How Do I Find and Fix Broken Links on My Website? (Step-by-Step)

Broken links are one of those problems that accumulate silently over time. Every page you delete without redirecting, every external site that removes a resource you link to, every URL you mistype in a post — they all create broken links that waste Googlebot's crawl budget, lose link equity, and frustrate visitors. Finding and fixing them is one of the fastest technical SEO wins available.

Quick Answer: To find broken links on your website, run your domain through our free broken link checker which crawls every page and reports every URL returning a 404 error. For each broken link, either redirect the broken URL to a relevant live page (if the page was deleted), update the link to the correct URL (if it was a typo), or remove the link entirely (if the destination no longer exists). Fix internal broken links first — they waste your crawl budget and lose your own link equity.

Step 1: Run a full broken link scan of your website

The fastest way to find every broken link on your site is to use our free broken link checker:

Go to the free SEOLinkScan Broken Link Checker
Enter your website's homepage URL
Click Scan
Wait for the scan to complete — it crawls every page on your site, following every link
Download or review the report showing every broken URL and which pages contain those links

The report shows you two critical pieces of information for every broken link: the URL that is broken (returning a 404 or error) and the page on your site that contains the link to it. Both pieces are needed to fix the problem efficiently.

Status Code	Server Response Meaning	Googlebot Crawl Impact	Remediation Priority
`200 OK`	Resource loaded successfully	Optimal Indexable and equity flows seamlessly	None (Healthy)
`301 Moved`	Permanent resource relocation	Passed 99%+ PageRank transferred; update link	Low to Medium
`302 Found`	Temporary resource relocation	Delayed Equity withheld; does not update index	Medium
`404 Not Found`	Page missing or dead link	Critical Wastes crawl budget; breaks user journey	Immediate Fix
`410 Gone`	Permanently purged resource	Removed De-indexes faster than 404	Audit References
`500 / 503`	Server error or crash	Urgent Triggers algorithmic downranking if repeated	Emergency Fix

Step 2: Also check Search Console for crawl errors

Google Search Console captures additional broken link data from Googlebot's perspective:

Open Search Console
Go to Coverage → Not Found (404)
Click on any URL to see which pages on your site link to it

Search Console is particularly valuable for finding broken links that only Googlebot follows — links in XML sitemaps, links in less-visited page templates, and historical links from pages that have since been updated.

Step 3: Triage broken links by type — internal vs external

Broken links fall into two categories with different priority levels:

Internal broken links (your site links to your own deleted or moved page) — highest priority. These waste your crawl budget, lose internal link equity, and create a poor user experience. Fix these first.

External broken links (your site links to another site's page that has moved or been deleted) — moderate priority. These hurt user experience and signal poor site maintenance to Google, but do not waste your crawl budget directly.

Step 4: Fix internal broken links

For each internal broken link, choose the right fix based on the situation:

Situation A: You deleted a page that had real SEO value (backlinks, rankings, traffic)

Restore the page if the content is still relevant
Or create a 301 redirect from the deleted URL to the most relevant live page on your site
And update the internal links pointing to it to point directly to the new URL (eliminating the redirect hop)

Situation B: You moved a page to a new URL without redirecting

Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new URL
Update all internal links pointing to the old URL to point directly to the new URL

Situation C: You have a typo in an internal link

Find the page containing the broken link
Edit the link to point to the correct URL

Step 5: Fix external broken links

For each external link pointing to a dead page on another site:

Check whether the page moved — search the title of the page or the main topic to see if it was published at a new URL. If so, update your link to the new URL.
Remove the link if no replacement exists — a link to nowhere is worse than no link at all. Delete the anchor text or replace it with a different, live resource.
Consider broken link building — if you find an external site linking to YOUR content that is broken, that is a separate opportunity: you have a page that fills the gap, reach out and suggest your URL as the replacement.

Step 6: Set up regular monthly broken link monitoring

Broken links accumulate continuously — as you publish new content, update URLs, and external sites change their pages. Fix them once is not enough; they need monthly maintenance.

Schedule a monthly broken link scan using the free SEOLinkScan Broken Link Checker
Fix new broken links immediately when found — before they compound
After any site migration or major content update, run an immediate scan to catch new issues

Step 7: Prevent future broken links with good site hygiene

When deleting any page, immediately set up a 301 redirect from its URL to the most relevant replacement
When moving a page, always redirect the old URL
Before publishing, check any external URLs you link to are actually live
Use descriptive, stable URL structures that you will not need to change later

Technical Diagnostic Checklist: Broken Link Remediation

✓
Run Automated Monthly Crawls: Crawl your entire site using a crawler like SEOLinkScan to detect any 404, 410, or 500 status codes across all navigational templates.
✓
Implement 301 Redirects for Legacy URLs: Never let high-equity inbound links land on dead pages. Point removed URLs to the closest topical equivalent.
✓
Scrub Navigation Menus & Footers: Verify sitewide header menus, dropdowns, and global footers for outdated .php URLs or typos.
✓
Monitor Google Search Console Coverage: Inspect the 'Pages' indexation report weekly for sudden spikes in 'Not Found (404)' errors and fix them at the root.

Summary: How to find and fix broken links

Step 1: Run a full site scan with the free SEOLinkScan Broken Link Checker — get every broken URL and which pages contain them
Step 2: Also check Search Console Coverage → Not Found for Googlebot-perspective crawl errors
Step 3: Triage by type — fix internal broken links first, then external
Step 4: Fix internal broken links with 301 redirects, restored pages, or direct URL updates
Step 5: Fix external broken links by updating to new URLs or removing dead links
Step 6: Schedule monthly scans — broken links accumulate continuously
Step 7: Always redirect deleted pages immediately to prevent future accumulation

Continue reading: How do I write title tags that make people click my search result?