How to Fix Broken Links: A Complete Guide for Better SEO and User Experience

Broken links can quietly damage a website’s SEO performance and user experience. Many website owners focus on content, backlinks, and keywords, but forget to check website for broken links. When visitors click a link and see a 404 error page, it creates frustration and reduces trust. Search engines also notice these issues and may lower rankings over time.

In this detailed guide, we will explain what is a broken link, why it matters for SEO, and most importantly, how to fix broken links step by step. We will also cover how to find broken links on your website, how to fix broken internal links, and how to fix broken links in WordPress.

What Are Broken Links?

A broken link is a hyperlink on a website that no longer works or leads to a valid destination. These links can appear due to deleted pages, moved content, mistyped URLs, or external websites being unavailable. When visitors click on a broken link, they often see a 404 error page, which can harm the website experience.

Types of Broken Links

• Internal broken links: Internal broken links lead to pages within the same website that are deleted or moved. Learning how to fix broken internal links by updating URLs or adding redirects helps protect site structure, user experience, and SEO performance.
• External broken links:These links point to pages on external websites that are no longer accessible. Although they may not directly damage SEO rankings, they can reduce website credibility and create a poor experience for visitors.
• Broken Image Links: Broken image links occur when image files are deleted, missing, or incorrectly referenced. As a result, images fail to load, affecting page design, reducing engagement, and negatively impacting SEO and accessibility.
• Broken Redirect Links: These links appear when a redirect sends users to an invalid or outdated destination. Instead of guiding visitors properly, broken redirects lead to error pages and may waste crawl resources.
• Broken Anchor Links: Anchor links stop functioning when the targeted section or heading is removed or renamed. Users who click these links do not reach the intended content, which can lower usability and create frustration.

In SEO terms, broken links can reduce crawl efficiency, page authority, and user engagement. Understanding what is broken link in SEO helps identify why search engines may lower rankings for sites with too many broken links.

Why Broken Links Hurt Your Business

Broken links harm your business by frustrating users, lowering search engine rankings, damaging brand credibility, and wasting marketing efforts. When links don’t work, visitors leave, search engines rank your site lower, and your campaigns lose effectiveness. Fixing broken links ensures a smooth user experience, better visibility, and trust.

1. Poor User Experience 

When users click a link and encounter a 404 error or broken page, it creates frustration. Frustrated visitors are more likely to leave your site immediately, increasing bounce rates. If they cannot easily access the information or products they need, they may choose a competitor instead, directly impacting engagement, leads, and sales.

2. Negative Impact on SEO

Broken links signal to search engines that a website is poorly maintained. Crawlers may struggle to index your pages correctly, which can lower your search rankings. Reduced visibility in search results means fewer visitors discovering your site, limiting organic traffic and reducing opportunities to convert those visitors into paying customers or loyal followers.

3. Damage to Brand Credibility

A website filled with broken links looks unprofessional and outdated. Users may question the reliability of your business if your site appears neglected or poorly managed. This loss of trust can directly affect customer perception, brand authority, and overall credibility, making potential clients hesitant to engage, buy, or recommend your business to others.

4. Wasted Marketing Efforts

Marketing campaigns lose value when they direct users to broken links. Paid ads, social media posts, or email campaigns that lead to non-functioning pages fail to deliver the intended message. As a result, your marketing investment is wasted, potential conversions are lost, and your return on investment decreases, reducing the overall effectiveness of your promotional efforts.

Broken links disrupt user experience, harm SEO, reduce credibility, and waste marketing resources. Regularly auditing your website for broken links and fixing them ensures visitors have a smooth experience, improves search rankings, and builds trust in your business.

How to Find Broken Links on Your Website

Finding broken links on your website is very important for SEO, user experience, and conversions. When visitors click a link and see a 404 error page, it creates a bad impression and may reduce trust. Search engines like Google also consider broken links as a negative signal because they affect site quality. Below is a simple and clear explanation of how to find broken links on your website.

1. Google Search Console to Find Broken Links

Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google that helps monitor website performance, indexing status, and technical issues. One of the easiest ways to find broken links is by checking 404 errors inside this tool. When a page shows a 404 error, it means the page does not exist. This usually happens when:

• A page was deleted.
• The URL was changed.
• The link was typed incorrectly.
• Another website is linking to a wrong URL.

Step by Step Process

1. Log in: Sign in to your Google Search Console account.
2. Select Your Website: Choose the correct website property from your dashboard.
3. Go to Indexing → Pages: In the left sidebar, click on Indexing, then click on Pages.
4. Check for Not Found (404): Scroll down to the section called Why pages aren’t indexed. Look for the error labeled Not Found (404).
5. Click and Review URLs: Click on the 404 error. You will see a list of all broken URLs Google has found on your website.

2. Use Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a website crawling tool that checks every page of your website, just like a search engine. It helps find broken links, 404 errors, redirects, and other technical SEO issues. Here is a clear and simple explanation of the steps:

1. Install and Open the Tool: Download Screaming Frog SEO Spider from its official website and install it on your computer. After installation, open the tool.
2. Enter Your Website URL: At the top of the tool, you will see a search bar. Enter your full website URL.
3. Start the Crawl: Click the Start button. The tool will begin scanning all the pages, links, images, and files on your website. This may take a few minutes depending on your website size.
4. Go to the Response Codes Tab: After the crawl is complete, click on the Response Codes tab. This section shows the status code of every URL found on your website.

3. Manual Checking to Find Broken Links

Manual checking means you personally test the links on your website without using any special tools. This method is useful for small websites or when you want to double check important pages like service pages, blog posts, or landing pages. Although it takes more time, it helps ensure important links are working properly.

