How to Fix Broken Links - Chicks in Business

Why Internal Links Matter

Search engines rely on internal links to comprehend the organization of a website, which is an important factor when it comes to SEO.

They also assist customers in navigating their way around the website and locating the necessary information.

Google has also claimed that how links are organized inside the website is an important factor in determining rankings.

If you’re not monitoring your website’s internal connections, you could be leaving out potential search engine visitors.

What Are Broken Internal Links?

A damaged internal link is a link that leads to a page on your website that does not exist.

This can happen for many reasons:

The page has been deleted.
The page has been moved and the link wasn’t updated.
There’s a typo in the URL.
The link is pointing to the wrong page.

Broken internal links can have several negative consequences for your website, including:

Frustrated visitors: If a user clicks on a broken link, they’ll go to a 404 error page. This can cause them to leave your website and look for the information they need elsewhere.
Negatively Affected SEO: Internal links help search engines understand the structure of your website. If you have a lot of broken internal links, it can negatively impact your website’s SEO.
Lost website traffic: If search engines can’t crawl your website properly due to broken links, you could lose out on valuable traffic.

How Did I End Up With Broken Links?

There are numerous causes why compromised internal links may appear on your site.

In certain situations, the connections were never functioning properly without you even knowing it.

In certain scenarios, the connections might have performed at one moment but have been discontinued as a consequence of an alteration that either you or somebody else made to the website.

You Changed The URL Of A Page

If you have ever adjusted the address of a page on your website, any connections within your website which referred to the old address will no longer be valid.

For instance, suppose you had a page located at https://example.com/services.

You opted to switch the URL to https://example.com/our-services.

Any transfers of hyperlinks that direct people to the prior URL will be broken since they are still directing them to the page’s previous location.

Any connections that go to https://example.com/services will have to be adjusted to direct to the new URL, https://example.com/our-services.

You Entered The Incorrect URL When Creating A Link

It is feasible to mistakenly enter an incorrect web address when constructing links within a website.

This can happen for a number of reasons, such as:

You misspelled the URL of the page you’re linking to.
You forgot to include the “https://” or “http://” part of the URL.
You included an extra space in the URL.

These minor errors can result in a broken link.

Verify your link building twice to make sure the URL is accurate.

Errors due to carelessness are often the cause of broken internal links.

The individual responsible was either unaware that they were causing broken links, or they weren’t taking notice.

No matter what, if there are multiple broken internal links on your website, it is essential to fix them promptly.

The Page You’re Linking To Was Removed

If you are connecting to a page that doesn’t exist anymore, the link will not work.

This can happen for a number of reasons, such as:

The page was never created in the first place.
The page was deleted by accident.
The page was intentionally removed but not replaced with a new page.

Do not overlook the problems that can arise due to modifications to a site’s internal links at a global level when one is not remaining alert.

Links To Certain Types Of Content Have Been Removed Or Moved Elsewhere

Some kinds of content are often transferred or relocated to separate places on a website.

These can include:

PDFs.
Images.
Videos.
Audio files.

If the file for any of these kinds of content has been relocated or eradicated, the connection will not function.

Examine all the links of PDFs, photographs, and clips on your website to be sure they are still functional.

You Recently Updated Your Site’s URL Structure And Did Not Redirect Old URLs

If you have made changes to your website’s URL arrangement recently, any prior URLs will not function anymore.

This can result in links that no longer work because the new web addresses will be different from the original ones. For example, let’s say your website had this URL structure:

https://example.com/services/service-1
https://example.com/services/service-2
https://example.com/services/service-3

But then you decided to change the URL structure to this:

https://example.com/our-services/service-1
https://example.com/our-services/service-2
https://example.com/our-services/service-3

Any existing links that are connected to the previous URLs will no longer be functional. The change was made to the URL due to differences in the previous format. You must make it so that the previous web addresses are linked to the new ones in order to correct this issue.

It is desirable to employ 301 redirects in place of 302 redirects.

301 redirects are a permanent action that will alert search engines that the page has been shifted to an alternate spot. 302 redirects are only temporary.

No matter how much experience I gain with SEO, I continue to meet developers who opt for 302 redirects as the ideal answer.

Sadly, this is not correct and not ideal.

For all lasting modifications to the website organization, ensure that a corresponding 301 reroute is used for any links that could be destroyed after the alteration.

Broken Elements Within A Page Due To Malfunctioning Plugins And Other Issues

Faulty plugins and other components on a page can be another source of broken links.

These can include:

Malfunctioning social media plugins.
Malfunctioning contact forms.
Broken Javascript or CSS files.

When these components are disrupted, they can cause connections to not work properly too.

