Broken Link

What is a broken link?

A broken link is a hyperlink that fails to reach its destination. When someone clicks it, they get an error page instead of the content they expected. The most common error is 404 Not Found, meaning the server received the request but could not find the page.^[1]

Broken links can be internal (pointing to another page on the same site) or external (pointing to a different website). Each type has different causes and fixes.

What causes broken links?

Deleted or moved pages are the top cause. When a page gets a new URL and no one sets up a redirect, every link pointing to the old URL breaks.

Site redesigns and CMS migrations create broken links in bulk. Changing URL patterns across a large site can break hundreds of links overnight. A university switching from /departments/biology/ to /schools/bio/ will break every internal and external link to the old structure.

Domain changes happen when organizations rebrand. If the old domain stops redirecting, all incoming links die.

Typos in URLs cause immediate 404 errors. A content editor who manually types a link and misspells a word creates a broken link from day one.

Expired content like campaign pages and event listings are often removed without redirects after they serve their purpose.

Why do broken links matter?

User experience suffers. Hitting a 404 page frustrates visitors and breaks their journey. On a banking site, a broken link in the loan application flow can stop conversions cold. On a healthcare portal, it prevents patients from finding treatment information.

Search engine crawling gets worse. Search engines follow links to find and index content. Broken internal links waste crawl budget on dead ends. Google may crawl new content less often if a site has many broken links.^[2]

Link equity disappears. External backlinks pointing to 404 pages deliver zero SEO value. If the page moved, a 301 redirect recovers that value.

Accessibility is affected. Broken links hurt all visitors, but they create extra barriers for people using screen readers or keyboard navigation. These users have fewer alternative paths to find the content. WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.4 requires that link text communicate the destination. A broken link fails this at the most basic level.

How do you find broken links?

Automated crawlers are the most efficient method. Tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs Site Audit, and Sitebulb crawl your entire site and flag URLs returning error codes. For sites with 10,000+ pages, manual checking is not practical.

Google Search Console flags 404 errors for pages that were previously indexed or linked from other indexed pages. IT teams should check this report regularly.

Server logs record every 404 response in real time. This catches broken links from both visitors and search engine crawlers.

Continuous monitoring tools check links on a schedule and alert site owners when a working link starts failing. This is especially valuable for large organizations that publish daily.

How do you fix broken links?

The right fix depends on what happened:

Page moved? Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. This fixes the link and preserves SEO value.

Page deleted with no replacement? Remove the link from your content. Or redirect to the closest relevant page.

External link broken? Update the link to a current resource, or remove it if no good replacement exists.

For organizations running sites with thousands of pages, broken link detection should be part of a regular content audit cycle. Catching and fixing broken links before they pile up protects both user experience and search performance.

How Askem Helps

Organizations with large websites typically use continuous monitoring tools to catch broken links before users do. Tools like Askem scan entire sites — including login-gated areas and PDFs — and alert content teams when links break. A central dashboard shows all broken links in one place, so IT and content teams do not need to manually crawl the site or wait for user complaints. For organizations publishing daily, continuous monitoring is the only practical way to stay on top of link health.

Sources

1. MDN Web Docs — HTTP response status codes: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status
2. Google Search Central — Fix crawl errors: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9044175