Revitalizing Your Broken SEO Links For Free

Understanding Broken SEO Links

Broken SEO links, also called dead links, are hyperlinks that lead nowhere; the destination page does not exist. When you click a broken link, you should encounter a “404 Not Found” error message.

Reasons for Broken SEO Links

Broken links can detract from the user experience on your website.

Here are some common causes of broken links:

• You forgot to update the URL after making changes to your site’s structure, resulting in a 404 error.
• Sometimes, outgoing links may point to content that no longer exists or has moved, like PDFs or videos.
• External referring domains may be down, or the linked content has been permanently relocated.
• Broken elements within your webpage, whether due to HTML, CSS, JavaScript issues, or plugin conflicts, can break links.
• Links could be blocked by a firewall or not permitted due to geolocation restrictions.
• You might have typed the URL incorrectly.

Significance of Functioning Hyperlinks

Enhancing User Engagement

As search engines aim to serve users optimally, they prioritize websites that offer a seamless experience.

Live links contribute to a site’s respectability and search engine rankings by ensuring visitors find what they’re seeking, thereby supporting the distribution of link equity – commonly referred to as link juice – which is crucial for a website’s domain authority.

Analyzing Visitor Behavior

The presence of ineffective links on your site may inadvertently escalate the bounce rate, as showcased by Google Analytics. When a visitor encounters a dead end, they’re less likely to remain, which can negatively reflect on your site’s statistics. A high bounce rate often signals to search engines that the website might not adequately meet the user’s needs, negatively influencing its ranking.

This, in turn, affects your site’s visibility and might lead to reduced value and revenue. Thus, maintaining a low bounce rate is integral to SEO performance – a direct consequence of ensuring all links are operational to facilitate crawlability and ease of use.

Identifying Broken SEO Links on Your Site

Utilizing Google’s Search Console

Leverage Google’s Search Console to pinpoint broken internal links. After Google’s bots have surveyed your website, any detected internal link issues will be communicated to you. It’s essential to remember that only internal URLs are reported, not external ones.

Click here to learn more and/or launch Google Search Console

Once you have the results, Google Search Console enables you to explore each broken link.

For a comprehensive list that you can take action on, export the information to a CSV file.

How To Fix Broken SEO Links on Your Website

WordPress Link Correction

For WordPress users, addressing broken links is a manageable process.

1. Identify broken links by using the Broken Link Checker plugin
2. Navigate to the ‘Tools’ section, then ‘Redirection’ and input the source URL and target URL for your 301 redirects.
3. Save changes to ensure visitors are redirected from the old, broken link to the current page.

Squarespace Link Redirection

Users of Squarespace can follow these steps to redirect their broken links effectively:

• Go to ‘Settings,’ choose ‘Advanced,’ and then ‘URL Mappings.’
• Enter the broken link’s path in the format /old-path -> /new-path 301.
• Press ‘Save’ to activate the redirect and guide visitors to the relevant content.

Shopify Link Adjustment

Shopify platform managers have a straightforward method to redirect their broken links:

• From the Shopify admin area, select ‘Online Store’ and then ‘Navigation.’
• Click on ‘URL Redirects’ and ‘Add URL Redirect.’
• Input the old/broken URL in the ‘Redirect from’ field and the new URL in the ‘Redirect to’ field, then save.

Best Practices for Fixing Links

Regularly checking for broken links is important. Use Google Search Console to detect 404 errors efficiently. For external broken links, contact your webmaster for a fix or update the link to an alternative reliable source. Deep links can provide value but verify them frequently, especially if the content may change (like product pages in an online store).

To handle broken links internally:

• Employ redirection techniques that automatically guide visitors to an updated page.
• If a page is no longer available, consider creating new content for the URL or redirecting to a similar existing page on your site.
• Make a custom 404 page on your website, with perhaps a search feature for the visitor to find where the page may have been moved to.