A broken link checker tests the links on a page and reports which ones fail. The free Broken Link Checker above checks every link on a single page and reports its status code. You can see which links return errors, which redirect, and which load normally, then fix the ones that send visitors nowhere.
Google’s documentation explains that all 4xx errors, except 429, are treated the same, so a link to a missing page or a gone page gives crawlers a dead end rather than useful content.
How to use the Broken Link Checker
- Enter the full URL of the page whose links you want to test.
- Run the check and wait while the server fetches the page and tests each link.
- Sort your attention by status code, starting with errors.
- Open the page in your editor and fix each link that failed.
- Run the check again on the same page to confirm the fixes worked.
How to read the results
Every link found on the page is listed with the status code it returned.
- 200 means the link loaded normally.
- 301 or 308 means the link has moved permanently. It works, but you should update it to the final address.
- 302 or 307 means a temporary redirect. Check whether it is meant to be temporary.
- 404 or 410 means the page is missing or gone. This is a broken link.
- 5xx means the other server had a problem. Re-test later before you decide the link is dead.
A good result is a page where nearly every link returns a 200, and any redirects are deliberate. A bad result shows 404s, repeated server errors, or links that only work through a chain of redirects.
What to fix
- 404 and 410 links. Replace them with a working address, link to a closest alternative, or remove the link if nothing suitable exists.
- Internal links that redirect. Update the link to the final URL so visitors and crawlers do not take the extra hop. The Redirect and Status Code Checker shows where each one ends.
- Typos in addresses. A missing letter or a stray character is a common cause. Correct it and test again.
- Links to pages you deleted. If you remove a page, find the links that pointed to it. If it has moved, add a 301 redirect, for example using the Htaccess Redirect Generator.
- Links to external sites that vanished. Replace the source or remove the link.
Why it matters for SEO
Dead links waste visitors’ time and make a site look neglected. For crawlers, they are dead ends in your internal link paths, and links to pages that no longer exist make it harder for them to move through the site. Fixing them does not promise a ranking jump, but it keeps the paths between your pages clean. It also protects the pages you do want people to reach, such as service pages and contact pages, from being linked to by accident through outdated addresses.
A worked example
This is an illustrative example. You check a resources page with forty links. Thirty-six return 200, two return 301, one returns 404 and one returns 503. You update the two redirecting links to their new addresses, replace the 404 with a current article, and re-test the 503 an hour later, when it loads. The second check shows a clean page. That whole cycle takes a few minutes for one page.
Limits of the checker
The tool checks one page at a time, not a whole site, so run it on your most important pages first. It works from this site’s server and sees the HTML the server returns, not links added later by JavaScript. Some sites block automated requests, so a link may show an error here and still open for a person. There is a fair-use limit on repeated checks. A link returning 200 is only a working link, not proof that the page it leads to is relevant or correct.
Questions about the Broken Link Checker
Why does a link show an error here but open in my browser?
Some sites block automated requests, or respond differently to servers than to browsers. Open the link yourself. If it works for people, it is likely a false alarm caused by that block.
Should I fix redirecting links or only 404s?
Fix 404s first because they are real dead ends. Then update internal links that redirect so they point at the final address. External redirects are usually fine unless they end somewhere unhelpful.
How often should I check a page for broken links?
Check after you edit a page, delete or move content, or change URLs. For key pages, a regular check every so often catches external links that have died since you published.
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