Effective Strategies to Fix Broken Links on Website

Introduction

This blog explains why and how to identify and fix broken links on your website to maintain a seamless user experience and strong SEO performance. Broken links can frustrate visitors, harm search rankings, and reduce website credibility by leading users to non-existent or inaccessible pages.

A well-maintained website ensures smooth navigation, keeps users engaged, and improves overall functionality. By regularly auditing and troubleshooting broken links, you can prevent lost traffic, enhance site performance, and provide a more reliable browsing experience. This guide will help you efficiently detect, resolve, and prevent broken links, ensuring your website remains fully functional and user-friendly.

What Are Broken Links?

Broken links, also known as dead links, are hyperlinks that no longer lead to their intended destination. Instead, they result in errors such as "404 Not Found" or "This page no longer exists." These links can occur within a website (internal links) or point to external sources (external links).

Broken links negatively impact user experience, SEO rankings, and website credibility by frustrating visitors and making content harder to access. Regularly identifying and fixing broken links is essential to maintaining a smooth, functional website.

Common Causes of Broken Links

• Deleted or Moved Pages – If the linked page is deleted or relocated without updating the URL or setting up a redirect, the link becomes broken.
  For example, if you link to an old blog post about SEO trends, but the post gets deleted or moved to a new URL without a redirect, visitors will encounter a 404 error.
  
  
• Typos or Incorrect URL Formatting – Simple errors like missing characters, incorrect slashes, or extra spaces can cause links to break.
  For instance, linking to "https://fanatical.com/blogs/gmail-automation/" instead of "https://fanatical.com/blogs/guide-to-gmail-automation/" may result in a broken link.
  
  
• Expired or Inactive External Links – External sites may go offline, change their structure, or remove the content you’ve linked to, causing your links to break.
  For example, if you reference a Google workspace update hosted on an external website, but the agency removes or updates the page, your link will no longer work.
  
  
• Website Restructuring – When a website undergoes a redesign or restructuring and URLs change, internal links may break if redirects are not properly set.
  For example, if xFanatical reorganizes its blogs categories and moves a blog from "fanatical.com/blogs" to "fanatical.com/general-blogs" without setting up a redirect, previous links to the blogs page will break.
  
  
• Domain Name Changes – If a website changes its domain name without updating all links, previous links to the old domain become invalid.
  For example, if a company moves from "oldwebsite.com" to "newwebsite.com" but doesn’t update internal and external links, visitors will still be directed to the old, non-functional domain.
  
  
• Server or Hosting Issues – If the server hosting the page is temporarily down or experiences issues, links to that page may break until the server is restored.
  For instance, if a company’s web hosting provider experiences downtime, users clicking on links to that site may see a "server not found" error until the site is back online.
  
  
• Changes in Content Management System (CMS) – Updates or changes in the CMS settings, plugins, or themes may result in broken links, especially if the CMS URL structure changes.
  For example, switching from WordPress to another CMS may alter the permalink structure from "fanatical.com/blog/guide-to-automation" to "example.com/article/guide-to-automation", breaking previous links unless redirects are set up.
  

How Broken Links Can Harm Your Website

1. Broken links frustrate visitors by preventing them from accessing the information they need. This can lead to high bounce rates and lower user engagement.
   For instance, if a visitor is reading an article and clicks on a reference link that leads to an error page, they may leave your site out of frustration.
   
   
2. Search engines like Google may penalize sites with broken links, lowering their visibility in search results. A site full of broken links is seen as unreliable, which can hurt its SEO performance.
   For example, if a general blog has multiple broken links to external resources, Google may downgrade its ranking due to poor user experience.
   
   
3. A website with broken links appears unprofessional and neglected. Visitors may lose trust in your site, which can affect your brand’s reputation.
   For example, if a website has broken links on its product pages, customers may perceive it as outdated or unreliable and choose a competitor instead.
   
   
4. Broken external links can result in lost referral traffic from other websites, while broken internal links can lead to users abandoning your site altogether.
   For instance, if another site links to your blog page, but the page has moved without a redirect, users will get an error instead of valuable content.
   
   
5. If search engines can't crawl and index all your pages due to broken links, some of your content might not appear in search results, limiting its reach.
   For example, if your sitemap contains broken links, Google may not properly index your latest blog posts, reducing organic traffic.
   
   
6. Constantly addressing broken links, especially on large websites, can lead to more time and resources spent on maintaining the site, rather than improving its functionality or adding new features.
   For instance, a website with thousands of archived articles may spend significant time fixing outdated links rather than creating fresh content.
   
   
7. If users are unable to access key pages (like product pages, contact forms, or checkout), broken links can directly impact conversions and sales.
   For example, if a customer clicks on a "Explore more" button that leads to a missing page, they may abandon the purchase altogether.
   

How to Find Broken Links ?

Identifying and fixing broken links is essential for maintaining a seamless user experience and strong SEO performance. Here are some effective methods to detect broken links on your website:

1. Manual Checking

Manually clicking on links throughout your website can help identify broken ones. This method is practical for small websites but becomes inefficient for larger sites. To check manually:

• Browse different pages on your website.
• Click on links to ensure they lead to the correct destination.
• Look for error messages like "404 Not Found" or "Page Not Available."
  
