{"id":517,"date":"2026-08-17T23:09:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T23:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/?p=517"},"modified":"2026-08-17T23:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T23:18:09","slug":"how-to-fix-broken-links","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/how-to-fix-broken-links\/","title":{"rendered":"How to fix broken links on my website for free"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group neon-post\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. INTRODUCTION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Every broken link on your website is a tiny leak in your SEO bucket.<\/strong>&nbsp;It wastes crawl budget, frustrates users, and signals to Google that your site isn\u2019t well maintained. In 2026, with Core Web Vitals and page experience more important than ever, broken links also indirectly hurt user engagement \u2014 a key ranking factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The good news? You don\u2019t need a paid Ahrefs subscription to fix them. Free tools like&nbsp;<strong>Dead Link Checker<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Dr. Link Check<\/strong>&nbsp;can scan your entire site, and Google Search Console already reports internal 404s. This guide will show you exactly how to find, fix, and prevent broken links without spending a dime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How to&nbsp;<strong>find broken links for free<\/strong>&nbsp;using three different methods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A step\u2011by\u2011step process to fix them (update, redirect, or remove).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Platform\u2011specific fixes for WordPress, Shopify, and static sites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How to monitor your site going forward so links never rot again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s stop the leaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. WHAT ARE BROKEN LINKS AND WHY THEY DAMAGE SEO<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A&nbsp;<strong>broken link<\/strong>&nbsp;is a hyperlink that points to a non\u2011existent page or resource. When a user clicks it, they get a&nbsp;<strong>404 Not Found<\/strong>&nbsp;error (or similar). Broken links fall into three main categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Internal broken links<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 links to pages on your own site that no longer exist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>External broken links<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 links pointing to other websites that have moved or shut down.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Broken image links<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 image files that fail to load because the source URL is wrong.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why do they hurt SEO?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Crawl budget waste<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Googlebot spends time crawling dead URLs instead of valuable pages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Poor user experience<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 visitors who hit 404s often leave immediately, increasing bounce rate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Link equity loss<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 internal broken links stop PageRank from flowing between pages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trust signal decline<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 a site riddled with broken links looks abandoned, and Google notices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The good news? Fixing broken links is one of the easiest technical SEO wins you can implement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. TYPES OF BROKEN LINKS (INTERNAL, EXTERNAL, IMAGES)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s quickly define each type so you know what you\u2019re dealing with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Internal broken links<\/strong>&nbsp;occur when you delete a page or change its URL without updating links pointing to it. Example: a blog post links to&nbsp;<code>\/old\u2011service<\/code>, but you changed that page to&nbsp;<code>\/new\u2011service<\/code>. Fixing these is entirely under your control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>External broken links<\/strong>&nbsp;happen when the site you linked to removes content or changes its URL structure. You can\u2019t control the other site, but you can update or remove the link. External broken links are especially common in older blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Broken images<\/strong>&nbsp;are often missed because they don\u2019t trigger a classic 404 page; the image just fails to render. They harm user experience and can hurt your image SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use a link checker that catches all three types.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. HOW TO FIND BROKEN LINKS FOR FREE: A 7\u2011STEP AUDIT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>(This section maps to the HowTo schema later.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 1 \u2013 Choose your free tool.<\/strong><br>For small sites, use&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deadlinkchecker.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.deadlinkchecker.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Dead Link Checker<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;(no signup, scans up to 2,000 pages) or&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deadlinkchecker.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.deadlinkchecker.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Link Check<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;(unlimited but slower). <a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Search Console<\/a> also reports internal 404s for free, but only for pages Google has already crawled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 2 \u2013 Run a full site crawl.<\/strong><br>Enter your homepage URL into the tool and start the scan. Dead Link Checker will email you a report; Dr. Link Check runs in the browser. The tool will list every broken URL, along with the page where the broken link appears.