For instance, if your social media add-on isn’t performing properly, it could stop people from distributing your material via social media systems.

This can result in fewer individuals connecting to your website.

An additional illustration is if a contact form is malfunctioning.

If people are unable to contact you, they may attempt to locate your email address on another page of your website.

If they are unable to locate it, they could abandon their search and look at a different website.

This could result in fewer individuals connecting to your website.

If your video player is not operational, it can stop viewers from accessing your videos.

If your image gallery is malfunctioning, it can block people from viewing your photos.

These two things can result in fewer individuals connecting to your website. To repair this problem, you need to identify the malfunctioning component and rectify it.

For instance, if your social media add-on is not operating correctly, you may need to alter it or try out a different one.

If your contact form is not functioning, it could be necessary to repair it or get a new contact form plugin.

4 steps to fix broken links on your site

Now that you have a clear understanding of how critical it is to fix broken links on your site, let’s go through the steps that will help you do just that:

Step 1: Check for broken links on your site

Prior to attempting to mend malfunctioning links on your website, you should first determine which of them require mending. It is possible to use Google Analytics to accomplish this without a cost, yet the procedure is quite complex.

You should look into utilizing programs like Ahrefs Broken Link Checker. Those who work with WordPress have a resource which can identify broken links rapidly: the Broken Link Checker plugin.

Rebrandly has recently developed a function that lets you observe all your branded domain names, which permits you to identify broken connections and their influence on your total web traffic.

This feature tracks the clicks made by people over the last 30 days to identify and fix broken links. Consequently, it is a faster method to automatically detect broken hyperlinks on your website.

Step 2: Find broken backlinks to your site

You should inspect not just the broken links on your website, but also any outside sources with dead links coming to your domain. You can use the Ahrefs Broken Link checker one more time for this.

This tool gives you an extensive inventory of all the inbound connections that have been removed. You can also find out how many domains reference each broken link.

Step 3: Analyse all broken links and decide on a fix

You must then examine all the dysfunctional interior links and backlinks to search for potential solutions. Remember that the solutions could be different depending on the kind of link and its impact on the entirety of your traffic.

Rather than getting rid of broken links that usually get a lot of attention, you may choose to search for alternative redirects. Or for links that don’t receive much attention and aren’t necessary, it could be preferable to erase them.

Certain dysfunctional backlinks could necessitate a page transformation whereas others may essentially necessitate verbatim contacting the website possessor and involving them to employ the accurate link. Be certain to arrange the broken links and backlinks in an orderly way based on how you plan on mending them.

Step 4: Repair broken links as needed

Once you have identified the damaged links, begin to repair them. As previously noted, the solutions to the issue will be dependent on the link. You have a few options to repair them:

Replace/redirect them

Substitute the dysfunctional links with something appropriate or direct them to another pertinent page on your website. As an illustration, let’s suppose you created a page where individuals could put in advance orders for a product that would be available in the future.

You may have turned off the possibility of making advance orders since the product came out. You could substitute the link with one pointing to a page where people can make normal orders for the same item. Suppose you have stopped providing a commodity that was much loved by your clients. Rather than bringing them to a page displaying an error message when they attempt to buy an item or gather more details about it, you could transfer them to a page with a suitable replacement item.

Be sure to tell your visitors that the product they were seeking is no longer on offer, but suggest they try another option. This feature from Rebrandly for broken link management makes it easy for you to quickly mend broken links on your website with a few simple steps. You won’t need to keep returning and attempting to repair each malfunctioning link on your website.

Remove them

It may be preferable to get rid of certain broken links so that people cannot mistakenly go to a page that does not exist. This approach might be appropriate for items that are no longer available and do not have a suitable substitute. This repair could also be utilized for campaigns or services that are only required on one occasion and that are no longer being offered, an example of this being.

Request site owners to fix broken backlinks

It is possible that some broken links might be the result of an inadvertent mistake made by the website proprietor. For instance, they might have incorrectly typed the web address or inadvertently added an extra character. In situations like these, it is advisable to contact the owners of the website and ask them to employ a suitable link.

Recreate/replace content on the same URL

If the content from broken backlinks is no longer available, you may opt to create new content or substitute it with a viable option. An example that comes to mind is a large internet site that continues to refer people to a piece you posted regarding ad retargeting, despite the fact that you have already taken it off the web. Think about generating content around the same topic but with more up-to-date and precise information. This could be lengthy, yet would be immensely advantageous, particularly if the links and traffic originate from a trustworthy resource. You will not have to begin your connection-establishing initiatives from the beginning afresh, making it simpler to preserve a good position in the internet search engine.