When it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO), every detail matters—from your page titles to your internal linking strategy. One often-overlooked but highly damaging issue is broken links. These seemingly small problems can have a massive impact on your website’s search engine rankings, user experience, and overall credibility.
If you're running a website—whether it's a blog, an e-commerce store, or a service-based site—ignoring broken links is like leaving potholes on a highway and expecting a smooth ride. This blog post explores why broken links are dangerous for your SEO and how you can fix them efficiently.
What Are Broken Links?
Broken links, also called dead links or 404 errors, are hyperlinks that no longer lead to a valid destination. They typically occur when:
- A linked page has been deleted or moved.
- A website has changed its URL structure.
- There is a typo in the hyperlink.
- The destination website is offline or permanently shut down.
Broken links can be internal (pointing to other pages within your own website) or external (leading to pages on different websites).
Why Broken Links Are Bad for SEO
Negative Impact on User Experience
Search engines like Google prioritise websites that offer a seamless user experience. When visitors click on a link and land on a 404 page, it frustrates them and often leads them to leave your site. High bounce rates can indirectly harm your SEO performance.
Crawling and Indexing Issues
Google uses bots to crawl and index websites. When these bots encounter broken links, it disrupts the crawling process, especially if internal links are broken. Over time, important pages may be skipped, reducing your visibility in search results.
Loss of Link Equity
Broken internal links waste valuable link equity—the SEO value passed from one page to another through links. If high-authority pages link to a broken URL, the SEO benefit is lost, reducing your website's overall authority.
Damaged Brand Reputation
From a branding perspective, broken links make your website look unprofessional and outdated. Visitors may perceive your business as unreliable, especially if they encounter multiple dead ends while browsing.
Lower Rankings
Search engines consider broken links as a sign of poor site maintenance. This can lead to lower rankings over time, especially if other competing sites are better optimised.
Common Causes of Broken Links
Understanding why links break is the first step to fixing them. Some of the most common causes include:
- Content Updates: Removing or renaming pages without updating the associated links.
- Website Migrations: Moving to a new domain or changing permalink structures without proper redirects.
- Third-party Changes: Linking to external websites that shut down or restructure.
- Typos in URLs: Simple human error in typing out URLs incorrectly.
How to Identify Broken Links
Before fixing anything, you need to find all broken links on your site. Fortunately, several tools can help:
- Google Search Console: Reports 404 errors under the “Coverage” section.
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Crawls your website and lists broken links and redirect chains.
- Ahrefs Site Audit: Flags broken internal and external links in detailed site audits.
- Broken Link Checker (WordPress Plugin): Ideal for WordPress users to scan for broken links.
How to Fix Broken Links
Once you’ve identified the broken links, it’s time to fix them. Here’s how to go about it:
- Fix the URL: Correct the link if it contains a typo or points to the wrong address.
- Redirect the Link: Use a 301 redirect to point users to a new location.
- Replace or Remove the Link: If there’s no replacement, remove the link or use an updated source.
- Update Internal Links During Content Edits: Check links every time you edit or republish content.
Best Practices to Prevent Broken Links
Prevention is better than cure. Here are some tips to avoid broken links on your website:
- Use Consistent URL Structures: Avoid unnecessary changes to your link formats.
- Use Relative URLs for Internal Links: Helps maintain consistency during migrations.
- Set Up 301 Redirects During Site Migration: Redirect old pages to their new versions.
- Schedule Regular Link Audits: Use tools to check links every few months.
- Monitor External Links: Replace links if external sources are removed or changed.
The Role of Broken Link Building in SEO
Interestingly, broken links aren’t just a problem—they can also be an opportunity.
What is Broken Link Building?
This is a white-hat SEO strategy where you find broken external links on other websites in your niche, create a similar resource on your own website, and suggest your link as a replacement.
How It Works:
- Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find broken links on competitor sites.
- Check if you have or can create a similar piece of content.
- Reach out to the site owner and suggest replacing the dead link with your link.
This strategy helps you gain high-quality backlinks while helping others maintain their SEO.
Final Thoughts
Broken links might seem like a minor issue, but their cumulative effect can be devastating for your SEO. They hurt user experience, waste link equity, damage credibility, and signal poor maintenance to search engines.
The good news is that fixing and preventing broken links is completely within your control. With the right tools and a proactive approach, you can ensure that your website remains healthy, user-friendly, and optimised for search engines.
Want to stay on top of your SEO game?
Make broken link checks a regular part of your SEO maintenance routine, and you’ll safeguard your traffic, rankings, and reputation in 2025 and beyond.
