A broken link, also known as a dead link is a hyperlink on a webpage that no longer functions or leads to the intended destination. This can occur for various reasons, such as the linked page being removed, the URL being changed without proper redirection, or the website hosting the content becoming inactive. Broken links can negatively impact both user experience and search engine rankings.
When users encounter broken links, they may become frustrated and leave the site, leading to higher bounce rates. Search engines like Google consider user experience when ranking pages; therefore, having numerous broken links can signal poor site maintenance and lower overall quality. Additionally, if external sites link back to your content with broken links pointing at them from their end the potential link equity can not pass through. Additionally, if you have internal links that are non-functional within your own site structure, this will hinder a search engine crawlers’ ability to index your pages effectively.
Broken links should regularly be audited using tools like Google Search Console or third-party software like Screaming Frog, Semrush or Ahrefs. Once identified, these issues should be addressed by either updating URLs with valid ones or removing outdated references altogether.
