Broken links: what they are and how to fix them

What is a broken link?

A broken link is a hyperlink whose destination cannot be reached: clicking it leads to an error page, usually a 404 Not Found, or to nothing at all. It is often called a dead link. Broken links come in four kinds:

• Internal broken links point to a page of your own site that no longer exists. They are entirely in your hands.
• External broken links point to another website that moved or deleted the page.
• Broken images and files: an image, PDF, script or stylesheet that returns an error.
• Broken anchors: a link to #section on a page where that section no longer exists.

Why links break

• A page is deleted or renamed without a redirect from its old address.
• The URL structure changes: a new CMS, a redesign, a move to HTTPS or to a new domain.
• A link is typed by hand and carries a typo, a missing slash or a stray character.
• Other websites change: they reorganise, close down or let their domain expire. Over the years, this link rot catches up with every site that links out.
• Files disappear: an image removed from the media library, a PDF replaced by a newer version under another name.

How often does it happen? Between 15 April and 31 August 2026, Broken Link Scan checked 6,501,595 links across 886 websites. 7.96% of them were dead — roughly one link in thirteen. The method is in The State of Broken Links 2026.

Do broken links hurt SEO?

Google has said many times that 404 errors are a normal part of the web and do not, on their own, penalise a site. The cost is indirect, and it adds up:

• Visitors leave. Someone who clicks a link and lands on an error page rarely tries a second one.
• Link value is lost. Internal links pass authority from page to page; when they point to a 404, that path is cut. Backlinks from other sites to a page you deleted are lost the same way, unless you redirect them.
• Crawling is wasted. Every request a search engine spends on a dead address is one it does not spend on your real pages. See crawl budget.
• It reads as neglect. A page full of dead references is a page nobody maintains, to readers and to the people who might link to you.

We go into more detail in why broken links hurt SEO.

How to find broken links

1. Crawl the whole site with a broken link checker, like the one at the top of this page. It is the only way to test the links on your pages, not just the pages themselves.
2. Read the Pages report in Google Search Console: “Not found (404)” and “Soft 404” list dead addresses Google tried to crawl, including some that other sites link to. See broken links in Google Search Console.
3. Look at the visits to your 404 page in your analytics or server logs: the referring pages tell you which links send people there.
4. After a migration, check the old URLs in bulk. Paste the list into the bulk checker to make sure each one redirects somewhere useful.

How to fix a broken link

• The content moved: update the link to the new address, and add a 301 redirect from the old one so bookmarks and links from other sites keep working.
• The content is gone for good: point the link to the closest useful page, or remove it. Avoid redirecting every dead URL to the homepage: Google tends to treat that as a soft 404.
• The URL has a typo: correct it. It is the quickest fix of all.
• An external page disappeared: look for its new address, link to an archived copy, or replace the source.
• An image or file is missing: upload it again or fix its path.

Start with internal links: they depend on nobody but you. Our step-by-step guide on finding and fixing broken links goes through a full clean-up.

Keep new broken links from piling up

• Add a redirect every time you change or delete a URL.
• Run a full scan after every redesign, migration or CMS change.
• Let monitoring do the rest: paid plans re-check your site automatically every day or every week and email you when new links break. More in monitoring broken links automatically.