Broken links are those links that go nowhere. You click, you expect something useful… and, a 404 page stares back at you. Broken links are links on a website that no longer work because the destination page has been removed, moved, or is inaccessible.
Now, let me be honest. I’ve opened my own blogs after months and found broken links hiding there like uninvited guests. Happens more often than we think. These broken links don’t just irritate users, they quietly hurt SEO too. Search engines struggle to crawl properly, link equity gets wasted, and trust drops. In this blog, I’ll break down what are broken links in SEO, how to find broken links using a broken link checker, and how to fix them.
What Are Broken Links in SEO?
Broken links are basically dead ends for search engines. When Google’s crawler lands on a link and gets hit with a 404, 410, or some other error, it’s like… okay, nothing to see here, moving on. Do this too often, and your site starts looking messy and unreliable.
What are broken links in SEO really hurting? Two big things. First, user experience. People click expecting answers, not error pages. They bounce. Fast.
Second, link equity. If a page had authority and links pointing to it, a broken link means all that value just disappears into thin air. Painful, I know.
Broken links on a website can be internal (your own pages linking to each other wrong) or external (you linking out to pages that no longer exist). Both matter. Google doesn’t “penalize” you directly, but it definitely doesn’t reward a site that feels abandoned.
And yes, even good sites get broken links over time. That’s why finding and fixing them regularly is not optional anymore, it’s basic site hygiene.
How to Find Broken Links on Your Website ?
The fastest way? Use a broken link checker. Tools like Semrush Site Audit or Ahrefs crawl your site the same way Google does and list out all the broken links neatly. Click, scan, fix. Done. This is how I usually start, saves time and brain power.
Next, Google Search Console. Go to the Pages report and look for 404 errors. These are pages Google tried to crawl and failed. It won’t show every single broken link, but it shows the important ones Google actually cares about.
Sometimes, I still do a manual check. Especially for key pages like blogs with traffic or old cornerstone content. Click links. See what breaks. It’s slow, yes, but you catch things tools miss.
Browser extensions also help when editing content live. Simple, and quick.
How to Fix Broken Links?
Once you find broken links, fixing them is usually easier than expected.
If it’s a broken internal link, you’re in control. First, check if there’s a relevant page that already exists. If yes, just update the link. Simple edit, problem solved. If the page was moved, a 301 redirect is your best friend. It quietly sends users and Google to the right place, without hurting SEO.
If the page is completely useless now, honestly… just remove the link. Not every broken link deserves saving. Clean beats clutter.
Now, broken external links are trickier. You can’t fix someone else’s website. What I usually do? Replace the dead link with a fresh, trustworthy source. Or remove it if it adds no real value.
One mistake I see often, people leave broken links thinking “I’ll fix it later.” Later never comes. Broken links pile up fast.
Fix them as you find them. Your users stay happy, and your SEO doesn’t quietly bleed traffic.
How to Prevent Broken Links in the First Place?
Honestly, prevention is way less painful than cleanup. Been there, learned the hard way.
First thing, run regular audits. Even a quick monthly scan using a broken link checker saves you from future headaches. Websites change. Pages get deleted. External sites vanish without warning. It’s normal, but it needs monitoring.
Second: be careful while updating content. Whenever URLs are changed, redirects should be added immediately. Skipping this step is how broken links are born.
Third-avoid linking to sketchy or temporary pages. If a site looks unstable, it probably is. Stick to authoritative sources that won’t disappear overnight.
And one small habit that helps a lot: after publishing or updating a blog, just click through a few links. Two minutes. That’s it.
Final Steps to Maintain a Healthy, Link-Friendly Website
At the end of the day, broken links aren’t some scary SEO monster. They’re just small cracks that appear over time. Totally normal. What matters is how quickly they’re noticed and fixed.
Make link checks part of your routine. Like updating plugins or checking google analytics. A simple scan, a few fixes, done. Keep an eye on high-traffic pages especially, because that’s where broken links hurt the most.
Also, don’t ignore user behavior. If bounce rates suddenly spike or people aren’t moving through your site like they used to, broken links could be silently causing the problem.
A clean link structure keeps users happy, helps search engines crawl smoothly, and quietly protects your rankings. And honestly, your future self will thank you for it.