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"734\" height=\"472\" data-src=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/drlinkcheck-links-with-issues.png\" alt=\"Dead Link Checker free broken link report showing broken URLs and source pages\n\n\" class=\"wp-image-521 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 734px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 734\/472;width:784px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/drlinkcheck-links-with-issues.png 734w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/drlinkcheck-links-with-issues-300x193.png 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 734px) 100vw, 734px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 3 \u2013 Export and filter the report.<\/strong><br>Remove false positives: some tools flag links that are temporarily slow or blocked by robots.txt. Focus on genuine 404s and 410 errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 4 \u2013 Verify the broken links manually.<\/strong><br>Click a few broken links yourself (in an incognito window) to confirm they really return 404. Sometimes a page is accessible but the tool saw a different response code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 5 \u2013 Categorize each broken link.<\/strong><br>Mark each as internal, external, or image. This will dictate your fix: update, redirect, or remove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 6 \u2013 Prioritise high\u2011traffic pages.<\/strong><br>If a broken link sits on a page that gets 1,000 visits a month, fix it first. Use Google Analytics or Search Console to see which pages are popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 7 \u2013 Re\u2011crawl after fixing.<\/strong><br>Once you\u2019ve made changes, run the checker again to confirm no broken links remain.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-src=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/371b25f9-b1af-45bb-a302-76ab2711e383-1024x683.png\" alt=\"7 step flowchart for finding broken links on a website for free\" class=\"wp-image-523 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/683;width:777px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/371b25f9-b1af-45bb-a302-76ab2711e383-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/371b25f9-b1af-45bb-a302-76ab2711e383-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/371b25f9-b1af-45bb-a302-76ab2711e383-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/371b25f9-b1af-45bb-a302-76ab2711e383.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. BEST FREE BROKEN LINK CHECKER TOOLS COMPARED<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Tool<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Free Limit<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Best For<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Key Features<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deadlinkchecker.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dead Link Checker<\/a><\/strong><\/td><td>2,000 pages<\/td><td>Small to medium sites<\/td><td>Email report, checks internal\/external links, simple interface<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drlinkcheck.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.drlinkcheck.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Link Check<\/a><\/strong><\/td><td>Unlimited (browser)<\/td><td>Thorough audits, larger sites<\/td><td>Real\u2011time scan, filters, exports CSV, checks images<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Search Console<\/a><\/strong><\/td><td>Unlimited (own site)<\/td><td>Internal 404 monitoring<\/td><td>Native Google data, free forever, page\u2011level detail<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.screamingfrog.co.uk\/seo-spider\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Screaming Frog SEO Spider<\/a><\/strong><\/td><td>500 URLs<\/td><td>Desktop crawling, advanced users<\/td><td>Detailed reports, custom filters, redirect chains<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools<\/a><\/strong><\/td><td>Limited free plan<\/td><td>Backlink and internal link analysis<\/td><td>Automatic weekly crawls, broken outbound links<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-src=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ba89249d-143e-48eb-9a0a-56435789763e-1-1024x683.png\" alt=\"Comparison of free broken link checker tools Dead Link Checker Dr Link Check Google Search Console Screaming Frog\" class=\"wp-image-525 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/683;width:774px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ba89249d-143e-48eb-9a0a-56435789763e-1-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ba89249d-143e-48eb-9a0a-56435789763e-1-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ba89249d-143e-48eb-9a0a-56435789763e-1-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ba89249d-143e-48eb-9a0a-56435789763e-1.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Our recommendation:<\/strong>&nbsp;Start with&nbsp;<strong>Dead Link Checker<\/strong>&nbsp;for a quick, no\u2011login scan. Use&nbsp;<strong>Dr. Link Check<\/strong>&nbsp;for a deeper audit, and rely on&nbsp;<strong>Google Search Console<\/strong>&nbsp;for ongoing monitoring. If your site has fewer than 500 URLs, Screaming Frog\u2019s free version is unbeatable for detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. HOW TO FIX BROKEN LINKS: 5\u2011STEP PROCESS (HOW\u2011TO)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>(This is the detailed process for the HowTo schema.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 1 \u2013 Run a crawl using a free tool and export the report.<\/strong><br>Open Dead Link Checker or Dr. Link Check, enter your homepage, and let it scan. Export the list of broken URLs. If you use Screaming Frog, apply a filter for \u201cClient Error (4xx)\u201d responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 2 \u2013 Verify each broken URL is genuinely 404.<\/strong><br>Click the broken link from the report (or paste it into your browser). If the page loads fine, the tool was wrong; ignore it. If you get a 404, proceed to Step 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 3 \u2013 Decide the fix.