Broken link checkers tool is a must-have for any website owner or SEO professional, allowing you to detect and fix these issues quickly. In this article, Viindoo will share the top broken link checker tools for SEO.
What are Broken Links?
Broken links are hyperlinks on a website that no longer work or lead to valid web pages. When a user clicks on a broken link, instead of being directed to the intended content, they typically encounter an error page, such as a 404 error. Broken links can occur due to various reasons, such as:
- Page deletion or removal: If a web page is deleted or removed from a website without updating or removing the corresponding links, those links become broken.
- URL changes: When the URL structure of a website is modified, existing links that point to specific ages may become outdated and result in broken links.
- Typographical errors: If there are typos or mistakes in the URL itself, such as misspellings or incorrect capitalization, the links may become broken.
- Website migration: During website migration or redesign, if proper redirections are not set up to handle the change in URLs, it can lead to broken links.
- External websites: If a website links to external content on another website, and that content is moved or removed, the links become broken.
Broken links on a website
Broken links are not only frustrating for website visitors, but they can also have negative consequences for website owners. They can harm user experience, reduce the credibility and trustworthiness of a website, negatively impact search engine rankings, and hinder effective navigation within a website. Regularly checking and fixing broken links is important for maintaining a well-functioning website.
See more: 10 Best Marketing Software Platforms for Today’s Businesses
How to Find Broken Links?
To find broken links on a website, you can use various tools and methods. Here are a few approaches you can take:
- Manual inspection: You can manually review your website's content and click on each link to see if it leads to the intended page or shows an error. While this method can be time-consuming, it allows you to examine each link in detail.
- Browser extensions: There are browser extensions available, such as Check My Links (for Google Chrome) or Link Checker (for Firefox), that can scan web pages and highlight any broken links they find. These extensions can help automate the process and make it more efficient.
- Online link checkers: Several online tools specialize in checking for broken links. These tools analyze a given URL or website and provide a report of broken links found. Examples include Dead Link Checker, Broken Link Check, and W3C Link Checker.
- Google Search Console: If you have your website registered with Google Search Console, you can use the "Coverage" report to identify any crawl errors, including broken links. This report highlights the URLs that return 404 errors or other issues encountered during Google's crawling process.
- Website auditing tools: Comprehensive website auditing tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or SEMrush can analyze your entire website and generate reports that include broken links. These tools often provide additional insights and analysis beyond broken links, making them valuable for overall website optimization.
How to Find and Fix Broken Links
Regardless of the method you choose, it's important to regularly check for broken links and fix them promptly. Once you identify broken links, you can update or remove them, redirect them to relevant content, or reach out to webmasters of external websites to request fixes.
Learn more about: Discovering the Best Website Builder for SEO Success
Top Broken Link Checkers Tools for SEO
Ahrefs
A comprehensive SEO toolset with a Site Audit feature that scans websites for broken links, provides detailed reports, and offers suggestions for fixing them. It also includes backlink analysis and competitor research features.
Ahref's broken link checking feature includes:
- Comprehensive SEO toolset
- Site Audit feature for broken link detection
- Detailed reports on broken links, redirects, and more
- Offers suggestions for fixing broken links
- Includes backlink analysis and competitor research features.
Read more: web development tools
SEMrush
An all-in-one SEO platform that offers a Site Audit feature for identifying broken links. SEMrush provides comprehensive reports with recommendations to fix broken links and highlights other SEO issues like duplicate content and server errors.
How to Find and Fix Broken Links with Semrush
SEMrush's broken link checking feature includes:
- All-in-one SEO platform
- Site Audit feature for broken link identification
- Comprehensive reports with recommendations for fixing broken links
- Highlights other SEO issues like duplicate content and server errors
- Provides keyword research and competitor analysis features.
Majestic
Primarily known for its backlink analysis capabilities, Majestic also offers Site Explorer with a "Crawl" tab to detect broken links. It provides summaries and exportable data for further analysis, alongside its extensive backlink database and analysis features.
Majestic's broken link checking feature includes:
- Primarily known for backlink analysis
- Site Explorer with a "Crawl" tab for broken link detection
- Summary of broken links found and exportable data
- Extensive backlink database and analysis capabilities
Google Search Console
A free tool by Google that helps monitor a website's presence in search results. While not solely focused on broken link checking, it provides a "Coverage" report that identifies crawl errors, including broken links. It offers insights into indexing status, search analytics, and mobile usability.
Find a broken link in Google Search Console
Google Search Console's broken link checking feature includes:
- Free tool by Google for monitoring site presence in search results
- "Coverage" report identifies crawl errors, including broken links
- Highlights URLs returning 404 errors or other issues
- Provides insights into indexing status and search analytics
- Helps identify mobile usability concerns.
Dead Link Checker
An online tool specifically designed for detecting broken links on websites. Dead Link Checker scans web pages and generates detailed reports with URLs and HTTP status codes, making it easy to identify and address broken links.
Dead Link Checker's broken link checking feature includes:
- Online tool for detecting broken links
- Scans entire website for broken links
- Detailed report with URLs and HTTP status codes
- User-friendly interface for quick identification of broken links.
Dr. Link Check
Another online broken link checkers that scans web pages for broken links and generates reports with URLs, HTTP status codes, and anchor text. It allows for exportable results for further analysis and fixing.
Dr. Link Check's broken link checking feature includes:
- Online broken link checkers tool
- Scans web pages for broken links
- Generates report with URLs, HTTP status codes, and anchor text
- Exportable results for further analysis and fixing.
Broken Link Checkers Plugin (WordPress)
A WordPress plugin that continuously monitors the content within a WordPress site for broken links. It highlights broken links, provides notifications, and offers options to edit or remove them. The plugin also includes additional features for URL management and link checking intervals.
Repair Broken Links In WordPress
WordPress's broken link checking feature includes:
- WordPress plugin for broken link identification
- Monitors website content for broken links
- Highlights broken links and provides notifications
- Offers options to edit or remove broken links within the plugin
- Additional features for URL management and link checking intervals.
Broken links can harm your website's SEO performance by negatively impacting user experience and reducing crawl efficiency. Using a reliable broken link checkers tool is essential for identifying and fixing broken links promptly. We've highlighted the top 7 broken link checker tools for SEO in 2023, along with a step-by-step guide on how to use them. By implementing our tips for maintaining a broken link-free website, you can improve your website's credibility and user experience, leading to better SEO performance.
Broken links can harm your website's SEO performance by negatively impacting user experience and reducing crawl efficiency. Using a reliable broken link checkers tool is essential for identifying and fixing broken links promptly. Viindoo has highlighted the top 7 broken link checker tools for SEO. Hopefully the above information will help you a lot in maintaining your website free of broken links, improving your site's reliability and user experience, leading to better SEO performance.
