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Broken Links: Why They Hurt SEO and How to Fix Them

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Krishika Vyas

12/18/2024, 12:33:08 PM

Broken links are links on your website that don’t work anymore. When a user clicks on them, they land on a page with an error message like “404 Page Not Found.” Broken links can occur for several reasons:

  1. The page was deleted.
  2. The URL was changed.
  3. The link was typed incorrectly.

1. Deleted or Moved Pages

Broken links often occur when a page is deleted or moved without updating the link. For example, imagine a store creates a page for its Summer Sale and links to it on various pages. After the sale ends, the page is deleted but the links remain, leading users to a 404 error page.

2. Incorrect URL Formatting

A typo in the URL can result in a 400 Bad Request error. For instance, if you want to link to “website.com/red-shoes” but accidentally type “website.com/red-sho$es,” users will encounter an error because the server doesn’t recognize the invalid URL.



3. Changes in Website Structure

If your site structure changes, links pointing to old URLs can break. For example, a page that moves from “website.com/products” to “website.com/shop/products” will become inaccessible unless the links are updated.

If an image is moved or deleted, the <img> tag in the HTML code will still point to the old location. This results in a broken image icon on the page, which can hurt the visual appeal and user experience.



5. Domain Name Changes

Links to websites that have changed their domain name or been retired can result in a 502 Bad Gateway error. For example, if you link to “business.com” and the website is no longer active, the link will fail.


Broken links negatively affect your website’s performance in several ways:

  1. Bad User Experience (UX): Visitors clicking on broken links feel frustrated and may leave your site. This increases your bounce rate, which search engines like Google monitor.
  2. Search Engine Crawling Issues: Search engines crawl websites to understand and index them. Broken links can confuse crawlers, leading to poor indexing of your site.
  3. Hurts Your Rankings: Broken links are a signal of poor website maintenance. Search engines prioritize sites that provide smooth navigation and relevant content.
  4. Wastes Crawl Budget: Search engines allocate a crawl budget, which is the number of pages they crawl on your site in a given time. Broken links waste this budget, as crawlers spend time on pages that don’t exist instead of indexing valuable content.  

To keep your website SEO-friendly, regularly check for broken links. Here are some simple tools to help:


Google Search Console :

Free tool to identify broken URLs.

Tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs.


Here’s how to address broken links effectively:

  1. Redirect to a Relevant Page: Use a 301 redirect to send users to another related page.
  2. Update the Link: Replace outdated links with the correct ones.
  3. Remove the Link: If no relevant page exists, consider removing the link.
  1. Regularly audit your site for broken links.
  2. Avoid changing URLs unnecessarily.
  3. Update internal links whenever you delete or move pages.
  1. Improves Site Credibility: A clean, error-free website looks more professional and trustworthy to users and search engines.
  2. Boosts Search Rankings: Google prefers sites with smooth navigation and working links.
  3. Enhances User Experience: Visitors stay longer and engage more with functional pages.

Broken links can harm your SEO and user experience. Regularly checking and fixing broken links will improve your website’s performance and search engine rankings. Keep your site healthy, maintain working links, and enjoy better visibility online!



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