How to Fix Broken Links on Your Website

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Broken links, also known as dead links, are hyperlinks that no longer lead to their intended destination. They can negatively impact your website’s user experience, reduce your SEO performance, and erode trust with visitors. Regularly checking for and fixing these links is crucial for maintaining a healthy, high-performing site.

In this blog, we’ll explore how to identify broken links, why they matter, and most importantly—how to fix them effectively.

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What Are Broken Links?

A broken link is a hyperlink that leads to a non-existent page, usually resulting in a 404 error. These links can be internal (pointing to a page within your own website) or external (pointing to a different website).

Common causes of broken links include:

• The target page has been moved or deleted.

• The URL has changed without a redirect.

• Typographical errors in the link.

• Linked websites are no longer active.

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Why Broken Links Matter

Fixing broken links is more than just a cleanup task. Here’s why they matter:

1. User Experience

Visitors clicking a broken link are likely to leave your site out of frustration. This increases bounce rate and decreases user satisfaction.

2. SEO and Rankings

Search engines, especially Google, consider broken links as a sign of a neglected site. Too many broken links can affect crawlability and diminish your ranking potential.

3. Wasted Crawl Budget

When Googlebot encounters broken links, it wastes valuable time that could be spent indexing your important content.

4. Lost Link Equity

If an external site linked to a page that no longer exists, you lose valuable link equity (or “link juice”) unless you set up a redirect.

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How to Find Broken Links

There are several ways to locate broken links on your website:

1. Google Search Console

• Go to “Pages” and then check the “Not Found (404)” section.

• You’ll see URLs Google tried to crawl but couldn’t find.

2. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

• This desktop tool allows you to crawl your website.

• Look under the “Response Codes” tab and filter for “Client Error (4xx).”

3. Online Broken Link Checkers

• Tools like BrokenLinkCheck.com, Dr. Link Check, or Dead Link Checker provide a fast way to scan your site.

4. Ahrefs, Semrush, or Ubersuggest

• These premium SEO tools offer site audits that identify broken internal and external links.

5. Manual Check

• You can also manually go through key pages and check links, especially after major content updates or website migrations.

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How to Fix Broken Links

Once you've identified broken links, here’s how to fix them:

1. Update the Link

If the target page still exists but has a new URL, simply update the hyperlink to point to the correct page.

2. Replace the Link

If the link is pointing to an external page that no longer exists, find a new, relevant resource to link to.

3. Remove the Link

If there’s no alternative or the link adds no value, you may choose to remove it entirely.

4. Set Up Redirects

For internal links pointing to deleted pages:

• Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to a new relevant page.

• This preserves SEO value and ensures users don’t land on a dead end.

Most website platforms like WordPress offer redirect plugins (like Redirection or Yoast SEO) to make this easy.

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Best Practices to Avoid Broken Links in the Future

While it’s important to fix broken links, prevention is even better. Here are some tips:

1. Use Permanent URLs

Design URLs that won’t change frequently. Avoid including dates or categories in your URL structure unless necessary.

2. Implement 301 Redirects Immediately

When removing or renaming a page, set up a 301 redirect to guide visitors and search engines to the new destination.

3. Audit Your Site Regularly

Set a schedule—monthly or quarterly—to run link audits. Tools like Screaming Frog can be automated to check your site routinely.

4. Limit External Linking

The more external links you use, the greater the risk of them becoming outdated. Only link to trusted, regularly maintained sites.

5. Track Site Changes

Keep a change log of content deletions, migrations, or redesigns. This makes it easier to update associated links afterward.

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Special Considerations for Large Websites

If your website contains thousands of pages, broken link management becomes even more critical. Consider the following:

• Use automation tools: Run automated crawls weekly or bi-weekly.

• Assign responsibility: Designate a team member to monitor link health.

• Monitor backlinks: Use tools like Ahrefs to find external sites linking to deleted pages and request they update their links—or set up redirects.

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Conclusion

Broken links are more than just a minor inconvenience—they can significantly harm your SEO performance and user experience. Thankfully, finding and fixing them is a manageable process with the right tools and strategies.

Make link auditing a regular part of your website maintenance routine. Not only will you provide a smoother experience for your users, but you'll also strengthen your site’s search engine performance in the long run.

By staying proactive, you ensure that every link on your website works hard to keep users engaged and boost your visibility online.