What Are Broken Links in SEO?
Broken links are hyperlinks on your website that no longer lead to the intended page. They may return 404 errors, cause poor user experience, and negatively affect your SEO rankings.
Broken links can occur when:
- A linked page is deleted or moved
- The target URL structure changes
- The external website is no longer active
- The URL contains typos or wrong paths
Search engines see broken links as signs of a poorly maintained site, which can hurt your credibility and ranking power.
Use our Broken Link Checker Tool to instantly detect all broken links on your website.
Why Fixing Broken Links Is Important for SEO
Fixing broken links helps search engines and users navigate your website efficiently. Regularly auditing and repairing broken URLs can lead to:
- Better user experience by preventing 404 errors
- Improved crawlability for Googlebot and other search engines
- Higher ranking potential due to reduced site errors
- Increased credibility and trust among readers
- Preserved link equity by redirecting valuable backlinks
Before you start fixing links, perform a full Website SEO Audit to identify all technical SEO issues.
How to Find Broken Links on Your Website
Step 1: Use an Online Broken Link Checker
Tools like Small SEO Tool’s Broken Link Checker automatically scan your site for broken internal and external URLs.
Simply enter your website URL and get a full report on:
- Broken internal links
- Broken outbound links
- Redirect errors (301, 302)
- Dead image and media URLs
Check your site now with our Broken Link Checker to find problem URLs instantly.
Step 2: Review and Analyze the Broken Links
Once the scan completes, analyze the report carefully. Identify whether the broken links are:
- Internal links (within your site)
- External links (leading to other websites)
- Image, script, or video links
Prioritize fixing the internal ones first, as they directly affect your website structure and SEO performance.
Use our Page Speed Analyzer to check if broken links are slowing down your site.
Step 3: Fix or Replace the Broken Links
Depending on the cause, fix broken links by:
- Updating the URL to the correct page
- Redirecting the broken link using a 301 redirect
- Removing irrelevant or outdated links
- Replacing dead external links with active, relevant sources
Generate clean and SEO-friendly URLs using our URL Optimizer Tool.
Step 4: Recheck Your Website After Fixing
After repairing the links, rescan your site to verify that no errors remain.
This ensures that your pages are fully optimized and all redirects work correctly.
Validate your SEO performance after fixing links using our SEO Ranking Tracker.
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Common Causes of Broken Links
- Website redesign or migration
- Deleted pages or posts
- Changed URL structures (slug updates)
- Typographical errors in link addresses
- Expired domains for outbound links
- Improperly configured redirects
Protect your links during redesigns using our Redirect Generator Tool.
SEO Impact of Broken Links on Website Performance
- Decreased Crawl Efficiency: Search engines waste crawl budget on dead pages.
- Reduced User Engagement: Visitors leave when they find 404 errors.
- Lost Link Equity: Valuable backlinks pointing to dead URLs lose value.
- Lower Trust Signals: Sites with broken links appear outdated and unreliable.
Measure your domain’s trust and link strength using our Domain Authority Checker.
Here you get answer for
- “How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress for Better SEO”
- “Step-by-Step Process to Repair Dead Links on a Website”
- “How Broken Links Affect Google Rankings”
- “Free Broken Link Checker Tool for SEO Professionals”
- “How to Redirect 404 Pages to Recover Lost Traffic”
Compare site errors with competitors using our Competitor Analysis Tool.
Best Practices for Fixing Broken Links
- Conduct a monthly broken link audit using automated tools.
- Use 301 redirects for deleted or moved pages.
- Avoid linking to unreliable or temporary external sources.
- Use canonical URLs for duplicate content to prevent broken paths.
- Always update internal links after site migrations.
Ensure your canonical tags are set correctly using our Canonical URL Checker.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Ignoring external broken links
- Deleting old pages without redirects
- Using temporary (302) instead of permanent (301) redirects
- Overlooking broken media files (images, videos)
- Neglecting to update sitemap after link changes
Rebuild your updated sitemap using our XML Sitemap Generator.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: What is the fastest way to find broken links?
Use an automated tool like Small SEO Tool’s Broken Link Checker for quick and accurate scanning of all pages and links.
Q2: How do broken links affect SEO?
They hurt user experience, waste crawl budget, and reduce your website’s authority, which can lower your Google rankings.
Q3: Should I delete or redirect broken links?
If the content no longer exists, use a 301 redirect to send users to a related, live page.
Q4: How often should I check for broken links?
Perform a broken link audit at least once every month, especially after major updates or migrations.
Q5: Can fixing broken links improve my site speed?
Yes. Removing or redirecting broken links reduces unnecessary requests and improves overall load time.
Conclusion
Fixing broken links is one of the most impactful technical SEO tasks you can perform to maintain website health, user trust, and high search rankings.
By using Small SEO Tool’s free Broken Link Checker and other SEO utilities, you can quickly detect, repair, and prevent link issues before they damage your reputation or rankings.
Keep your website clean, crawlable, and user-friendly — because every working link counts toward better SEO performance and stronger online authority.
