The Ultimate Guide to Broken Links: Finding and Fixing Broken Links and How They Affect SEO
A broken link in any website is such a link that the related webpage is not present on that website currently. And when a user clicks on this link, he gets an error of 404 Page not found.
If you are also facing the problem of Broken Links, then definitely read this article till the end. After reading this article thoroughly, you can quickly fix the broken link.
In this article, you will learn what a broken link is, The Causes of Broken Link Formation, The Loss of Broken Links in SEO, and How to Fix Broken Links.
So let's start this article without taking much of your time and know what Broken Link is in detail -
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What is a Broken Link?
A broken link in any website is such a link that the related webpage is not present on that website currently. And when a user clicks on this link, he gets an error of 404 Page not found.
Broken links harm the website from the point of view of both the user and the search engine. The website with more broken links also has to suffer in search engine ranking.
The broken link is also called a dead link.
Examples of a broken link error code
Here are some examples of error codes that a web server may show for a broken link:
404 Page Not Found: The page/resource doesn't live on the server
400 Bad Request: The host server cannot recognize the URL on your page
Bad host: Invalid host name: the server with that name doesn't exist or is inaccessible
Bad URL: Malformed URL (e.g., a missing bracket, extra slashes, wrong protocol, etc.)
Bad Code: Invalid HTTP response code: the server response violates HTTP spec
Empty: the host server returns “empty” responses with no content and no response code
Timeout: Timeout: HTTP requests constantly timed out during the link check
Reset: The host server drops connections. It is either misconfigured or too busy.
What Causes Broken Links - Reasons for broken links?
By now, you must have understood what a broken link is. Now let's know how broken links are formed. Because until you do not understand the reason for the broken link, then you will not be able to find the solution either.
There can be many reasons for the formation of a broken link which are as follows -
1. Typos
2. Broken Code
3. Changed permalink
4. Delete the post or page
5. Domain Name Change
6. Downloadable Content Links Were Moved
7. From Comment
8. From External Link
9. The Page Has Been Renamed
So, now let's understand each point one by one:
1. Typos
A type is a standard human error that can happen when words within the link URL are misspelled.
When the link isn't clearly spelled, the server can't tell where your link is trying to direct to and will display an error page.
Double-checking the spelling in your URLs can help avoid this issue.
2. Broken Code
Code can even become broken, whether HTML, CSS, Javascript, or other plugins.
When the code is broken and needs to be fixed, the links won't work and will instead show errors, so keeping an eye on the code is essential.
3. Changed permalink
Another reason for becoming a broken link is to change the post URL or page, i.e., permalink. A broken link is created even if the URL is changed.
Suppose earlier, the URL of your webpage was https//example.com/post-name. Now you changed it to https//example.com/category/post-name; then the old URL of the webpage becomes a Broken Link.
4. Delete the post or page
The most common reason for becoming a broken link is to delete one of your pages or posts.
When you delete your post or page so that page is no longer present on the website, the link to that page becomes a Broken Link.
5. Domain Name Change
When a label brand domain shifts, which will happen during rebrands or merges, the domain changes, and sometimes internal links are forgotten during the switch.
A plan for domain name changes is essential to a successful linking structure.
6. Downloadable Content Links Were Moved
This link does not redirect us to another page but contains downloadable content like an eBook, PDF, or Google document.
When those content elements are removed, but the links aren't, the link has nowhere to go and will display an error.
7. From Comment
Broken links are also made on the website by comments. When users comment on your post, they also add the URL of any post on their website to the comment.
But later, sometimes they change the URL of the webpage added in the comment, or even if they delete that webpage, then a broken link is created on your website.
8. From External Link
If needed, we also add an External Link to our blog post. But if the owner of that link later removes the page related to that link, it becomes a broken link.
9. The Page Has Been Renamed
Likewise to typos, when pages are renamed, the URL changes, and without the new URL being updated in all links, the server doesn't know how to process those requests and will display an error page.
When a page is renamed, ensure that the links to that page are updated accordingly.
What are the disadvantages of Broken Links?
So, by now, we have come to know what is the broken link and how it is formed. Before knowing this, how can you find the broken link of your site? First, let us see what the disadvantages of broken links are.
- Having more broken links to any site makes a massive difference in the site's ranking.
- Broken links reduce the traffic of your website.
- Because of broken links, your web pages do not appear in search engines.
- Broken links have a terrible effect on your visitors and search engine ranking.
- Broken Links also reduce your Organic Traffic.
- The user experience is terrible.
- The reputation of your website can be affected.
- Broken links will reduce users' trust in your website.
- Your bounce rate will increase.
- A decline in Customers and Revenue
How to know how many broken links are there on your website?
You get many websites online to know how to find Broken Links, where you can very quickly see the Broken links of your entire website at once.
You can use the following sites to check broken links on your website.
3) Validator
5) PowerMapper
Find Broken Links With the Help of SEO Tools
There are some free SEO tools that you can try if you want.
Free SEO Tools :
- Ahrefs
- Site checker
- Dead link checker
- Broken link checker
- Integrity link checker
All the tools mentioned above are entirely free; you can use anyone.
My advice would be that you create a free account in Ahrefs. Here you will get an option of a free site audit; then, you will be able to see the broken link.
How to Fix Broken Links On Your Website
Let us now see how to fix the Broken link.
It is not that difficult; for this, you first have to list all the broken links on your site.
And then have to see where all those links are available.
After this, update all these links with the new link and delete the pages you have removed by going to your site's Dashboard.
Important Tip: If possible, update the links only; it will not make any difference to your SEO.
How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress?
Many plugins are available to search and fix Broken Links in WordPress. You can find all the broken links on your website using the Broken Link Checker Plugin.
For this, you have first to install the Broken Link Checker Plugin. After that, you must go to the menu option on the left side of WordPress; here, you will find Broken Link Checker Plugin.
After activating it, it provides you with a list of all the broken links on your website, and then you can remove, update or even unlink these links. But I will advise you to update those Broken Links only.
You can also search for Broken Links and redirect them to a similar page with 301 Redirection. For this, you have to install the Redirection Plugin in your WordPress.
After that, you can activate it by going to the menu of WordPress and then you can set Redirect with its help. In this, you have to enter Broken URL in the option of Source URL and New URL in Target URL.
After this, click on Add Redirect Button; by doing this, your Broken Link will be redirected to another similar page.
How to Fix Broken Links on Blogspot?
Follow the steps below to fix your website's broken link on Blogspot.
Open the Blogger Site, and now find your site's broken links with the broken link checker given above.
Copy all the broken links on your site.
Now paste all the broken links in blogger settings and put their custom redirects old URL and redirect with the new URL. ( Setting >> search preference >> custom redirects )
Conclusion:
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F.A.Q. What is a Broken Link? How Do You Find + Steps to Fix Them?
Q: What is a Broken Link?
Ans: A link in a website that does not exist on the website is called a broken link.
Q: What is a Dead URL?
Ans: Broken link is also called a dead URL.
Q: What is a Broken Backlink?
Ans: Broken backlink is a link between two websites that are no longer working.
Q: How to find a Broken Link?
Ans: You can fix broken links very quickly with the help of plugins or online tools.