July 21, 2026
Broken links are one of the most common SEO problems websites face. A single broken link may seem harmless, but hundreds of broken links can create a poor experience for visitors and make it harder for search engines to properly crawl and understand your website.
When a visitor clicks a link and reaches a 404 error page instead of the content they expected, they may leave your website entirely. Search engines also rely on links to discover pages, understand website structure, and evaluate content quality.
In this guide, you will learn what broken links are, why they matter for SEO, how to find them, and the best ways to fix them.
A broken link is a hyperlink that no longer leads to a valid page. Instead of sending users to the intended destination, it returns an error such as a 404 page, server error, or another failed response.
Broken links can appear in many places across a website, including:
For example, if you previously published an article at:
example.com/seo-tips
and later deleted or renamed the page without updating links pointing to it, visitors and search engines may encounter a broken link.
Broken links do not directly cause a website to receive a ranking penalty, but they can negatively affect several important SEO factors.
Search engines want to rank websites that provide valuable experiences for users.
When visitors repeatedly encounter broken links, they may become frustrated and leave your website. This can increase abandonment and reduce engagement.
Search engines use bots to crawl websites and discover pages.
If search engine crawlers spend time following broken links, they may waste resources crawling URLs that no longer provide value.
For larger websites, fixing broken links can help search engines spend more time discovering important pages.
Internal links help distribute authority throughout your website.
A broken internal link prevents that value from flowing properly between pages and can make important content harder to discover.
A website filled with broken links can appear outdated or poorly maintained.
Keeping links updated helps maintain credibility with both users and search engines.
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Broken Link | A link pointing to another page on your own website that no longer exists. | /old-blog-post returns 404 |
| External Broken Link | A link pointing to another website that is no longer available. | A referenced article was deleted |
| Image Broken Link | An image file cannot be loaded. | Missing image URL |
| Redirect Error | A redirect points to an invalid or unavailable destination. | Redirect chain ending in an error |
The first step to fixing broken links is identifying where they exist.
There are several ways to find broken links depending on the size of your website.
The easiest way to find broken links is through an SEO audit tool.
SEO auditing tools crawl your website similarly to search engines and identify URLs that return errors.
A good SEO audit should detect:
SeoLoupe automatically scans websites for technical SEO issues, including broken links, helping you quickly identify problems that may affect search visibility.
Google Search Console provides useful information about crawling and indexing issues.
You can review pages that Google has attempted to crawl and identify URLs that return errors.
For smaller websites, manually checking important pages can help catch obvious problems.
Focus on:
Internal links are links that connect pages within your own website.
When you find a broken internal link, there are several possible solutions.
If the page still exists but the URL changed, update the link to point to the correct location.
If the old page was permanently moved, create a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new page.
This helps visitors reach the correct content and preserves existing SEO value.
If the destination page no longer provides value and there is no suitable replacement, removing the link may be the best option.
External links point to websites outside your own domain.
These links can break when another website deletes content, changes URLs, or shuts down.
To fix broken external links:
Regularly reviewing external links helps keep your content accurate and trustworthy.
No. Redirecting every broken URL is not always the best solution.
A redirect should only be used when there is a relevant replacement page.
Sending users from an old article about SEO tools to an unrelated homepage creates a poor experience and may confuse search engines.
Use redirects when:
Remove the URL when:
Regular maintenance helps prevent links from becoming outdated.
Changing URLs frequently increases the chance of creating broken links.
Choose stable URLs that can remain useful for years.
Before deleting or moving pages, check whether other pages link to them.
Technical issues can appear over time as websites grow.
Regular audits help you catch problems before they affect visitors or search visibility.
Broken links and 404 errors are related but not exactly the same.
A broken link is the link causing someone to reach an unavailable destination.
A 404 error is the response shown when the requested page cannot be found.
For example:
A blog post contains a link to a deleted article. The link is broken, and the deleted article returns a 404 error.
The ideal frequency depends on how often your website changes.
| Website Type | Recommended Frequency |
|---|---|
| Small business website | Every few months |
| Blog with frequent updates | Monthly |
| Ecommerce website | Weekly or monthly |
| Large websites | Regular automated monitoring |
Broken links are a small technical SEO issue that can become a much larger problem as your website grows.
They create frustrating experiences for visitors, waste crawl resources, and make it harder for search engines to understand your website.
The best approach is to regularly audit your website, fix broken internal links, update outdated external links, and maintain a clean website structure.
With the right SEO audit process, finding and fixing broken links becomes simple, allowing your website to stay healthy and continue improving its search visibility.
