We all know that search engine optimisation (SEO) is the key to ensuring that a website appears at the top of search engine result pages (SERPs). Broken links are one such factor that can adversely affect a website’s SEO. Broken links or dead links are hyperlinks that do not function anymore because of reasons like a deleted page, a changed URL, or a wrong web address.
When users or search engine spiders find broken links, it impacts both user experience and website credibility, resulting in lower search engine rankings on search engines such as Google.
Let’s explore how broken links affect the SEO of your website, why they occur, and how to fix them to maintain a well-optimised website.
What Are Broken Links?
Broken links are links that do not point to the targeted webpage. They provide an error message like 404 Page Not Found instead. Broken links can be internal (linking to another page on the same website) or external (redirecting visitors to an external website).
There are several reasons why broken links occur, including:
Deleted Pages: If a webpage is removed without proper redirection, any links pointing to it will become broken.
Changed URLs: If a page’s URL structure is modified without updating internal links, users will encounter errors.
Misspelled URLs: Incorrectly typed URLs result in non-functional links.
Inactive External Links: If a website you link to goes offline or changes its URL, your outbound links become broken.
Understanding how broken links occur is essential for preventing SEO issues and ensuring a smooth browsing experience.
How Broken Links Negatively Impact SEO
1. Poor User Experience
User experience (UX) is a key SEO ranking factor. If users are experiencing broken links, it breaks the flow of navigation, causing frustration and increased bounce rates. Having a website full of broken links makes a negative impression, which decreases trust and engagement.
Search engines like Google prioritise websites that provide a seamless user experience. If users repeatedly leave your website due to broken links, bounce rates increase, signalling to search engines that your site is not user-friendly. This can lead to a drop in rankings.
2. Loss of Search Engine Crawling Efficiency
Search engine spiders, or crawlers, crawl the web to include content in their indexes. When they find broken links, they consume valuable crawl budget attempting to load non-existent pages.
Google also assigns a crawl budget to each site, specifying how many pages will be indexed within a specified time. When crawlers find repeatedly broken links, they will prioritize other sites, and it will cause late indexing or missing pages, which will adversely impact rankings.
3. Reduced Page Authority and Link Equity
Internal and external links both contribute greatly to the dispersion of link equity (or “link juice”) that assists in ranking different pages on your website. When there are broken links on a page, they cause disruption in the flow of link equity, thus weakening the authority of linked pages.
For example, if a high-authority page within your site links to a broken internal page, the link equity is lost. This can reduce domain authority (DA) and eventually your overall site ranking.
4. Increased Bounce Rate and Reduced Dwell Time
When visitors arrive on a page that contains broken links, they tend to leave straight away instead of exploring more. This boosts the bounce rate, which is a major SEO metric. A high bounce rate sends a message to search engines that the content is not worth the visit, thus causing rankings to decline.
In addition, broken links lower dwell time—the time spent on a site by users. Google sees decreased dwell time as a sign of poor content quality, further decreasing SEO performance.
5. Negative Impact on Website Reputation
A site with many broken links looks old, unreliable, and untrustworthy. Users who find too many errors will avoid visiting the site again, lowering traffic and interaction. This is especially harmful for e-commerce sites, where broken links on product pages can result in lost sales and lower conversions.
Search engines take user trust and interaction into account when organizing websites. If users constantly leave your website because of dead links, search engines can penalize your rankings, rendering it more challenging to generate organic traffic.
How to Identify and Fix Broken Links
To maintain a healthy website and prevent broken links from harming your SEO, it is essential to identify and fix them regularly. Here are some effective methods:
1. Use SEO Tools for Link Auditing
Several tools can help detect broken links, including:
Google Search Console – Identifies crawl errors and 404 pages.
Ahrefs Broken Link Checker – Detects both internal and external broken links.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Scans websites for broken links.
SEMrush Site Audit – Provides a comprehensive report on broken links and other SEO issues.
Regularly scanning your website with these tools ensures that broken links are detected early and fixed before they impact rankings.
2. Implement 301 Redirects
When a webpage is removed or its URL is changed, implementing a 301 redirect ensures that users and search engines are redirected to the correct page. This prevents broken links and preserves link equity.
3. Update or Remove Outdated Links
For external links that no longer work, either update the URL with a valid link or remove the broken link altogether. If a resource is no longer available, consider linking to an alternative page with relevant content.
4. Regularly Monitor and Maintain Links
Broken links are inevitable over time, especially for websites with frequent updates. Conducting routine link audits and updating content ensures that links remain functional and SEO-friendly.
5. Custom 404 Pages for Better UX
In cases where broken links cannot be avoided, creating a custom 404 error page can improve user experience. A well-designed 404 page should include:
- A friendly message acknowledging the broken link.
- A search bar to help users find relevant content.
- Navigation links to important sections of the website.
This helps retain visitors and reduces the negative impact of broken links on SEO.
Conclusion
Dead links negatively affect SEO on a large scale, impacting user experience, crawlability by search engines, link equity, and site reputation. A site loaded with dead links can result in increased bounce rates, lower rankings, and loss of credibility.
In order to avoid these problems, regular auditing of links, redirects, refreshing old URLs, and keeping the website easy to navigate is important. Fixing broken links in advance ensures your website continues to be search engine optimized, giving a smooth experience to visitors while having robust search ranks.