  

2. Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free tool that helps monitor website health, including broken links. To find broken links:

• Log in to Google Search Console and select your website.
• Navigate to Coverage under Indexing to check for pages with errors.
• Look for 404 errors under Crawl Errors, which indicate broken links.
• Fix the broken links and request Google to recrawl your site.
  
  

3. Online Broken Link Checkers

Several free and paid online tools scan websites for broken links. Popular tools include:

• Dead Link Checker – Scans your entire website and lists broken links.
• W3C Link Checker – Analyzes links for validation and accessibility issues.
  To use these tools, enter your website URL, run a scan, and review the broken links report.

4. SEO Tools

SEO platforms provide in-depth insights into website health, including broken links. Popular options include:

• Ahrefs – Use the Site Audit feature to detect broken internal and external links.
• SEMrush – Run a Site Audit to find and fix broken links.
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider – A desktop tool that crawls websites and reports broken links.
  These tools help track broken links and suggest ways to resolve them.

5. Browser Extensions

Google Chrome extensions can quickly scan web pages for broken links without requiring full site crawls. Some useful extensions include:

• Check My Links – Highlights broken links directly on the page.
• LinkMiner – Checks broken links and provides SEO metrics.
  Simply install the extension, visit a webpage, and let it scan for broken links.

6. Website Crawlers

Website crawlers scan websites and generate reports on broken links. Some popular options include:

• Xenu’s Link Sleuth (Windows) – A free tool that checks websites for broken links.
• Integrity (Mac) – A link checker that scans for dead links on macOS.
  These tools are ideal for large websites that require detailed link audits.

How to Fix Broken Links ?

Once you've identified broken links on your site, it's essential to address them promptly to maintain a smooth user experience and strong SEO performance. The approach to fixing these links varies depending on whether they are internal, external, or backlinks.

1. Fixing Internal & External Links

As a website owner, you have direct control over both internal (links within your site) and external (links to other websites) links. There are three main ways to fix broken links:

• Updating or Removing the Link
  
  • If the issue is a typo or an outdated URL, simply replace it with the correct link. This is the quickest and most effective fix.
    
  • If the link is no longer necessary or relevant, removing it may be the best option. This ensures users aren't directed to a non-existent or irrelevant page.
    
• Using 301 Redirects- A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that sends users and search engines to a new URL. This method is ideal if:
  
  • A page has been moved to a new URL.
  • A product or service has been discontinued, but there is a similar alternative.

For example, if a broken link leads to a discontinued product, a 301 redirect can guide users to a related product instead. However, avoid redirecting users to irrelevant pages, as this can negatively impact SEO and user experience. To implement a 301 redirect, you can:

i) Use a WordPress redirection plugin like RankMath.

ii) Edit your .htaccess file (Apache servers).

iii) Configure it in Nginx or PHP for custom implementations.

• Handling Broken External Links- Broken external links can harm credibility and SEO. Here’s how to fix them:
  • Check for typos – Even a small error in the URL can result in a broken link.
    
  • Verify if the page still exists – If the original page is available, copy and paste its URL correctly.
    
  • Replace with an alternative source – If the page has been removed, find another reputable source with similar information.
    
  • Remove the link – If no suitable replacement is available, removing the link ensures users aren’t misled.

2. Fixing Broken Backlinks

Unlike internal and external links, backlinks (links from other sites to yours) require outreach to webmasters for corrections. Here’s how to approach it:

• Identify Broken Backlinks- Use SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to find backlinks pointing to broken pages on your site.
  
• Contact the Website Owner- Since you don’t have direct control over backlinks, you’ll need to request a correction. Here’s how to craft an effective email:
  
  • Personalized Greeting: Address the webmaster by name if possible.
    
  • Introduction: Briefly introduce yourself and your website.
    
  • Specify the Issue: Mention the broken link, including the URL of the referring page and the link that needs updating.
    
  • Suggest a Solution: Provide the correct link to replace the broken one.
    
  • Highlight Mutual Benefits: Emphasize that fixing the link improves their SEO as well as yours.
    
  • Keep It Concise: A short, professional message is more likely to get a response.
    
  • Follow Up Politely: If you don’t receive a response after a few days, send a polite follow-up. Avoid excessive messages to prevent spam.

 Routine Link Monitoring and Maintenance

• Schedule Regular Link Audits: Set a consistent frequency for checking both internal and external links to ensure they remain functional.
  
• Use Link Checker Tools: Automate the process with tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or Dead Link Checker to scan for broken links across your site.
  
• Fix Broken Links Promptly: Update or remove broken links as soon as they’re identified to maintain a seamless user experience and protect SEO performance.
  
• Monitor Backlinks: Use SEO tools to track backlinks pointing to your site, and request updates if any of them are broken.
  
• Implement Redirects: Use 301 redirects to guide users to relevant pages when content is moved or deleted, preserving both SEO value and usability.

Conclusion

In conclusion, regularly identifying and fixing broken links is vital for maintaining a user-friendly website and ensuring strong SEO performance. Broken links can harm user experience, damage your credibility, and negatively affect your search engine rankings. By employing effective strategies such as manual checks, utilizing Google Search Console, leveraging SEO tools, and setting up redirects, you can quickly address broken links and enhance your website’s functionality. Ensuring that both internal and external links are working correctly not only keeps users engaged but also supports your site's growth and search visibility. Proactively managing broken links will save you time, boost your website's reputation, and help deliver a seamless browsing experience for all visitors.

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