Broken Links: Common Causes and How to Fix Them

What Are Broken Links?

A breached nexus (also called a dormant link) is simply a hyperlink that points to a non-existent page. And they hap erstwhile a leafage you’re linking to is deleted without redirecting links that constituent to it. 

Users who click connected a breached nexus volition spot an error. Like a 404 (not found) leafage error.

Here’s what 1 of those pages mightiness look like:

Next, let’s research wherefore links interruption and however to hole them.

Why Do Links Become Broken?

Deleted oregon Moved Pages

One of the astir communal reasons a nexus breaks is due to the fact that the people leafage is deleted oregon moved to a caller URL without updating the link. 

Deleted pages pb the idiosyncratic to a 404 error page.

For example, let’s accidental eBay creates a impermanent merchantability leafage (www.ebay.com/new-years-sale) and links it crossed its site. 

After the sale, they delete the leafage but hide to region the links.

Customers clicking the aged links to this leafage volition present onshore connected an mistake leafage that looks similar this: 

The 404 mistake leafage shows users that the tract couldn’t find the requested page. Potentially leaving users frustrated and confused. 

Incorrectly Formatted URL

An incorrectly formatted URL tin pb to a 400 atrocious petition error. Which is akin to a 404 mistake but occurs erstwhile there’s a occupation with the requested URL.

How does this happen?

You whitethorn person misspelled the nexus erstwhile adding it to a page. Or idiosyncratic whitethorn person mistyped the URL successful their browser.

For example, accidental you privation to nexus to a merchandise leafage astatine “website.com/blue-sneakers.” But you accidentally see a “%” successful the link, directing users to “website.com/blue-sne%kers.” 

The “%” awesome successful the URL would springiness users a 400 atrocious petition mistake that whitethorn look similar this:

This mistake occurs due to the fact that the server cannot recognize the petition owed to an invalid URL format.

Change successful Website Structure oregon URLs 

Hard-coded links that incorporate the afloat URL tin interruption if the site’s operation oregon URLs change.

For example, a leafage that moved from“example.com/products”to “example.com/store/products” could instrumentality 404 errors if immoderate hard-coded links inactive constituent users to the archetypal URL alternatively than the caller one.

Outdated hard-coded links pb to dormant ends. Because they weren't updated erstwhile the site’s architecture changed. 

Broken Images

Links pointing to images tin interruption erstwhile the representation files are moved oregon deleted. Because the <img> nexus successful the HTML codification inactive points to the outdated location, but the representation record is gone.

That displays the “broken image” icon that looks akin to this:

When this happens, the leafage inactive contains the aged representation nexus pointing to the erstwhile record location. But the representation record itself is gone.

Domain Name Change

Links to redesigned, retired, oregon migrated outer sites tin origin outbound breached links that instrumentality 502 (bad gateway) errors. Which bespeak their servers can’t beryllium found. 

The resulting mistake leafage whitethorn look similar this:

For example, your tract whitethorn nexus to “company.com,” but visitors volition get a 502 mistake if that domain nary longer exists.

Why does this happen? 

Websites people alteration implicit time—their domains tin beryllium shifted, rebranded, oregon retired altogether. And if links to these sites aren’t updated to bespeak changes, they proceed pointing users to breached URLs.

Malfunctioning Plugins

Third-party plugins tin pb to breached links if the codification isn’t maintained.

For example, galore websites usage plugins to adhd societal sharing buttons similar the ones below.

But if the plugin utilized doesn’t support up-to-date code, that tin effect successful an contented similar a breached nexus mistake erstwhile a idiosyncratic clicks the button.

What Impact Do Broken Links Have?

The Impact connected SEO

Broken links tin interaction SEO successful respective ways:

• Decreased tract quality: Google wants to urge useful, up-to-date sites. Too galore breached links tin awesome that your tract isn’t existent oregon is poorly maintained.
• More crawl errors: Google’s site crawlers (also called bots) crawl the web by pursuing links betwixt pages. When a bot hits a breached link, it creates a crawl error. Meaning that leafage can't beryllium afloat crawled and indexed successful hunt engines.
• Wasted nexus authority: Internal links walk authorization (known arsenic link equity) betwixt connected pages connected your site. But erstwhile Page A links to a breached Page B, that authorization doesn’t get passed on.

The much breached links connected your site, the much important the interaction connected your imaginable SEO rankings.

The Impact connected UX

Broken links tin severely harm the idiosyncratic acquisition (UX). Because visitors often get frustrated by dormant links, making them apt to leave—and perchance ne'er travel back. 

Imagine a idiosyncratic is trying to find immoderate accusation they urgently need, but they repeatedly onshore connected 404 leafage errors owed to breached links. That tin pb to:

• Confusion: Users who expect to spot a peculiar assets erstwhile they click a nexus whitethorn go confused erstwhile they get an mistake connection instead
• Frustration: Users who click connected galore dormant links volition yet get irritated. And astir apt comprehend your tract arsenic untrustworthy and poorly maintained. 
• Fewer visits: A idiosyncratic who leaves your tract aft having a atrocious acquisition isn’t apt to instrumentality successful the future

It’s besides important to support successful caput that UX tin person an indirect interaction connected your SEO. So a mediocre acquisition tin further harm your rankings. 

