Finding website errors and fixing them is also part of website optimization, and this includes finding broken links and fixing them with the correct link. In our article, we will talk about how broken links affect SEO promotion, check a site for broken links, and fix them with working links with SEO perth services.
What are broken links?
Broken links, or “dead links”-hyperlinks leading to a non-existent site, web page, or a separate file including image, music file, photos, etc. A 404 error usually accompanies them.
Broken links are like a house on a map that does not exist, but it is indicated on the map and can lead in the wrong direction. Similarly, a broken link in a website can redirect your web page to a non-existence page, and it will leave a negative impact and drive traffic away from your website.
There are two types of broken links:
External – hyperlinks leading not to the site itself but other resources.
Internal – links lead to the site’s pages, documents, and files.
Why are dead links appearing?
Several reasons can be responsible for the non-existence pages within the website, and some of them are listed below.
- The site, web page, or file has already been deleted;
- The site has been moved to another domain, or the structure of the site has changed;
- When adding a link, there was a typo in the link address.
What does a broken link look like? To see it, you need to enter a random set of letters and numbers on any site page after the domain name. And you will see a page with the number 404.
Why are broken links dangerous for website promotion?
Broken links harm a website’s performance in many ways. It can drive visitors away from the website,
negatively affect the website’s user experience, and increase bounce rates. The user visits any site to get more information, but if he finds a website or web page not working, they may immediately leave your site and never visit again.
Such links in the website decrease the website traffic and increase bounce rate. It may cause a lower website ranking on search engine pages and lower website authority. People will find your website non-credible and non-authoritative.
Broken links negatively impact the overall website, so it is crucial to find all those broken links and fix them as soon as possible to improve website crawlability and performance.
How to fix broken links on a website?
The optimal solution is to set up automatic redirects, that is, redirect the site visitor to the desired page. As soon as they click on the old link, they will immediately be choose to the material of interest, despite the change in its address.
However, this option does not always work, so you should run additional diagnostics to find broken links on your site.
How to find broken links on a website online?
With the help of online services, you can quickly check your site for broken links. This check will take no more than 5 minutes, and the result will be a complete list of URLs directing users to the error page.
Programs for checking the site:
- W3C Link Checker – to check in this service, it is enough to enter the address of the web resource of interest. The program has a number of additional options that will enable you to find all errors more accurately.
- Free Link Checker is a free service that checks a resource for errors. In addition to the main functionality on the site, you will find additional valuable tools: containing images and embedded videos for mistakes, the ability to export results to a CSV file, and others.
- Ahrefs- It has a practical, user-friendly interface. Once verified, this tool is ready to send the final results to your mail, or you can check your competitive sites too.
- Broken Link Checker is a service with a classic interface with simple functionality. Just enter the address and click on the desired button to check for broken links on the site.
How to find broken links on a website online using Search Console and Google Webmaster?
If your site is available in the search console of Google Webmaster, you can quickly check broken links with their help. But unlike online services, these tools ignore external dead links.
It is easy to check your site in Google: go to the “Links” section and “Internal links.” Here is a database of all incorrectly specified addresses with an error and detailed information about broken addresses.
Google’s console can also give you information about incorrect URLs. To do this, go to the “Scanning” section, and from there – to the “Scanning errors.” This section contains internal links to your site and addresses errors of other sites. Be careful.
Checking these links using tools from search engines does not require installing additional plugins. Plus, they are free.
How to style a 404 page correctly?
Can you fix it? Yes, and even necessary! If you do this correctly, you can redirect users to other pages and keep their site. How to do it:
- By using humor without breaking the main concept of the site:
- Originally design the page:
- Add working links to the main or other sections of the site:
When conducting search engine optimization of a site, do not forget about such a problem as broken links. Even this slightest detail can lead to a number of serious problems affecting the position of your web resource in search results. Consider this when developing and analyzing broken links on an existing site. If you do not have time to deal with this issue on your own, leave it to professionals, and they will help in analyzing these errors and fix them when necessary.
