A broken link often referred to as a dead link is a hyperlink that has lost its code of accessing the linked UR. Also, it is a link redirecting to the wrong or deleted page that no longer exists on the web. Everyone has come across a broken link while using the web. A dead link reduces user experience and decreases your website position on search results. The search engine creates a friendly user experience and chooses a correct page over a page that contradicts their aim.
Broken links occur between your website content (internal links) and from your website to other related sites (external links). This problem usually occurs as the website is deleted or moved, but sometimes it can result from technical errors such as the wrong spelling of keywords. These missing pages always display a message “page not found.”
What Causes Broken Links?
Broken links result from website maintenance, such as updating old content. Some website owners may forget to change an old link which site has been moved or removed to a different address. Other possible reasons include:
- Redesigned or updated website without updating the links to the new page or removing them from the old page
- Some URLs can get missing along the road during the content management system migration
- A deleted link is forgotten to be replaced by a new one during manual changes by another editor
- Mistaking backlinking to a deleted or no longer existing web page.
What are the impacts of broken links?
Broken links are the primary reason for bad user experience, lost revenue, and decline in search engine results. This effect diminishes both small and big websites.
A website owner should avoid broken links at all costs because it harms the website SEO. Google is fond of using good backlinks to rate websites on search results. If you find yourself dealing with broken links, there are broken link building agency that might help.
A search engine works by crawling your website and following all internal and external links on a website. If the search engine follows a dead link, it may interpret it as spam or unreliable connection, lowering the site ranking on Google.
A user expects to reach a page whenever a link is clicked and will not stop clicking on other links until a page is found. Research by HubSpot revealed in 2015 that 43% of consumers refuse to revisit a site after facing a broken link problem. The bright side is that there are many ways to fix our broken link problem.
How to Check for Broken Links
Checking for broken internal or external links can be done through different means. Here are the top recommended standards to use.
Google Search Console
Search Console is the top tool used by most website owners. The tool displays precisely where Google is finding a problem. You can do this by locating Excluded in the Coverage section to check for a 404 error. It is best for checking within a filtered sitemap.
SEO Tools
SEO tools are many in the market; some are free, while others are based on a paid subscription. These tools crawl through the site to find broken links. Such tools include SEMRush (paid), and Screaming Frog (free, though limited), which are considered the best because they can check 404 errors which are difficult to find.
Best Practices: How to resolve broken links
Your website needs routine maintenance to work efficiently on the web. A website should be maintained each month to avoid broken links. You can also do it quarterly or yearly to avoid losing visitors and revenue due to a broken link.
However, here are easy tips on fixing a website.
- Check Google Crawl Errors:
The search console is effective for finding 404 errors. If the errors are identified, you can fix them manually or replace them, and your website is back up again.
- Avoid deep links on the website unless (or until) required.
A deep link is also known as internal linking or anchor text which directs a user to an actual page instead of a homepage. Deep links are suitable for internal and external use and should be included in the website as reliable information. For example, if you’re running an eCommerce store with links to products that can go out of stock, then you’ll need a routine monthly check to remove these products when your store is out. This monthly checkup will remove broken links of products from your site.
- If it’s an external link, reach out to the linking website and request a fix:
You can contact a website that used your link to resolve this issue. Inform the website owner of the broken external link and wait on them to fix it. But if the website no longer exists, you’ll have to replace it with a different source or delete the link.
- Use of redirection mechanisms,
The mechanism redirects the user to the new page created from the broken link. You can redirect 301 by visiting
Summary
Broken links are a nuisance to your page and can cause many damages, such as declining reputation to your site. It can also reduce the number of clicks or visitors to your page.
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