The Wayback Machine at archive.org is a free, unlimited source of link building intelligence that most SEOs ignore. Every deleted page, moved resource, and discontinued tool that previously had backlinks pointing to it is an opportunity — if you create the replacement content that those backlinks should now point to. The Wayback Machine shows you exactly what existed, what it covered, and therefore what replacement content you need to create.
The Core Research Workflow
The workflow combines two tools: a backlink tool to find broken external links pointing to competitor sites, and the Wayback Machine to understand what those broken links originally pointed to. Together they reveal: what topic the deleted page covered, whether you have or can create equivalent content, and which sites are linking to the now-dead URL and might link to your replacement instead.
Use our Wayback URL extractor to pull all historical URLs from a competitor domain. This gives you their complete content history — pages they have since deleted, moved, or replaced. Cross-reference this list with a backlink tool to find which deleted pages still have external backlinks pointing to them.
Finding High-Value Broken Link Targets
Not every deleted page with backlinks is worth targeting. Prioritise based on: number of backlinks pointing to the deleted URL (more backlinks = more link building value), authority of the sites linking to it, topical relevance to your site's content, and whether you can create a genuinely better replacement than whatever previously existed.
Use the Wayback Machine to view the archived content at the broken URL. As we covered in our guide to Wayback Machine SEO research, this shows you exactly what the deleted page contained — giving you the brief for your replacement content. If the deleted page was a tool, a guide, or a resource that aligns with your site's content strategy, the opportunity is worth pursuing.
Creating Replacement Content
Your replacement content must be at least as good as what the Wayback Machine shows previously existed — preferably better. A journalist or site owner who linked to a specific resource did so because it was the best available option at the time. Your replacement needs to be demonstrably better to earn the link update through outreach.
As we covered in our guide to broken link building, the outreach email for this approach references the specific broken link and explicitly offers your replacement — making the case for why your version is worth updating the link to.
Researching Your Own Broken Links
The Wayback Machine is also useful for your own domain. If pages on your site were deleted and you are not sure what they originally contained, Wayback shows you the original content — helping you decide whether to restore, redirect, or simply redirect to the most relevant live equivalent. Use our broken link checker alongside Wayback research to identify and prioritise your own broken URL recovery.
Summary
The Wayback Machine enables link building by revealing what deleted, broken pages originally contained — creating targeted replacement content briefs for your most valuable broken link building opportunities. Use our Wayback URL extractor for bulk URL history research, cross-reference with backlink data to find link-worthy broken targets, and create replacement content that surpasses what previously existed.
Missed the previous article? Read: How to Build Backlinks From Resource Pages in 2026