<\/strong><br>Ask: Can I update the link to a live page? Is there a relevant page to redirect to? Or should I just remove the link? For internal links, update the link to the correct URL. For external links, either replace with a working alternative or remove the anchor. For image links, re\u2011upload or correct the URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 4 \u2013 Implement the fix.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Update link:<\/strong>&nbsp;Edit the post\/page in your CMS, find the broken link, and replace it with the correct URL.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Redirect:<\/strong>&nbsp;If the old URL has backlinks, set up a&nbsp;<strong>301 redirect<\/strong>&nbsp;from the broken URL to the new page. In WordPress, use a redirect plugin like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/redirection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Redirection<\/a><\/strong>. On Apache, add to&nbsp;<code>.htaccess<\/code>:<br><code>Redirect 301 \/old-page https:\/\/yoursite.com\/new-page<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Remove link:<\/strong>&nbsp;Delete the anchor text or the whole link, leaving the content intact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Step 5 \u2013 Re\u2011crawl and verify.<\/strong><br>Run the checker again. If the broken links are gone, you\u2019re done. If not, repeat the process until clean.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-src=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3b782412-5ab6-4ba3-8418-e9010bb680d6-1024x683.png\" alt=\"5 step process to fix broken links on a website for free\" class=\"wp-image-527 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/683;aspect-ratio:1.4993160054719563;width:751px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3b782412-5ab6-4ba3-8418-e9010bb680d6-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3b782412-5ab6-4ba3-8418-e9010bb680d6-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3b782412-5ab6-4ba3-8418-e9010bb680d6-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3b782412-5ab6-4ba3-8418-e9010bb680d6.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. PLATFORM\u2011SPECIFIC FIXES: WORDPRESS, SHOPIFY, AND STATIC SITES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>WordPress<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use a plugin like&nbsp;<strong>Broken Link Checker<\/strong>&nbsp;(free) to automatically detect and fix links from the dashboard.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Install&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/redirection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Redirection<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;to manage 301s without touching code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Update permalinks carefully; always set a redirect when changing a slug.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shopify<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Shopify doesn\u2019t allow server\u2011level .htaccess edits. Use the built\u2011in&nbsp;<strong>URL Redirect<\/strong>&nbsp;feature: Online Store \u2192 Navigation \u2192 URL Redirect.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Manually review product and blog links when you delete a product or collection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use a third\u2011party link checker (like Dr. Link Check) because Shopify doesn\u2019t natively report broken links.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Static Sites \/ HTML<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use a desktop tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.screamingfrog.co.uk\/seo-spider\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Screaming Frog<\/a> (free up to 500 URLs) to generate a report.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Edit the HTML directly: update&nbsp;<code>href<\/code>&nbsp;attributes or remove broken links.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For redirects, configure rules in Netlify\/Vercel or your hosting provider\u2019s dashboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. MONITORING AND PREVENTING BROKEN LINKS IN 2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finding and fixing is good; preventing is better. Here\u2019s how to keep your site link\u2011healthy all year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Schedule monthly crawls<\/strong>&nbsp;using Dead Link Checker or Dr. Link Check. Set a calendar reminder.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use <a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Search Console alerts.<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;Go to Coverage \u2192 404 errors, and review new ones regularly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Before deleting any page, set up a redirect.<\/strong>&nbsp;This is the #1 cause of internal broken links.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Audit external links annually.<\/strong>&nbsp;Third\u2011party sites change; what worked last year may be dead today.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use a WordPress plugin<\/strong>&nbsp;like Broken Link Checker that emails you when a link breaks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Train your content team.<\/strong>&nbsp;Whenever they update a post, they should check all outgoing links.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A small maintenance habit prevents big SEO losses later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">9. COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN FIXING BROKEN LINKS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ignoring external broken links<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 They don\u2019t affect your crawl budget, but they harm user trust and can make your content look outdated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Using temporary 302 redirects instead of 301<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 A 302 doesn\u2019t pass full link equity. Always use 301 for permanent moves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fixing only internal links<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Broken images and outbound links are equally important.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Not re\u2011crawling after fixing<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 You won\u2019t know if the issue is truly resolved.