How to Find Broken Links connected Your Website

Site Audit 

Semrush’s Site Audit identifies much than 140 method and on-page issues, including breached links. And you tin acceptable up regular tract checks to enactment connected apical of problems that arise.

Here’s how:

Open the instrumentality and take an existing project. Or make a caller 1 by clicking “+ Create project.”

Follow the prompts to decorativeness mounting up your project. 

If you request help, travel our usher for configuring Site Audit.

Then, click “Start Site Audit.”

Once the audit is ready, click the “Issues” tab and participate “broken” successful the hunt barroom to find issues relating to breached links:

You whitethorn spot a database with a fewer mistake types.

Click “# interior links are broken” if you spot it.

This volition instrumentality you to a database of breached pages connected your site.

Click 1 of the listed URLs for much accusation astir it.

At the apical of the adjacent screen, click “# URLs” nether “Incoming Internal Links” to spot each the pages connected your tract that constituent to the breached leafage you’re analyzing.

Regular tract audits with Site Audit tin automatically observe breached links connected your site.

In summation to detecting breached links and the pages that pb to them, Site Audit finds different issues affecting performance. Like:

• Pages with dilatory load speed
• Non-secure pages that airs information risks
• Duplicate contented (pages with identical oregon astir identical content)

And it provides suggestions connected the steps you tin instrumentality to remedy immoderate of those problems.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console (GSC) is simply a escaped instrumentality from Google that allows website owners to show their site’s beingness successful Google Search results. And the Page Indexing study helps you place breached links.

How bash you find this report?

Log successful to GSC and spell to “Indexing” > “Pages” successful the left-hand menu.

The study shows indexed pages returning 404 oregon different errors. 

Click “Not Found (404)” to spot a database of pages returning 404 errors.

Browser Extensions

Browser extensions similar Check My Links and Broken Link Checker volition automatically cheque links connected pages arsenic you browse. And item breached ones.

Simply instal the hold successful Chrome to adhd a plugin icon adjacent to the code bar.

As you browse pages connected your tract (or different site), the hold analyzes each links successful the background.

Any links that instrumentality 404 oregon different mistake codes volition beryllium highlighted connected the page.

Manual Checks

Another enactment is manually reviewing tract menus and pages to cheque for breached links oregon images. 

This gives you a user’s position of the breached links experience—but it tin beryllium beauteous tedious. 

How to Address Broken Links

Prioritize Which Broken Links to Fix

You whitethorn not request to hole each breached links immediately.

While breached links tin frustrate users, a customized 404 leafage that communicates a leafage nary longer exists and helps users navigate distant tin beryllium OK for low-priority pages.

Google’s Search Quality Guidelines authorities that pages with a customized 404 mistake connection leafage are often considered “medium quality” if they pass the contented and assistance users navigate elsewhere.

You should code your site’s breached links that interaction important pages and the wide idiosyncratic experience.

How?

Go backmost to the “Issues” study successful Site Audit and click the “# interior links are broken” contented to spot the database of affected pages. 

Assess whether these pages are important to your site.

If they are, see them high-priority pages. Because this mistake prevents Google from decently crawling and indexing a leafage that you privation to beryllium discoverable successful hunt results.

Update URLs for Pages That Still Exist

If the leafage inactive exists astatine a caller location, you tin update interior links pointing to it with the caller URL.

There are a fewer options here:

• Use a search-and-replace instrumentality to update each instances of the aged URL to the caller URL successful bulk. Many contented absorption systems and plugins marque it casual to bash this.
• Manually edit aged links to constituent to the caller URL. Double-check for further occurrences connected that page.
• When linking to pages successful your navigation menus, update the people URL successful your paper builder/editor for leafage URLs that person changed

It’s besides champion to supply a adjacent substitute for links to pages that nary longer beryllium erstwhile possible.

For example, a nexus that utilized to spell to “example.com/blog/types-of-cats” (which nary longer exists) could beryllium replaced with a nexus to “example.com/blog/kinds-of-cats” (which does exist).

Remove Dead Links

For pages that nary longer beryllium and don’t person a logical substitute, you’ll privation to region the links. 

Again, Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality volition archer you precisely what breached links beryllium connected each page.

You tin past manually region each of these breached links.

Redirect Broken Pages

Finally, usage 301 redirects to guardant visitors from breached pages to applicable caller pages. Because these redirects bespeak the contented has permanently moved and archer hunt engines to walk nexus authorization to the caller URL.

And sending users to a applicable leafage with a 301 redirect improves the idiosyncratic acquisition compared to allowing them to onshore connected 404 mistake pages. 

To make 301 redirects:

• Use server rewrite rules if you person hosting access
• Install a redirect plugin for contented absorption systems similar WordPress, Joomla, oregon Drupal
• Use the built-in redirect manager for sites connected Squarespace, Wix, etc.

Further reading: 301 Redirect: What It Is & How It Impacts SEO

Find Broken Links connected Autopilot

Manually checking for breached links tin beryllium tedious. And casual to forget. 

For ongoing maintenance, automate breached nexus scans utilizing Site Audit.

How?

When starting an audit, click connected “Schedule” successful the settings.

Then, prime however often you privation your tract crawled to cheque for caller issues similar breached links. 

Regular website audits drawback breached links aboriginal earlier negatively impacting users and SEO. 

Automating this process saves clip implicit manual checks. And ensures a seamless acquisition for your visitors.