About Our Broken Link Checker
Dead links hurt your Google rankings and destroy user trust. RankShifters' Broken Link Checker allows you to rapidly scan any webpage for broken outbound links (404 Not Found, 500 Server Errors, etc.) so you can fix them before they impact your SEO performance.
How Broken Links Damage SEO
Search engines like Google use links to discover and index content. When a crawler encounters a broken link, it is forced to stop. A high number of broken links signals to Google that a site is poorly maintained, outdated, and unhelpful to searchers, leading to a drop in your organic rankings.
- Crawl Budget Waste: Googlebot wastes time crawling dead ends rather than indexing your new content.
- Loss of Link Equity: You are bleeding "link juice" into a void instead of passing it to relevant pages.
- Poor User Experience: High bounce rates occur when users click a link and hit a 404 page.
How to Use This Tool
- Copy the URL of the page you want to audit.
- Paste it into the checker tool above.
- Click "Find Broken Links".
- The tool will test every outbound HTTP/HTTPS link on the page in real-time. Review the status column for any red "Broken" warnings.
FAQs
What is a 404 error?
A 404 error indicates that the server could not find the requested webpage. This typically happens because the linked page was deleted or its URL was changed without setting up a 301 redirect.
How often should I check for broken links?
For active blogs and large sites, we recommend running a broken link audit at least once a month. Links rot over time as target websites close down or restructure.
Should I just delete broken links?
Not necessarily! If the link pointed to a useful resource, see if you can find the new URL for that resource and update it. If the page is gone forever, finding an alternative high-quality source or removing the link is the best approach.