Shows the anchor text and link location for easy identification
Highlights redirect chains requiring attention
How to use the broken link checker
01
Enter the page URL
Paste the URL of the page you want to audit into the broken link checker.
02
Start the scan
Click 'Check Links'. The tool fetches all links and tests each one's HTTP status.
03
Review broken links
See all links with their status codes — red items are broken (4xx/5xx errors).
04
Export the results
Note all broken link URLs and their locations on the page for fixing.
05
Fix or redirect broken links
Remove or update broken links. Add 301 redirects for moved content to preserve link equity.
What is a broken link checker?
The Broken Link Checker scans any webpage and tests every hyperlink to determine whether its destination is accessible. It reports the HTTP status code for each link — identifying 404 Not Found errors, 500 server errors, connection timeouts, and redirect chains — across both internal and external links.
Broken links are one of the most common website quality issues. They frustrate users, waste crawl budget, and are a negative quality signal for Google. Regular broken link audits are a fundamental part of website maintenance and technical SEO.
Why use a broken link checker?
Broken links create a poor user experience and signal a poorly maintained site to Google. They waste your crawl budget on dead URLs, prevent link equity from flowing to important pages, and can cause Google to lower its assessment of your site's overall quality. Finding and fixing broken links is a quick SEO win.
A broken link (dead link) is a hyperlink that points to a destination that no longer exists or is inaccessible, resulting in an error page (typically 404 Not Found) when clicked.
How do broken links affect SEO?
Broken links waste crawl budget, prevent link equity from flowing to valid pages, create poor user experiences that increase bounce rates, and are a negative quality signal in Google's quality assessment algorithms.
What should I do with broken internal links?
Fix broken internal links by updating the URL to the correct destination, creating a redirect from the old URL to the new one, or removing the link if the content no longer exists.
What should I do with broken external links?
For broken external links, either update to the new URL of the resource, find an alternative source for the same information, or remove the link. Consider using archive.org to find cached versions of moved content.
How often should I check for broken links?
Check monthly for active websites, or after any major site changes. External links break most frequently as other websites change — quarterly checks are the minimum recommended for sites with many outbound links.
More free technical SEO tools
Each one opens on its own page and works straight away, with no sign-up.
Broken Link Checker is one piece of the puzzle. See how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews actually view your brand, and get a prioritised list of fixes, with a free AEO & GEO audit from AI Rank Lab.
One check is a start. The audit checks the whole site.