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mass\u2011deleting links without replacement<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Removing a link may solve the 404 but loses the context. Try to update or redirect first.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. What is a broken link?<\/strong><br>A broken link is a hyperlink that points to a page or resource that no longer exists, resulting in a 404 error. It can be internal (within your own site), external (to another website), or an image link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. How do broken links affect SEO?<\/strong><br>Broken links waste crawl budget, harm user experience, and prevent link equity from flowing. They can also reduce trust in your site, indirectly hurting rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Can I check for broken links for free?<\/strong><br>Yes. Google Search Console reports internal 404s for free, and tools like Dead Link Checker and Dr. Link Check provide free website crawls without login.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>4. What is the best free broken link checker?<\/strong><br>Dead Link Checker is great for quick scans of up to 2,000 pages. Dr. Link Check is more thorough and works well for larger sites. For ongoing monitoring, Google Search Console is unbeatable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>5. How do I find broken links using Google Search Console?<\/strong><br>Go to Coverage \u2192 404 errors. Google lists URLs that return 404, along with the date they were last crawled. You can also see which pages link to the broken URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>6. How do I fix broken links in WordPress?<\/strong><br>Use a plugin like Broken Link Checker to detect them, and either edit the link in the post editor or set up a 301 redirect with the Redirection plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>7. Should I fix external broken links?<\/strong><br>Yes. While you can\u2019t control the external site, you can replace the dead link with a working alternative, remove it, or redirect to a relevant page on your own site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>8. How do I set up a 301 redirect for a broken link?<\/strong><br>In WordPress, install the Redirection plugin and create a redirect from the old URL to the new one. On Apache, add a line to your .htaccess file:&nbsp;<code>Redirect 301 \/old-page \/new-page<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>9. How often should I check for broken links?<\/strong><br>Monthly is a good baseline for small to medium sites. Large e\u2011commerce sites may need weekly checks. Use a plugin or a scheduled crawl to automate the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>10. Can broken links affect page speed?<\/strong><br>Broken links themselves don\u2019t directly slow page load, but if a broken image triggers repeated failed requests, it can consume resources and delay rendering. Fixing all broken links improves overall site quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">11. CONCLUSION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You now have a complete, free\u2011to\u2011use system to&nbsp;<strong>find, fix, and prevent broken links<\/strong>&nbsp;on your website. From the quick scan with Dead Link Checker to the ongoing monitoring in Google Search Console, you can keep your site healthy without spending a penny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember the five\u2011step fix process: crawl, verify, decide, implement, and re\u2011crawl. Make it a monthly habit, and your SEO will thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bookmark this guide<\/strong>\u00a0and re\u2011run your audit every month. For more SEO maintenance tips, explore our<a href=\"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/\">\u00a0<strong>Technical SEO Checklist<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and keep your site running at peak performance.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1. INTRODUCTION Every broken link on your website is a tiny leak in your SEO bucket.&nbsp;It wastes crawl budget, frustrates users, and signals to Google that your site isn\u2019t well&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[295,290,293,296,297,289,286,291,283,285,287,288,294,282,292,284],"class_list":["post-517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo-tools","tag-404-error-fix","tag-broken-image-links-fix","tag-broken-link-checker","tag-broken-link-checker-tool-online","tag-broken-link-strategy","tag-bulk-link-checker-free","tag-dead-link-checker","tag-dr-link-check","tag-find-broken-links-free","tag-fix-external-broken-links","tag-fix-internal-broken-links","tag-free-broken-link-scanner","tag-google-search-console-broken-links","tag-how-to-fix-broken-links-on-my-website-for-free","tag-redirect-broken-links","tag-website-link-audit"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d9890858-bb6f-4d8e-bc65-43c95fb8cbc0.png",1983,793,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d9890858-bb6f-4d8e-bc65-43c95fb8cbc0-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d9890858-bb6f-4d8e-bc65-43c95fb8cbc0-300x120.png",300,120,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d9890858-bb6f-4d8e-bc65-43c95fb8cbc0-768x307.png",768,307,true],"large":["https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d9890858-bb6f-4d8e-bc65-43c95fb8cbc0-1024x409.png",1024,409,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d9890858-bb6f-4d8e-bc65-43c95fb8cbc0-1536x614.png",1536,614,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d9890858-bb6f-4d8e-bc65-43c95fb8cbc0.png",1983,793,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"gisru","author_link":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/author\/gisru\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"1. INTRODUCTION Every broken link on your website is a tiny leak in your SEO bucket.&nbsp;It wastes crawl budget, frustrates users, and signals to Google that your site isn\u2019t well&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":537,"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions\/537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seotoolspro.online\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}