As a business owner, it’s important to keep your website well-managed and running smoothly. What are broken links, and are broken links bad for SEO? Yes, they’re a common issue that can hurt your site’s performance. A broken link happens when someone clicks on a link but ends up on an error page, like a 404 error page or a 400 bad request. Fixing broken links is important because they can lower your SEO rankings and give visitors a poor user experience.
The first step to fixing broken links is finding them. Luckily, there are tools that can help make this process easier, such as a broken link checker. This will help you identify broken links on your site quickly.
WSI Web Enhancers is an SEO company that can help you fix broken links and keep your website in good shape.
But first, let’s take a look at what broken links are, common causes, and ways to fix broken links.
Here are some of the most common questions about broken links.
How Can You Identify Broken Links?
A broken internal link, also called a dead link, is a link on a website that no longer works. A broken link will show an error message when clicked instead of taking you to the right page. For example, you may see an error that says “404 Page Not Found.”
There are several common reasons why links may break:
- The page was deleted or moved to a new location.
- The site’s domain name expired.
- The URL structure of your site changed.
- There’s a typo in the URL.
- The site you’re linking to was hacked or redirected.
To find broken links on your website, you can either click on every link to see if the link is broken or you can use tools like Google’s Search Console, Semrush’s Site Audit, or Screaming Frog. These tools will help you identify any issues quickly and efficiently by crawling and indexing your site.
What Are the Consequences of Broken Links?
Broken links can frustrate users. If someone is trying to find information on your website and clicks on a link that doesn’t work, they might give up and go to another site. Having a lot of broken links can make your website seem untrustworthy or unprofessional, and customers may not want to come back.
Broken links cause a negative user experience, as people might think a website with broken links isn’t maintained or up-to-date. When they click on a link and land on an error message instead, they may assume the site is inactive or the content is old. This can make users lose trust in your site, which can harm your business’s reputation.
Broken links don’t just hurt your reputation; they also affect your site’s SEO rankings. Search engines like Google see too many broken links as a sign that a website isn’t well-maintained. This can hurt your link equity, cause crawl errors, and affect how Google indexes your site. If your site has links pointing to a page that no longer exists, it can damage your rankings and make it harder for customers to find your content through the search bar.
Luckily, there are things you can do to keep your website free of broken links and prevent poor user experience.
How Can You Fix Broken Links?
There are many tools available to help you find and fix broken links on your website.
Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows how your website is performing. It also lets you submit your sitemap, which helps Google quickly index your pages and improve Google’s search quality.
Screaming Frog is a paid tool that scans your website to find broken links, duplicate content and other technical issues. If you’re looking for a free option, you can also use Wget to crawl websites. You can also use plugins on WordPress to monitor and fix broken links.
Once you’ve found broken links, you can start fixing them. If the page the link has moved, been deleted, or has a typo, update the link with the updated URL to the new page. If the domain name has expired, you can renew it and update the DNS records.
If the URL structure has changed, update the links to match the new structure. If the website you’re linking to has been hacked or redirected, contact the site owner to have the link removed. Setting up a custom 404 error page will also help guide users when they hit a broken link, improving the experience on your site.
You can also use a 301 redirect if a page has been moved permanently. Using a 301 redirect will send users to the correct piece of content without disrupting their visit. If a link isn’t broken but recently changed, setting up a 301 redirect will also ensure they find the information they need.It’s important to regularly check for broken links since they can happen at any time. You can do this manually by clicking on each link or setting up automatic checks with a tool like Google Analytics. You can also reach out to a local SEO company for help with pages on your site or website maintenance.
WSI Web Enhancers Is Here To Help!
As shown, broken links can have a significant impact on how your website looks and works. By checking and updating your links regularly, you can keep your site looking professional, trustworthy, and easy for people to use.
WSI Web Enhancers is a trusted SEO company in Albuquerque. We offer services like website design, search engine optimization, and Google paid advertising to help businesses in all industries.
For expert help with broken link errors, 301 redirects, and other website optimization strategies, contact us today. We offer full website audits, including checking for broken pages, ensuring your links aren’t broken, and improving the overall structure of your site.Call 505-850-9177 today for a free website audit and learn more about what are broken links and how to fix them.
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Jukka founded WSI Web Enhancers in 2012. His progressive and pioneering SEO approaches help businesses increase traffic while improving conversion rates. As an accomplished digital marketing authority, he spins effective web design, SEO, and social media engagement into winning strategies for local and national companies.
