Broken links can hurt your website’s credibility, user experience, and SEO score in a big way. When visitor hits on a link and gets a 404 error, it throws off their journey and makes them less likely to trust your site or come back. Search engines like Google also see broken links as bad SEO signs, which can hurt your rankings.
This detailed guide will show you how to find broken links, fix them, and keep them from happening using both manual methods and tools like Broken Link Checker. These tips will help you improve your SEO score and give your users a smooth experience whether you’re using WordPress, Joomla, or another CMS.
Why broken links are bad for your site
😢 Bad Experience for Users
When a person clicks on a link, they are taken to a page that doesn’t exist. User interest and bounce rates go down because of this.
Lessening of search engine rankings
Google gives more weight to websites that are easy for people to use. If your site has a lot of broken links, it means you haven’t been maintaining it well, which can hurt your results.
😢Lost Title Link
If your site has broken links, the SEO value (link juice) that those links used to have is lost.
😢Higher rates of “bounces”
Users who see multiple 404 mistakes will quickly leave your site, which raises your bounce rate, which is another factor Google uses to rank sites.
😢Lower rates of conversion
Broken links on product pages or CTAs (Calls to Action) can cause sales and results to be lost.
🤔What to Do If You Find Broken Links on Your Site
1. Making use of Google Search Console
You can use Google Search Console for free to find links that don’t work.
Step 1: Open Google Search Console and go to the Coverage Report.
2. Making use of the Broken Link Checker plugin
One of the best ways for WordPress users to find and fix broken links is to use Broken Link Checker.
3.How to Use Ahrefs’ Paid Broken Link Checker
Ahrefs gives you a thorough study of broken links that you can use.
4. Using the free version of Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog helps websites get crawled so that broken links can be found.
✔ Get Screaming Frog SEO Spider
How to Fix Links That Don’t Work
1. Fixing broken links inside the company
- Make sure the URL is correct. If the page was changed, make sure the internal link points to the new URL.
- Change the Link: To send people to the right page, use a 301 reroute.
- Take Down the Link: If the page doesn’t exist anymore, take down the link completely.
2. Fixing broken links outside the site
- Find an Alternative Link: Change broken external links to sites that are more up to date.
- Talk to the website owner. If the site is still useful but has changed, ask them for the right link.
- Get Rid of the Link: If there isn’t another option, just get rid of the broken link.
3. 301 Redirects to Fix Broken Links
Search engines will always know that a page has changed if it has a 301 redirect.
What You Need to Do to Set Up a 301 Redirect
- Â Get the Redirection app and turn it on.
- Go to Tools > Redirection and type in the broken URL and the new URL you want to send people to.
- Save the change and check it.
Put this in for NGINX servers:
4. Getting rid of broken links in Google’s index
Google may still have stored a broken link after you fix it. To get rid of it, go to Google Search Console and find Removals under “Index.” When you click “New Request,” send the broken URL.
How to Keep Links From Breaking Again
1. Do regular audits of your links
Links should be checked regularly with tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or Screaming Frog.
2. Use relative URLs (for links inside your site)
Don’t use exact URLs like https://example.com/about. Instead, use relative URLs like /about.
3. Keep an eye on outgoing links
If you often refer to outside sources, make sure you check them every so often to make sure they’re still working.
4. Fix broken links after moving a site
If you change your site’s domain name or layout, you should also change the internal and external links to reflect that.
5. Make 404 pages that are easy to find,
Low return rates can be achieved by making a custom 404 error page with suggested links and a search bar.
Last Thoughts
For SEO to work, broken links must be fixed. You can make sure your website works well for users and ranks better in search results by checking it often with tools like Google Search Console, Broken Link Checker, and Ahrefs.
✔ Use SEO tools on a regular basis to check for broken links.
✔ Fix broken links with 301 redirects so your site doesn’t lose any SEO value.
✔ If necessary, fix or remove broken links by hand.
✔ Keep an eye on outbound links to make sure they work.
✔  Make 404 pages better by adding links and useful information.
If you follow these best practices, your website will stay optimized and your SEO scores will go up a lot!