You’re here because you’ve probably heard something like this before:

“Broken links are hurting your SEO.”

But what does that actually mean? And more importantly—what can you do about it?

Whether you’re running your business from a cosy café corner with a flat white in hand or trying to squeeze in some digital marketing know-how between client calls, this post will make broken links and their SEO impact clear, simple, and fixable.

Let’s dive into the world of links, errors, and a few easy wins that’ll get your website back on Google’s good side.

What Are Broken Links?

Let’s start at the very beginning (a very good place to start, as Maria von Trapp might say).

Broken links—also known as dead links—are links on your website that no longer work. When someone clicks them, they don’t go where they’re supposed to. Instead, they hit a dreaded error page. Usually something like a 404 error.

These links might:

• Point to a page you’ve deleted

• Link to an external site that no longer exists

• Have a typo in the URL

• Refer to old products or services you no longer offer

Broken links can exist:

• In your blog posts

• On your homepage

• In your navigation bar

• Inside buttons or images

• Or anywhere else you’ve popped a hyperlink

They’re easy to overlook, especially if your site’s been running for a while and you’ve added lots of content. But search engines? They don’t overlook them.

Why Broken Links Matter for SEO

Let’s talk about the SEO elephant in the room.

Search engines like Google want to send people to websites that offer a good user experience. And let’s be honest—clicking a link that goes nowhere is not a good experience.

Here’s how broken links can mess with your SEO:

1. They hurt user experience.

When a visitor clicks on a broken link, they’re annoyed. That could be a potential customer who now doesn’t trust your website. Even worse, they might bounce off your site altogether.

2. They increase bounce rate.

If visitors leave quickly because they hit a dead end, it sends a signal to Google that your site might not be useful.

3. They waste “link juice.”

This one’s a bit techy, but bear with me.

When one page links to another, it passes along some SEO value—called “link juice.” If a link points to a non-existent page, that SEO benefit is lost.

4. They can affect crawling and indexing.

Search engines use “bots” to crawl your site. If those bots keep running into broken links, it can confuse them or stop them indexing your pages properly.

In short: fixing broken links helps users, improves your site’s reputation, and gives search engines a cleaner path to your content. Everyone wins.

What Causes Broken Links?

Most small business owners don’t break their links on purpose (unless your cat walked across the keyboard). But broken links happen. Here’s why:

• You deleted a page – You took down your ‘Summer Sale’ page, but forgot to update the homepage banner linking to it.

• You moved content – That blog post about "Choosing the Right Coffee Beans" is now on a new URL.

• External sites changed – You linked to someone else’s article… but they’ve changed their website structure.

• Typos – It happens. You typed “.co.uk” instead of “.com” or missed a letter in a product URL.

• Plugins or CMS updates – Sometimes WordPress or other content management systems mess with your links after an update.

The good news? Most broken links are easy to spot and fix once you know how.

How to Spot Broken Links on Your Website

Right, so now you know why broken links matter… how do you actually find them?

Here are a few methods—from DIY to pro-level tools.

1. Manually Check Your Website (Slow but Free)

This is the old-school method. Go through each page and click every link. Yep. Every. Single. One.

Pros: It’s free.
Cons: It takes ages. And you’ll probably miss something.

Best for: Tiny websites with only a few pages.

2. Use Free Online Tools

Some websites offer free broken link checkers. They scan your site and flag up anything that’s broken.

Try:

• Broken Link Checker by Ahrefs

• Dead Link Checker

• Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Free for up to 500 pages.

Pros: Quicker and more thorough.
Cons: Some have limited free versions or learning curves.

Best for: Most small business websites.

3. Use Google Search Console

If you’ve set up Google Search Console (and if not—do it now, it’s free), you can check for crawl errors. These include broken internal links.

Look under: Coverage → Excluded → Not found (404)

Pros: It’s from Google. You’re seeing what they see.
Cons: Only shows pages that Google has tried (and failed) to crawl—not necessarily every broken link.

Best for: Businesses doing their own SEO or working with a specialist.

4. Ask Your Web Developer or SEO Specialist

If you’ve got someone managing your site, ask them to run a broken link audit. It’s quick and easy for someone who knows what they’re doing—and saves you hours of clicking.

