Types of Broken Backlinks
404 Not Found
Page doesn’t exist. You deleted it, restructured your site, or changed URLs without redirects.
500 Server Errors
Server problems serving the page. Could be temporary or persistent.
403 Forbidden
Access blocked. Moved behind login or permissions misconfigured.
Too Many Redirects
Too many redirect hops. Browsers and search engines give up.
Fetch Errors
Page can’t be retrieved. DNS issues, SSL problems, connection timeouts.
Why This Hurts SEO
Lost link equity — Every broken link is a pipe disconnected. The ranking signal stops flowing.
Wasted investment — Guest posts, outreach, relationship building—all producing zero return.
Poor UX — Someone clicks excited to learn more and lands on a 404.
How to Find Broken Backlinks
- Get your backlink list from GSC, Ahrefs, Semrush, or link building reports
- Check each URL’s status — does the page load or return an error?
- Identify error types — your problem vs. linking site’s problem
- Prioritize by value — high-authority broken links first
Find Broken Backlinks in Minutes
Backlink Checker Pro automates detection. Upload your report and identify:
- HTTP errors (404, 500, 403)
- Fetch failures
- Redirect loops
- Pages blocking crawlers
How to Fix
Restore the Page
If content should still exist, bring it back. Simplest fix.
301 Redirects
Old URL gone but similar content exists? Redirect. Use 301 (permanent), not 302. Redirect to relevant content, not just homepage.
Outreach
Wrong URL on their end? Ask them to update:
I noticed you linked to [old URL] in [article]. That page moved to [new URL]. Could you update it?
Recreate Content
Original gone with nothing equivalent? Recreate it if the links were valuable.
Broken Link Building
Find broken links on OTHER sites and offer your content as replacement.
- Find resource pages in your niche
- Identify their broken outbound links
- Create or identify matching content
- Outreach suggesting your replacement
Works because you’re helping them fix a problem.
Prevention
- Maintain URL structure — changing URLs is the #1 cause
- Keep old content live — update rather than delete
- Monitor regularly — quarterly audits minimum
- Proper redirects during migrations — document and map all URLs
What causes backlinks to break?
Destination page deleted or moved without redirect, URL structure changes, site went offline, server errors, or page moved behind login. URL changes during migrations are most common.
Do broken backlinks hurt SEO?
They don't actively penalize, but each broken link passes zero equity. If 15% of your backlinks are broken, you've lost 15% of your value.
What's the best way to fix a broken backlink?
Depends on what broke. Accidentally deleted? Restore it. URL changed? 301 redirect. Wrong URL on their end? Outreach to update.
What is broken link building?
Finding broken links on other sites and offering your content as replacement. You help them fix their site while earning a backlink.