1. Open Your Website in a Browser: Open your website in browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. Browse normally and ensure all pages load correctly without errors, delays, or unexpected redirects.
2. Visit Important Pages First: Start with high traffic pages such as homepage, services, blogs, and contact page. These pages impact conversions, so checking them first ensures important user journeys are working properly.
3. Click Every Internal Link: Click menu links, footer links, buttons, and in text links. If any page shows 404 error or does not load correctly, note the URL and fix immediately.
4. Check External Links: Click links pointing to other websites. Sometimes external pages are removed or changed, creating broken outbound links that affect user trust and overall website credibility.
5. Check Images and Download Links: Test image links, PDF downloads, forms, and brochures. Ensure files open correctly and download without errors. Broken media links reduce user experience and professionalism.
6. Use Incognito Mode: Open your website in Incognito mode in Google Chrome to avoid cached data. This helps you see real time errors and detect broken links accurately.

How to Fix Broken Links in WordPress

To fix broken links in WordPress, we first need to find them and then correct, remove, or redirect them. Broken links can affect user experience and SEO, so it is important to check and fix them regularly. The full process can be understood in five simple steps.

1. Find the broken links

The first step is to scan the website and detect broken links. We can do this by using a plugin inside WordPress. One popular option is the Broken Link Checker plugin, which scans posts, pages, and comments automatically and shows links that are not working. We can also use tools like Google Search Console or other online SEO tools to find pages that are giving 404 errors. These tools help us create a list of all the links that need attention.

2. Access the list of reported links

After the scan is finished, the plugin will display a complete list of broken links. This list is usually available under a new section in your dashboard, such as Tools > Broken Links, or inside a dashboard widget. From there, you can review all flagged URLs along with details about where they appear on your site.

3. Fix the broken links one by one

For every broken URL shown in the report, you will have different options when you hover over it:

• Edit URL: If you know the correct or updated destination link, click Edit URL and replace the old address with the new one. The plugin will automatically recheck the link.
• Unlink: If the target page no longer exists and there is no replacement, you can remove the hyperlink while keeping the anchor text intact.
• Dismiss: If a link is temporarily unavailable or incorrectly marked as broken, you can dismiss the alert to remove it from the list.

4. Set up redirects when needed

If a page has been permanently moved to a new address, the best solution is to create a 301 redirect. This sends visitors and search engines automatically to the new page. It also helps keep the SEO value of the old link. We can manage redirects using a simple redirection plugin or an SEO plugin.

5. Keep checking regularly

Even after fixing all broken links, our work is not fully done. New broken links can appear over time when pages are deleted or URLs change. We should scan the website every few weeks or at least once every few months. Also, since link checker plugins can slow down the website, it is better to deactivate them after the scan and activate them again only when needed.

By following these steps, we can keep our WordPress website clean, user friendly, and strong in search results.

How to Fix Broken Links on Website

Broken links are links on your website that do not work. When users click them, they see a 404 error or a page that no longer exists. Broken links affect user experience, SEO rankings, and website credibility. Here is a simple explanation of how to fix broken links on a website:

• 301 Redirects: Use a 301 redirect to permanently send users and search engines from a broken URL to a relevant working page. This helps preserve link equity, maintain rankings, and improve overall user experience.
• Update the Link: If the original page has moved to a new address, update the hyperlink so it points directly to the correct URL. This ensures visitors land on the right content without errors or confusion.
• Remove the Link: When no relevant replacement page exists, remove the broken link from your website. This prevents users from encountering error pages and keeps your content clean, professional, and easy to navigate.
• Restore the Page: If a page was deleted by mistake or during website updates, restore it using backups or server archives. Bringing it back online helps recover traffic, maintain authority, and avoid losing valuable backlinks.
• Fix Typos: Sometimes broken links occur due to spelling errors or incorrect URL structure. Carefully review and correct any typos in the link path so users and search engines can access the intended page properly.

Will It Check the Entire Site for Broken Links

Yes, there are tools that can check your entire website for broken links, not just one page. Tools like Broken Link Check and Dead Link Checker go through your site the same way a search engine would. They move from page to page and look at every internal and external link to see if something is not working.

1. Complete Site Coverage: These tools automatically follow links across your website, moving from page to page just like a search engine crawler. Depending on the tool, they can scan hundreds or even thousands of URLs in a single session. They identify common issues such as 404 not found errors, server problems, redirected links, and even broken images.

2. Detailed Reporting: After the scan is finished, you receive a structured report. This report usually includes the page where the broken link exists, the anchor text used, the faulty destination URL, and the type of error returned. This makes it simple to track down and fix each issue.

Popular Options

• Online tools that work directly in your browser.
• Desktop software like Screaming Frog SEO Spider, which offers a free version that scans up to 500 URLs.
• WordPress plugins such as Broken Link Checker, which monitor broken links directly from your WordPress dashboard.

Browser extensions such as Check My Links only analyze the page you are currently viewing. In contrast, dedicated crawling tools are built to examine your entire website, giving you a complete overview of link health and technical issues.

Conclusion

Broken links are a common technical SEO issue that can harm user experience, search rankings, and business credibility. When users click a link and see a 404 error, it creates frustration and reduces trust. Search engines like Google also view broken links as a sign of poor website maintenance, which can impact crawl efficiency and rankings. Regularly checking your website for broken internal and external links helps maintain site quality and authority. 

Tools such as Google Search Console and Screaming Frog SEO Spider make it easier to detect and fix errors. By updating URLs, setting up 301 redirects, or removing invalid links, businesses can protect SEO performance, improve user experience, and maintain a professional online presence.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)