Broken Link Checker — Find 404 Errors on Any Website
Scan any website for broken links and 404 errors in seconds. Protect crawl budget, improve user experience and preserve internal link equity. Free tool.
What is a Broken Link Checker?
The Broken Link Checker crawls a URL you specify and tests every outbound and internal link on the page, returning the HTTP status code for each one. Links returning 404, 410, or a server error are flagged as broken. Links that redirect are shown with their final destination and hop count.
When Should You Use Broken Link Checker?
Run this on your most-linked-to pages regularly — pillar content, link hubs, and pages you actively build backlinks to. Broken outbound links harm user experience and signal to search engines that content is not being maintained. Broken internal links waste crawl budget and stop PageRank flowing to pages you intended to support.
How to Read Broken Link Checker Results
The tool separates internal links (same domain) from external links (other domains). Internal 404s are your most urgent fixes — broken pages within your own site that you can resolve by updating the link or restoring the page. External 404s should be replaced with working alternatives or removed. Anchor text is shown for every link so you can find the right spot in your content to update.
What Should You Know Before Using Broken Link Checker?
Run this tool on important pages at least monthly. For content-heavy blogs, prioritise recently edited pages — a link that worked two years ago may now be dead. When you find a broken external link, check the Wayback Machine for an archived version or source a replacement. For broken internal links, check whether the target page was deleted or had its URL changed, and update the link accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes broken links on a website?
Broken links are most commonly caused by pages being deleted or moved without a redirect, external sites removing content, typos in href attributes during editing, and CMS migrations that alter URL structures. Regular audits with the Broken Link Checker catch these before they compound into crawl budget waste.
How does a broken link affect SEO?
Internal broken links waste crawl budget on dead ends, prevent PageRank flowing to the intended pages, and create a poor user experience that increases bounce rate. External broken links signal to search engines that content is unmaintained. Both should be fixed promptly on your most important pages.
What is the difference between a 404 and a 410 error?
A 404 tells search engines the page is temporarily unavailable, so Google may continue recrawling it. A 410 explicitly signals permanent removal, prompting faster de-indexing. Use 410 when you intentionally delete a page with no replacement; use 404 when the absence may be temporary.
How often should I check for broken links?
Run the Broken Link Checker on important pages monthly and on recently edited content immediately after publishing. After any migration or template change, run it on all affected pages within 24 hours to catch regressions before users or Googlebot encounter them.
How do I fix a broken external link?
First, search for the target page's title — it may have moved to a new URL. If the content still exists elsewhere, update your link to the new destination. If the page is gone permanently, either remove the link or replace it with a comparable source. The Wayback Machine can locate archived versions of deleted pages.
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