Best for: Business owners who’d rather delegate than DIY.

How to Fix Broken Links

Found some broken links? Great! Now let’s sort them out.

There are a few ways to fix them depending on what kind of link is broken.

1. Fix the URL

If you’ve got a typo or outdated URL in a link, just update it.

For example:

• Broken: /contactt

• Fixed: /contact

Simple.

2. Redirect the Old URL

Let’s say you deleted a page, but lots of other pages or external sites were linking to it. Instead of leaving it broken, set up a 301 redirect.

A 301 redirect tells browsers (and Google):

“This page has moved. Here’s the new one.”

You’ll need access to your site’s backend or a redirection plugin if you’re using WordPress.

3. Replace the Link

If it’s linking to an external site that no longer exists, find a new relevant link or remove it.

For example, if you referenced a news article that’s gone, find another source or just update the sentence.

4. Reinstate the Missing Page (if needed)

Sometimes the best option is to bring the deleted page back—especially if it was popular or linked to often.

This works well if you accidentally removed a product, blog post, or info page that customers still want.

5. Use a Plugin or Tool to Manage Redirects

If you’re using WordPress, install something like “Redirection” or “Yoast SEO Premium” to manage broken links and set up redirects easily.

If you’re not sure which plugin to use, your web person can help—or drop me a message and I’ll point you in the right direction.

How Often Should You Check for Broken Links?

Short answer: regularly.

Long answer: aim for a broken link check every couple of months, or:

• When you update your website structure

• After you launch a new product/service

• If your traffic suddenly drops and you’re not sure why

And if you blog regularly or have loads of content? Bump it up to once a month.

A Quick Note on Internal vs External Broken Links

Internal links

These point to your own website.
They matter most. Fix these first—they affect SEO directly.

External links

These point to other websites.
They’re still important, especially if you’ve recommended a helpful resource that’s now gone. Broken external links also annoy your readers.

Quick Wins: Broken Link Fixing Checklist

Here’s a handy list to keep you on track:

✅ Run a broken link checker
✅ Prioritise internal links
✅ Update or correct the URL
✅ Set up 301 redirects for removed pages
✅ Replace broken external links
✅ Rerun the checker to confirm they’re fixed
✅ Schedule your next broken link check

Should You Hire Someone to Do This?

If you’re a small business owner wearing 15 different hats already, fixing broken links might not be top of your to-do list. And that’s OK.

But ignoring them altogether could be quietly dragging your site’s performance down.

Working with an SEO company means:

• Regular health checks of your website

• Fixes before they become bigger issues

• Improved SEO performance

• Peace of mind knowing someone’s got your back

If you’re considering hiring someone, ask if broken link management is part of the package. It’s a small thing that makes a big difference.

FAQ: Broken Links & SEO

What happens if I don’t fix broken links?

Your site may still work, but it’ll give a worse user experience and lose SEO value. Over time, this can reduce traffic and even sales.

Will one or two broken links hurt my rankings?

Not necessarily—but over time, if you have lots, they add up. And it tells search engines that your site isn’t being maintained properly.

How do I redirect a broken link?

If you’re using WordPress, install a plugin like “Redirection.” You can also set it up through your hosting provider or ask your developer.

What’s the difference between 404 and 301?

• 404 means the page is missing (error).

• 301 is a redirect that says “this page has moved permanently.”

301s are good for SEO; 404s should be avoided where possible.

Do broken links affect Google indexing?

Yes. If Google encounters too many broken links, it can interfere with crawling and indexing, which in turn affects how your site appears in search.

Is there a free tool I can use?

Yes! Try Dead Link Checker or Google Search Console. Screaming Frog also offers a free version for smaller sites.

How often should I check for broken links?

Every 1–2 months, or after big changes to your site.

Broken links might seem like a small thing—but they’re one of the easiest and most overlooked ways to improve your SEO and customer experience.

The good news? You don’t need a degree in web development to fix them. A bit of awareness, the right tools, and the occasional helping hand from an SEO expert will do the job nicely.

If you’re ever in doubt, reach out to us here . It’s better to get ahead of the broken link problem now than scramble to fix it when your rankings start to tumble.

Happy linking