Click.

Error 404.

That’s the digital version of a dead end. And when it happens on your website? It’s a bad look.

Broken links hurt your user experience and your SEO. They’re also super common—and often super easy to fix once you know where to look.

This article will show you how to find and fix broken links using free tools, what they actually affect, and how to keep your site clean going forward.

What Are Broken Links?

A broken link is a hyperlink that leads to a page that no longer exists, has moved, or returns an error (usually a 404 error).

This can happen because:

  • You deleted or moved a page
  • You linked to someone else’s site and their page was removed
  • You made a typo in the URL
  • The link points to HTTP but the site only uses HTTPS

They’re easy to miss—and they’re bad news.

Why Broken Links Hurt SEO

Search engines don’t love links that go nowhere.
Here’s why they’re a problem:

  • They hurt crawlability: If bots hit too many dead ends, it reduces the flow of link equity through your site
  • They impact user experience: People bounce if they click something and get an error
  • They lower your site’s credibility: Google looks at how well-maintained your site is
  • They can kill conversion paths: Imagine a contact button leads to a dead page 😬

A good SEO audit will always check for broken links—and so should you.

How to Find Broken Links on Your Site

Here are a few easy ways:

1. Screaming Frog (Free up to 500 URLs)

You’ll see a list of broken pages, along with the source pages linking to them.

2. Google Search Console

  • Go to “Pages” under “Indexing”
  • Look for “Not Found (404)” errors
  • Use the URL Inspection Tool to verify individual pages

While this doesn’t catch every broken internal link, it’s good for high-priority crawl errors.

3. Broken Link Checker (Online Tool)

4. WordPress Plugins (If You’re on WP)

  • Broken Link Checker plugin
  • Monitors links and flags issues directly in your dashboard

Set it and forget it (but check once a month).

How to Fix Broken Links

Once you’ve found the broken links, here’s how to fix them:

If It’s an Internal Link:

  • Update the URL: If the page still exists somewhere else
  • Redirect It (301): If the page was removed but has a new equivalent
  • Remove the Link: If it’s no longer relevant

If It’s an External Link:

  • Replace It: Link to another reliable source
  • Remove It: If there’s no replacement and it’s not essential

If It’s a Button or Menu Link:

  • Check your theme or navigation settings
  • Fix the target URL or delete the item

Test everything after updating—don’t assume it’s fixed.

How Often Should You Check?

For most small businesses:

  • Do a full broken link check every 1–2 months
  • Or right after major content updates or site redesigns

If your site is large or blog-heavy, do it monthly.

Broken Link Prevention Tips

  • Use consistent URL slugs (no unnecessary changes)
  • Always test links when publishing new pages
  • Avoid deep linking to external content that’s likely to change
  • Use redirects when deleting pages
  • Don’t rely on memory—use tools regularly

TL;DR

  • Broken links send users and Google to dead ends
  • They hurt your SEO, credibility, and user flow
  • Use free tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console to find them
  • Fix or remove broken links regularly to keep your site healthy

Final Thoughts

Fixing broken links may not be the most glamorous part of SEO—but it’s one of the simplest ways to protect your rankings and user experience.

It’s like brushing your teeth.
Annoying? Sometimes.
Necessary? Always.

Let’s run a quick link check and clean things up. We’ll show you what’s broken—free.