Imagine this—you’ve spent months building high-quality backlinks to your website. Your rankings are climbing, traffic is flowing, and your authority is growing. But suddenly, your organic traffic starts dropping. Your rankings slip, and you don’t know why. One hidden culprit could be broken backlinks. These are a hidden SEO problem that can silently hurt your website. These are links from external websites pointing to your pages that no longer exist, leading to 404 errors. When left unchecked, they waste valuable link equity, harm user experience, and negatively impact search rankings.
But here’s the good news: broken backlinks can be fixed, and when done right, you can reclaim lost SEO value. Fixing these links helps recover lost traffic, improve authority, and maintain a strong backlink profile. Plus, there’s an added advantage—broken link building allows you to gain new backlinks while helping others fix their own broken links.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know: how to find broken backlinks, fix them, and prevent them in the future.
What Are Broken Backlinks?
Broken backlinks are links from other websites that point to pages on your site that no longer exist or are inaccessible. When someone clicks on these links, they land on a 404 error page instead of useful content. This can frustrate users, cause lost referral traffic, and signal to search engines that your site has outdated or poorly maintained content.
Why Do Broken Backlinks Happen?
Broken backlinks don’t just appear out of nowhere. There are several common reasons why they occur:
- Page Deletion – If a page on your site was removed without a redirect, all links pointing to it become broken.
- URL Changes – If you change a page’s URL structure and forget to redirect the old URL, existing backlinks break.
- Website Migration – Moving to a new domain or CMS without setting up proper redirects can create a lot of broken backlinks.
- Typographical Errors – Sometimes, website owners mistype your URL when linking to your site, leading to an incorrect or broken link.
- External Website Changes – If another site restructures its pages or removes a post that linked to you, the backlink may no longer work properly.
While some broken backlinks are inevitable, allowing them to accumulate can hurt your website’s performance over time. That’s why fixing them is essential.
How Broken Backlinks Hurt Your SEO
Broken backlinks may seem like a minor issue, but they can negatively impact your SEO in several ways.
1. Loss of Link Equity: Broken backlinks lose link equity, which can hurt your search rankings by disconnecting authority from your site.
2. Poor User Experience: Broken links frustrate users, leading to higher bounce rates and reduced trust in your content.
3. Reduced Crawling Efficiency: Search engines may prioritize other sites if they encounter broken links, affecting your rankings.
4. Missed Referral Traffic: Broken links prevent potential visitors from accessing your content, resulting in lost referral traffic.
5. Negative Impact on Domain Authority: Broken backlinks reduce your domain authority, making it harder to rank against competitors.
Fixing broken backlinks restores lost authority and improves search engine trust.
How to Find Broken Backlinks
Before you can fix broken backlinks, you need to identify them. Manually checking for broken links isn’t practical, especially for larger websites. Instead, using SEO tools and automated methods can help you quickly locate broken backlinks and take action.
1. Use SEO Tools for Backlink Analysis
Several SEO tools help you find broken backlinks efficiently:
A. Ahrefs: Ahrefs is one of the most powerful tools for backlink analysis. To find broken backlinks:
- Go to Site Explorer and enter your website URL.
- Navigate to Broken Backlinks under the Backlink profile section.
- This report will show all backlinks pointing to 404 pages on your website.
- Export the list and prioritize fixing high-authority links first.
B. Google Search Console: Google Search Console helps you identify broken pages that have external backlinks.
- Open the Coverage Report and look for 404 errors.
- Click on each error to see which external sites are linking to them.
- Use this information to determine which backlinks need fixing.
C. Screaming Frog SEO Spider: This tool crawls your website and identifies broken internal and external links.
- Enter your domain and run a full site crawl.
- Go to the Response Codes section and filter by 404 errors.
- Export the data and analyze which pages need fixing.
2. Manual Methods to Find Broken Links
While SEO tools are the fastest way to detect broken backlinks, manual methods can also help:
- Check Google Analytics for pages with high traffic and high bounce rates. If a page is no longer accessible but has backlinks, it may be a broken link issue.
- Use Check My Links (Chrome Extension) to scan specific web pages for dead links. This is useful when analyzing competitor sites for broken link-building opportunities.
- Search for “site:yourdomain.com + 404 error” in Google to identify broken indexed pages that may have backlinks.
Once you’ve identified broken backlinks, the next step is to fix them and reclaim lost SEO value.
How to Fix Broken Backlinks & Reclaim SEO Value
Once you’ve identified broken backlinks, it’s time to fix them and recover lost SEO value. There are multiple ways to handle broken backlinks, depending on the cause of the issue. Below are the best strategies to fix them efficiently.
1. Restore or Recreate the Missing Page
If a broken backlink points to a deleted page that previously had valuable content, the best approach is to restore that page. This method is ideal when:
- The page had high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites.
- The content was still relevant and valuable to users.
- The page ranked well for important keywords.
If restoring the exact page isn’t possible, consider recreating the content with similar information. This allows you to retain the SEO benefits of the backlink while ensuring visitors find useful content.
2. Implement 301 Redirects
When you’ve deleted or moved a page, setting up a 301 redirect ensures that visitors and search engines are redirected to the most relevant existing page. This method works best when:
- The original page is no longer available.
- You have a similar page that covers the same topic.
- You want to preserve link equity from the broken backlink.
