Broken links—also known as dead links—are hyperlinks that lead to non-existent pages, often resulting in a 404 error. These errors can harm your website’s SEO and user experience, as they disrupt the flow of information and frustrate users trying to access content. For search engines, broken links can create crawl inefficiencies, prevent important pages from being indexed, and diminish the authority of your site. This guide will explain the impact of broken links on SEO, common causes, how to find them, and the best practices for fixing and preventing broken links.
Why Broken Links Hurt SEO
Broken links have a range of negative effects on both search engine performance and user experience. Here’s why fixing them should be a priority:
1. Poor User Experience
When users click on a link expecting to find relevant content but land on a 404 error page, it can create frustration and distrust. Broken links hinder navigation and can lead to a higher bounce rate, as users may leave your site rather than try to find the content they were seeking. From a user perspective, frequent 404 errors can reduce the credibility of your site, impacting engagement and conversions.
2. Wasted Crawl Budget
Search engines like Google allocate a crawl budget for each website, which refers to the number of pages that search engine bots crawl during a specific time period. When crawlers encounter broken links, they waste valuable crawl resources on non-existent pages. This can reduce the efficiency of the crawl, leaving other important pages undiscovered or not fully indexed, which negatively impacts your site’s SEO.
3. Loss of Link Equity
When a page with external or internal backlinks becomes a broken link, the link equity (or ranking power) that was passing through those links is lost. If a broken link leads to a 404 error page instead of a live, relevant page, the SEO value associated with those backlinks diminishes. This can harm your site’s authority, leading to a decline in rankings for the affected pages.
Broken links can also impact internal linking by disrupting the flow of link equity between pages on your own website. Important pages that rely on internal links to pass authority may suffer in search rankings if those links are broken.
Common Causes of Broken Links
There are several reasons why links can break, and understanding these causes is essential for preventing and fixing them:
1. Page or URL Changes
When you update a page’s URL or delete a page without properly redirecting the old URL to a new one, any links pointing to the old URL will break. This is common during website redesigns, migrations, or changes to URL structures (e.g., switching from HTTP to HTTPS or updating permalinks).
2. Expired or Removed Content
Content that is removed from your website without a replacement, such as outdated blog posts, product listings, or temporary landing pages, can lead to broken links. If there are internal or external links pointing to that content, they will return a 404 error once the page is deleted.
3. Misspelled or Incorrect URLs
Typos or formatting errors in the URL can lead to broken links. A misplaced character, missing slash, or incorrect domain name can easily result in a dead link. These errors often occur during manual link creation or content updates.
4. External Website Changes
If you link to external websites and those pages are later moved, deleted, or altered, the links on your site can break. Since you can’t control the content on external sites, it’s important to regularly check for broken external links and update or remove them as needed.
5. Server or Hosting Issues
Occasionally, broken links can occur if the web server hosting your site experiences downtime or technical issues, rendering the page temporarily unavailable. While this issue is usually resolved once the server is back online, it can still create a poor user experience if it happens frequently.
Identifying the root cause of broken links helps you address them more effectively and prevent future occurrences.
How to Find Broken Links
Regularly checking for broken links is essential for maintaining your site’s SEO health. Here are some tools and methods to help you identify broken links:
1. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is one of the best free tools for monitoring crawl errors, including broken links. By accessing the Coverage Report in Search Console, you can view URLs that return a 404 error and see which pages or links are affected. The URL Inspection Tool can also help you analyze specific pages and identify any broken links or crawl issues.
2. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog is a powerful SEO tool that crawls your website in the same way search engines do, identifying any broken internal or external links. It provides a detailed report showing all URLs that return a 404 error, helping you locate broken links across your site. The tool also allows you to export the list of broken links, making it easier to manage and fix them.
3. Ahrefs Site Audit
Ahrefs offers a comprehensive Site Audit tool that crawls your website for SEO issues, including broken links. Ahrefs highlights both internal and external broken links, providing information on the affected pages and offering suggestions for how to fix them. The tool also tracks your site’s health over time, allowing you to monitor broken links and ensure they are resolved.
4. Broken Link Checker Tools
There are several free and paid online tools that specifically check for broken links, such as Dead Link Checker, Dr. Link Check, and BrokenLinkCheck.com. These tools scan your site for dead links and provide a list of URLs that need to be fixed. While less comprehensive than tools like Screaming Frog, these tools are easy to use for smaller websites or quick checks.
How to Fix Broken Links
Once you’ve identified broken links, it’s time to fix them. Here are the best practices for addressing broken links on your website:
1. Set Up 301 Redirects
For pages that have been permanently moved or deleted, set up 301 redirects to point users and search engines to a new, relevant page. A 301 redirect passes most of the original page’s ranking power to the new page, preserving link equity and ensuring users don’t encounter a 404 error.
For example, if a product page is removed, you can redirect it to a similar product or a related category page. Use your website’s .htaccess file (for Apache servers) or server configuration (for Nginx or IIS) to set up 301 redirects.
2. Update Internal Links
For broken internal links, update the links to point to the correct, live URLs. This ensures that your internal linking structure remains intact and that link equity flows properly between pages. If the original content no longer exists, consider linking to a similar page or related content that provides the same value to users.
3. Replace or Remove Broken External Links
For broken external links, there are two main options:
- Replace the Link: If the external content has been moved or updated, find the new URL and replace the broken link with the updated one.
- Remove the Link: If the external content is no longer available and there’s no suitable replacement, consider removing the link entirely or linking to an alternative resource that provides similar information.
4. Restore Deleted Pages (If Necessary)
If you’ve deleted content that still has valuable backlinks or traffic, consider restoring the page with updated content. This can help preserve the original SEO value and keep users engaged with the content they were seeking. If restoring the page isn’t feasible, a 301 redirect is usually the best solution.
Best Practices for Preventing Broken Links
While fixing broken links is important, preventing them in the first place can save you time and improve your website’s performance. Here are some best practices to minimize broken links:
1. Use Consistent URL Structures
Avoid changing URL structures without a clear plan. If you must update URLs (such as during a site migration or redesign), implement 301 redirects for all affected pages to prevent broken links. Consistent URL structures help maintain the integrity of your internal and external links.
2. Regularly Audit Your Website
Perform regular SEO audits using tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, or Ahrefs to identify and fix broken links before they become a major issue. Monthly or quarterly audits help catch new broken links early and keep your site healthy.
3. Monitor External Links
Since you don’t control external websites, it’s important to periodically check for broken external links. Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console to monitor your external links and update or remove them as needed to ensure a smooth user experience.
Conclusion
Broken links can negatively impact your website’s SEO, user experience, and overall performance. By regularly checking for broken links using tools like Google Search Console and Screaming Frog, and fixing them through 301 redirects or link updates, you can preserve link equity, improve crawl efficiency, and enhance user engagement. Taking proactive steps to prevent broken links will help keep your site optimized and ensure it ranks well in search results.
