avoid moving them after they are published. This prevents paths from breaking and ensures links remain functional. |
| Keep URLs simple | Use clear, short, and readable URLs. Simple URLs reduce the risk of errors when typing or sharing links and make it easier for users to revisit pages. |
| Test links regularly | Schedule frequent checks of all website links, especially after updates or adding new pages. This helps identify and fix broken links before they frustrate users. |
| Use link checkers | Utilize tools like W3C Link Checker to automate the process of finding broken links. These tools help ensure no link on your site is overlooked. |
| Set up 301 redirects | When content is moved to a new location, use 301 redirects to automatically direct users from the old URL to the new one. This preserves user flow and retains SEO value for the page. |
| Create custom 404 pages | A well-designed custom 404 page improves user experience even when a page is missing. Explain clearly that the page no longer exists, use friendly and inviting language, and provide helpful options like a search bar or links to popular sections. |
Implementing these practices reduces broken links, maintains a professional image, and ensures smooth navigation. Knowing what are broken links helps maintain SEO rankings and enhance user satisfaction.
Proven Success: How Broken Link Building Boosts SEO (Case Study)
Broken links not only frustrate users but also negatively impact a website’s SEO by leading to poor user experience, increased bounce rates, and lost search rankings.
However, a recent study by Webology demonstrated how broken link building can turn these issues into SEO gains by reclaiming lost backlinks and improving site authority.
Challenges in Broken Link Building
Identifying and fixing broken links isn’t always straightforward. Some of the key challenges include:
- Finding high-value broken links that are worth reclaiming.
- Ensuring replacement content is relevant and valuable.
- Convincing webmasters to replace broken links with new ones.
- Managing outreach in a way that leads to high response rates.
Despite these hurdles, a structured approach can make broken link building an effective SEO strategy. By following key steps, website owners can recover lost links and even gain new ones, strengthening their backlink profile and improving search rankings.
Step-by-Step Approach to Fixing and Leveraging Broken Links
A well-structured process can turn broken links from a liability into a powerful SEO advantage.
- Identify broken links – Use tools like Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, or AI-powered link checkers to scan for broken links on relevant sites.
- Analyze link value – Prioritize links that come from high-authority websites and align with your niche.
- Create high-quality replacement content – Ensure the new page is informative, relevant, and better than the original.
- Outreach to site owners – Contact webmasters with a personalized message suggesting your content as a replacement.
- Monitor and track results – Keep an eye on accepted links and continuously refine your outreach strategy.
By systematically addressing broken links, website owners not only improve user experience and SEO rankings but also strengthen their digital presence.
Results!
The Webology case study demonstrates that broken links, often seen as a problem, can actually be turned into an opportunity to enhance domain authority, increase organic traffic, and improve search engine rankings.
Moreover, the study highlights that success in broken link building depends on the quality of replacement content and the outreach approach.
Websites that provide valuable, well-structured, and relevant content stand a higher chance of convincing webmasters to replace dead links with their own.
More SEO Related Guide
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- SEO in Digital Marketing: Enhance visibility with precision.
- Bing SEO: Maximize reach with smart optimization.
FAQs:
What is Link Rot?
How does Google demote rankings for broken links?
What are the main reasons for Link Rot?
What happens if a link is broken?
How can I avoid broken links?
Why is it important to fix broken links?
Conclusion
Broken links negatively impact your website’s credibility and user experience by leading visitors to error pages. Identifying and fixing these links ensures users can access the content they need without frustration.
Fixing broken links with tools like link checkers and 301 redirects helps maintain a professional website while improving SEO. Preventing these issues with proper planning ensures long-term site health.
Proactively addressing what are broken links keeps your website optimized, user-friendly, and trusted by both visitors and search engines.