How to Set Up a 301 Redirect
If you’re using WordPress, you can install a plugin like Redirection or add the following line to your .htaccess file:
Redirect 301 /old-page-url https://yourdomain.com/new-page-url
For other CMS platforms, you can configure 301 redirects through your hosting provider or site settings.
3. Contact Website Owners to Update the Link
If a website is linking to a non-existent page, you can reach out and request a link update. This works well when:
- The backlink is from a high-authority website.
- The site owner actively maintains their content.
- The incorrect URL was due to a typo or outdated information.
How to Request a Link Update
You can send a simple email like this:
Subject: Quick Fix for a Broken Link on Your Website
Hi [Website Owner],
I was browsing your website and noticed that one of your links to my site is broken.
It currently points to [Old URL], which no longer exists. The correct link should be [New URL].
I’d really appreciate it if you could update the link so your readers can access the right content.
Thanks, and let me know if you have any questions!
Best,
[Your Name]
Most website owners appreciate the heads-up and will update the link if it benefits their audience.
4. Update Internal Links
Broken backlinks don’t just come from external sites—your own website may have internal broken links as well. Fixing them improves:
- User experience (so visitors don’t land on 404 pages).
- Crawlability (Google can index your pages more efficiently).
- SEO value (internal linking strengthens page authority).
To fix internal broken links, use:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider to scan your site.
- Google Search Console’s Coverage Report to identify broken internal pages.
- A simple content audit to manually check for outdated links in blog posts and landing pages.
Fixing internal links is one of the easiest ways to enhance your site structure and keep users engaged.
5. Leverage Broken Link Building
This strategy not only helps fix broken backlinks but also allows you to gain new ones. Here’s how it works:
- Find broken backlinks on competitor websites or in your industry.
- Reach out to the website owner and suggest your content as a replacement.
- If they accept, you gain a new high-quality backlink.
To find broken link-building opportunities, you can:
- Use Ahrefs’ Broken Backlink Report to scan competitor domains.
- Look for outdated resource pages with broken links.
- Use Check My Links to scan blogs and articles for dead links.
This approach helps website owners fix their issues while earning you valuable backlinks.
How to Prevent Broken Backlinks in the Future
Fixing broken backlinks is crucial, but prevention is even better. Regular maintenance ensures that your website remains SEO-friendly, user-friendly, and free from link decay. Here are the best ways to prevent broken backlinks before they become a problem.
1. Perform Regular SEO Audits
Broken backlinks often go unnoticed until they start affecting traffic. Conducting routine SEO audits helps detect issues early.
- Use Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to monitor broken backlinks.
- Set a reminder to check your backlink profile every few months.
- Regularly crawl your site with Screaming Frog SEO Spider to detect internal and external broken links.
Consistent monitoring helps you fix broken backlinks before they impact rankings.
2. Use Proper URL Management
Website owners often change URLs for SEO or restructuring purposes, but failing to set up proper redirects can break backlinks.
- Avoid unnecessary URL changes unless absolutely required.
- If you need to rename or move a page, always implement a 301 redirect to point old URLs to the new ones.
- Keep a URL tracking sheet if you frequently update site structure, ensuring no page is left without a redirect.
A stable URL structure prevents broken links from accumulating over time.
3. Keep a Custom 404 Page
No matter how careful you are, some broken backlinks may still occur. A well-designed 404 page helps retain visitors instead of losing them.
- Provide helpful navigation links so users can easily find related content.
- Add a search bar to help users locate what they were looking for.
- Include a friendly message instead of a generic error code.
A well-optimized 404 page ensures that broken backlinks don’t result in high bounce rates and lost engagement.
4. Monitor Your Backlink Profile
Since backlinks come from external sources, it’s essential to track changes in your link profile.
- Set up Google Alerts for your website name and URLs. This helps you track when new backlinks are created or lost.
- Use Ahrefs’ Lost Backlinks Report to identify removed or broken backlinks.
- If a site owner removes a link, reach out and see if they’d be willing to restore or update it.
Maintaining a healthy backlink profile ensures your website’s authority and ranking stability.
5. Maintain a Strong Internal Linking Structure
A well-planned internal linking strategy can prevent broken links and distribute link equity effectively.
- Avoid linking to pages that are likely to be deleted or updated frequently.
- When updating a page, update all internal links that point to it.
- Use a site-wide broken link checker to ensure all internal links remain functional.
By proactively managing internal and external backlinks, you can avoid SEO issues and ensure long-term ranking success.
Turning Broken Links into an SEO Opportunity
Broken backlinks can help you gain new backlinks through broken link building.
How to Do It:
- Find competitor sites with broken links.
- Contact the webmaster and suggest your similar content.
- If they update the link to your site, you gain a new backlink effortlessly.
This strategy turns SEO issues into link-building wins.
Conclusion
Broken backlinks can significantly impact your website’s performance, affecting everything from search rankings to user experience. They lead to lost link equity, reduced crawling efficiency, missed traffic opportunities, and a decline in domain authority. To maintain a strong SEO strategy and ensure your site remains trusted by both search engines and users, it’s crucial to regularly monitor and fix broken links. Proactively addressing broken backlinks will help preserve your site’s credibility, improve user engagement, and keep your rankings intact. Keep your website healthy by fixing broken links and maintaining a seamless experience for your visitors.