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All lessons in SEO for Beginners Lesson 4.3 of 26

Module 0: Introduction

  1. 0.1What is a search engine?
  2. 0.2How do search engines work?
  3. 0.3What is SEO?
  4. 0.4How to start SEO

Module 1: Keyword Research

  1. 1.1What are keywords in SEO?
  2. 1.2What is search intent?
  3. 1.3How to find keywords for your website
  4. 1.4Keyword difficulty
  5. 1.5Keyword mapping

Module 2: On-Page SEO

  1. 2.1What is on-page SEO?
  2. 2.2How to optimize a page for a keyword
  3. 2.3How to write title tags and meta descriptions
  4. 2.4How to use headings for SEO
  5. 2.5Internal linking for SEO

Module 3: Link Building

  1. 3.1What is link building?
  2. 3.2What makes a good backlink?
  3. 3.3How to get backlinks for beginners
  4. 3.4Blogger outreach

Module 4: Technical SEO Basics

  1. 4.1What is technical SEO?
  2. 4.2How to check if a page is indexed
  3. 4.3How to find broken links on a website
  4. 4.4XML sitemap and robots.txt for beginners
  5. 4.5How to do a basic SEO audit

Module 5: Measuring SEO Results

  1. 5.1How to set up Google Search Console
  2. 5.2Clicks, impressions, CTR, and position explained
  3. 5.3Your SEO action plan

How to find broken links on a website

This lesson covers

  • What broken links are
  • How to find them with a free scan
  • How to fix or redirect them

Short answer

A broken link is a link that leads to a page that no longer works, usually showing a 404 error. To find broken links, run a free site scan, check Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and click through your main menus. Fix each one by updating the link, restoring the page, or adding a 301 redirect to the best replacement.

A broken link, or dead link, points to a page that cannot be found. Visitors see an error like “404 Page Not Found.”

Broken links happen when you:

  • Delete a page or product
  • Change a page’s URL
  • Type a link wrong
  • Link to another site that later removes the page
  • Visitors leave. A customer clicking “Order now” and landing on an error may never come back.
  • Crawling is wasted. Search engine bots hit dead ends instead of your real pages.
  • Link value is lost. If other sites link to a deleted page, that value goes nowhere.

Opens SiteAuditLint in a new tab. It lists broken links, missing tags, and redirect issues.

  1. Run a free site scan. Enter your website on SiteAuditLint for a free scan. It crawls your pages and lists every broken link and where it appears.

  2. Check Google Search Console. Open Indexing, then Pages, and look for “Not found (404).”

  3. Check Bing Webmaster Tools. Its Site Scan and crawl reports show errors too.

  4. Click your main menus. Test the header, footer, and buttons by hand on your phone.

SituationBest fix
You typed the link wrongCorrect the link
The page moved to a new URLUpdate the link and add a 301 redirect from the old URL
The page was deleted but a similar one exists301 redirect to the closest replacement
The page was deleted with no replacementRemove the link. Let the old URL return 404
An external site removed its pageLink to a different source or remove the link
Broken link leading to a 404 error compared with a 301 redirect to the new pageBroken linkWith a 301 redirect/old-menu/404Page not found/old-menu/301/menu/Visitors and value arrive
A 301 redirect sends people and search engines to the new address.

A 301 redirect permanently sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one. It passes most of the old page’s value. Most website builders and SEO plugins let you add redirects without code.

Do not redirect every broken page to your homepage. Search engines may treat that as a “soft 404,” and visitors get confused.

Make your 404 page helpful

Some 404s will always happen. Make your error page friendly: say the page was not found, add a search box, and link to your main pages.

Quick quiz

1. What does a 404 error mean?
2. You moved a page to a new URL. What should you add?
3. Should all broken pages redirect to the homepage?

Common mistakes

  • Changing URLs without redirects. Always add a 301 when a URL changes.
  • Redirect chains. A to B to C slows things down. Point A straight to C.
  • Ignoring external links. Links to other sites break too.
  • Fixing once and forgetting. Scan your site every month.

Your action

Key terms

Broken link (dead link)
A link to a page that no longer works.
404 error
A response meaning the page was not found.
301 redirect
A permanent redirect from one URL to another.
Soft 404
A page that looks like an error but does not return a real 404 code.
Redirect chain
Several redirects in a row before reaching the final page.

Questions beginners ask

Do broken links cause a penalty?

No. But they waste visits and crawling, so fix them.

What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?

A 301 is permanent. A 302 is temporary. Use 301 when a page has moved for good.

Want someone to handle SEO for your business while you learn? The team at Remar Digital can help.