Broken Link Checker

Tool Overview

What This Tool Does

The broken link checker scans all URLs on your page or across your entire website, then shows every broken link and 4xx error with its HTTP status code and the page where it was found.

You don’t have to scroll through hundreds of working links. The tool surfaces only the URLs that need your attention.

What You See in Your Scan Report

  • The HTTP error status code for each broken link
  • The source page where the broken link was found
  • The exact broken URL that returned an error
  • A broken status label confirming the link is dead
  • A total count of links scanned and broken links found

Why It Matters

Broken links quietly damage your SEO, your users’ trust, and your authority. Here is what is at stake.

Negative Impact on SEO

Negative Impact on SEO

A large number of internal dead links wastes crawl resources and can slow the discovery and indexing of your important content.

Poor User Experience

Poor User Experience

When a visitor lands on a 404 page, it is frustrating. Visitors lose trust and stop exploring your website.

Damaged Brand Reputation

Damaged Brand Reputation

Multiple broken links make a site look outdated and unprofessional, so visitors trust it less.

Crawl Budget Waste

Crawl Budget Waste

Search engines allocate a limited crawl budget. Broken links consume part of it without adding any value.

Link Equity Loss

A broken internal link sends authority nowhere, and a 404 behind an external link wastes link equity.

Lost Conversions

Lost Conversions

Dead links on key pages quietly block the path to purchase or signup, turning a maintenance issue into a revenue problem.

How It Works

The tool runs in your browser, so there is no installation or setup. Here is how it works.

1

Enter the URL

Paste your website’s domain or a specific page URL into the input field.

2

Choose Scan Type

Select Single Page Scan for one page, or Whole Website Scan for a full site audit.

3

Click Check

The tool scans every link and shows how many were scanned and how many are broken.

4

The results table lists each broken link with its error code, source page, and URL.

Root Causes

Broken links are rarely your fault alone. Knowing why they appear helps you catch them faster.

A page was deleted or moved

A page was deleted or moved

The destination URL no longer exists, or it was renamed without a redirect in place.

A site was redesigned

A site was redesigned

A migration or CMS change rewrites old URLs, breaking links that worked before.

A typo in the URL

A typo in the URL

A small mistake in the HTML points the link at an address that returns an error.

An external site went down

An external site went down

A page you linked to was removed, expired, or the whole site went offline.

A redirect chain broke

A redirect chain broke

An old redirect was removed or looped, so the link no longer reaches a live page.

Link rot over time

Links naturally decay as the web changes, which is why regular scans matter.

Next Steps

What to Do After Your Scan

Finding broken links is the first step. Here is how to handle the most common results.

1

Deleted or Moved Pages

Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the correct destination. This preserves link equity and routes visitors correctly.

2

Update the link to a current alternative. If there is no replacement, remove the link entirely.

3

Misspelled URLs

Check whether the broken link is a typo in your HTML, correct the URL in your source code, and it resolves.

4

When external sites link to your 404 pages, restore the page, set up a redirect, or create new content to recover that authority.

Why a Tool

Manual Checking vs Automated Scanning

Checking by hand works for a couple of pages. Across a whole site, a scanner is faster and far more reliable.

Factor Checking by Hand
Speed Click every link one by one across each page. Scans every link on a page or site in seconds.
Coverage Easy to miss links buried deep in the page. Surfaces every link, including the ones you would overlook.
Status detail You only see that a page failed to load. Shows the exact HTTP status code and the source page.
Effort Tedious and error-prone on large sites. One click, with a clear report of only the broken links.
Cost Your time, which adds up fast. Free, with no signup or usage limits.

Status Codes

Understanding HTTP Status Codes

Each link returns an HTTP status code that shows whether it works. The 200 range is healthy; the 400 and 500 ranges signal a problem worth fixing.

Status Code What It Means What to Do
200 OK The link works No action needed
301 Moved Permanently Permanent redirect Update the link to the final URL to avoid redirect chains
302 Found Temporary redirect Fine short term, but confirm it is intentional
403 Forbidden Access is blocked The page exists but blocks access; check permissions
404 Not Found The page is missing Fix or replace the link, or add a redirect
410 Gone Page permanently removed Remove the link or point it somewhere relevant
5xx Server Error The server failed Often temporary; re-check before acting

Stay Ahead

Broken links accumulate over time. These habits keep them from damaging your site.

1

Run monthly scans

A monthly scan catches broken links before they pile up. Scan weekly if you update often or run a large site.

2

Scan after every site update

Any time you delete, move, or rename a page, run a quick scan to catch new broken links immediately.

3

Keep a redirect log

Record every URL change and its redirect to avoid recurring issues and make updates easier to track.

4

Scan every hyperlink in new content before it goes live to save cleanup time later.

5

Prioritize high-traffic pages

Start with the pages that get the most visitors or carry the most link equity for the biggest impact.

Going Deeper

Soft 404 vs Hard 404 Errors

A hard 404 returns a real 404 status code, so the server clearly says the page is gone. A soft 404 is trickier: the page shows a “not found” message to visitors but still returns a 200 “OK” status to search engines.

Soft 404s are the more harmful of the two. They waste crawl budget, confuse search engines, and hide the real problem because the link looks healthy on the surface. If a page is gone, make sure it returns a true 404 or 410, or redirect it to a relevant live page.

Broken links are also a link building opportunity. Find a broken link on a relevant resource page, create a working replacement, and reach out to every site still linking to the dead page. Outreach Desk runs this as a service through our broken link building campaigns.

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Broken links accumulate over time and silently damage your SEO and visitor trust.

Regular monitoring helps you catch 404 errors and dead links before they hurt your performance.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Clear answers to common questions about finding and fixing broken links.

A 404 status code means Page Not Found. It occurs when a URL points to a page that no longer exists. This is the most common type of broken link.

Yes. It is completely free, with no signup, login, or usage limits.
Fixing broken links improves crawlability, preserves link equity, improves the user experience, and signals to search engines that your website is well-maintained, all of which contribute positively to your search rankings.
The most common status code for a broken link is 404 Not Found. However, broken links may also return 410 Gone, 403 Forbidden, or other 4xx errors depending on the issue.
Yes, the tool can scan an entire website and find broken internal links.
Scans are typically completed within a few minutes, depending on the website’s size and the number of links.
Yes, broken links might affect Google rankings. They may reduce crawl efficiency and harm the user experience, potentially impacting search performance over time.

Websites change constantly. Pages move, resources disappear, and URLs update. Regular scans help you catch issues before they affect crawling or user experience.
The tool scans the internal links on your pages. It checks the hyperlinks within your site’s HTML and reports which ones return errors.
A broken link returns an error code like 404 or 500 and leads nowhere. A redirect returns a 301 or 302 and still works, sending visitors to a different URL. Long redirect chains slow pages and waste crawl budget, so they are worth cleaning up too.

A hard 404 returns a real 404 status code, confirming the page is gone. A soft 404 shows a not found message to users but still returns a 200 OK status, which confuses search engines and wastes crawl budget. Soft 404s are harder to catch and the more harmful of the two.
You have three options: update the link to the correct working URL, replace it with an equivalent resource, or remove it if no replacement exists. For broken pages on your own site, add a 301 redirect to a relevant live page.
Check relevant resource or roundup pages in your niche for dead links, then create a working replacement and reach out to sites still linking to the broken page. This turns other people’s broken links into your backlinks.

Let’s Build Trust and
Credibility the Right Way

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term growth, this is your next step.

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