How to quickly find & fix dead links on your website; the free broken link checker guide

Dream client lands on your site, clicks a juicy link expecting gold… and boom — 404 Page Not Found. Not exactly the ‘hire me now’ vibe, right? Broken links aren’t just annoying, they tank your SEO, wreck your user experience, and silently kill your credibility.

And most of the time, you don’t even realise it’s an issue. They can sneak up on you. One day everything’s fine, the next your site’s got more dead ends than a Netflix true crime doc.

But finding and fixing broken links is easier than you think.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through:

• What broken links actually are (and why Google hates them),
  
• The most common causes,
  
• The best tools to scan your site (free + paid),
  
• And exactly how to fix them.
  

Let’s go broken link hunting…

Why Should I Care About Broken Links?

Your first reaction might be:

“So what if a link’s broken? People can just hit the back button or go to the homepage, right?”

Technically, yes. But here’s the thing…

Most people won’t.

They’ll click. They’ll get annoyed. And then? They’ll leave. They’ll assume your site is outdated, unprofessional, or just not worth the effort. Brutal, but true.

Broken links might seem like a small issue, but they can quietly wreck your website’s performance, your Google rankings, and your client’s trust.

What Causes Broken Links?

Broken links don’t just show up because the universe is out to get you (although it does feel that way sometimes). They usually sneak in through updates, tiny oversights, or third-party changes you can’t control.

Here are the usual culprits:

1. You changed the page… but forgot the link

This is the most common one and it happens to literally everyone.

Maybe you stopped offering a service, so you unpublished the page.

Maybe you changed the name of an offer and updated the URL to match.

Or maybe you just deleted something because it felt “outdated.”

Totally normal stuff. But if you don’t go back and update every place you linked to that page (like blogs, menus, buttons, emails) that link is now broken.

2. Typos in the Link

Yep, it can be that simple.

One extra letter, one missing slash, or a copy-paste gone rogue and boom, you’ve got a broken link.

3. External Websites Change or Disappear

Just because you linked to a fab article last year doesn’t mean it’s still live today.

People delete blog posts. They shut down businesses. They change domain names. Some just rebrand and quietly move everything without setting up redirects (rude, honestly).

So now, your blog post you wrote that linked to “that amazing service page structure guide”? It goes nowhere. And your reader, who clicked hoping for gold, gets a 404 page instead.

It’s annoying, yes, but it’s also out of your control. That’s why it’s so important to check your external links regularly. Because even if your site is pristine, someone else’s mess can still affect your user experience (and your SEO).

4. Redirects Gone Wrong

Ah, redirects. So helpful, until they’re not.

If you’ve ever changed a page URL and thought, “it’s fine, I’ll just pop a redirect in,” but didn’t quite set it up right… welcome to the club.

Maybe you forgot to add the redirect altogether.

Maybe you pointed it to the wrong page.

Maybe (and this is a fun one) you accidentally created a redirect loop where one page keeps sending people back to the same broken link.

Either way, your visitor hits a dead end, Google gets confused, and your site looks messy.

But don’t stress, I’ll walk you through how to do redirects properly later in this guide so you don’t accidentally make things worse while trying to fix them.

How to Use a Broken Link Checker

Because no one has time to check them manually!

1. BrokenLinkCheck.com

Best for: Quick scans of smaller sites

It free to use and you don’t even need to sign up.

Here’s how:

1. Head to BrokenLinkCheck.com
2. Pop in your website URL.
3. Tick the “Report distinct broken links only” box (optional, but helps tidy results).
4. Click “Find broken links.”

It’ll scan your site and give you a list of dead links + the page they’re on.

2. Screaming Frog

Best for: Larger websites, SEO nerds, or anyone who likes full control

Free up to 500 URLs. Paid version unlocks more features. 

How to run it:

1. Download and install Screaming Frog,
2. Open the app, paste your website URL into the search bar at the top.
3. Hit “Start.”
4. Once the crawl finishes, go to the “Response Codes” tab.
5. Filter by “Client Error (4xx)” to see broken links.
6. Click on each to see where it lives and what’s linking to it.
   

You can export the results to a spreadsheet and hand it off to your VA.

3. Ahrefs or Semrush

Best for: SEO-savvy folks or anyone already using these tools

You’re not just getting broken links, you’re also getting backlink data, crawl errors, keyword rankings, and a whole site health overview.

In Ahrefs:

1. Go to Site Audit.
2. Set up a new project or crawl your site.
3. Look under the “Internal Pages” > “Issues” tab.
4. Filter for 404 errors or broken internal links.
   

In Semrush:

1. Go to Site Audit.
2. Run a scan of your site.
3. Click on “Issues” and look for broken internal or external links.
4. Click through to see affected pages and fix suggestions.
   

These tools will also flag external links that no longer work, perfect for older blog posts where someone else moved or deleted content.

4. W3C Link Checker

Best for: The “I want it all clean and by the book” folks

A little old-school, but very thorough.

To use it:

1. Go to W3C Link Checker.
2. Enter your URL and click “Check.”
3. Grab a coffee ( it takes a minute).
4. Review each link it flags and double-check if they’re actually broken (sometimes W3C gets a little dramatic).

5. Google Search Console

Best for: Monitoring site health from Google’s perspective

It’s free, and it’s literally what Google uses to crawl your site.

Steps:

1. Go to Google Search Console.
2. Choose your property (aka your domain).
3. On the left-hand menu, go to Pages > Why pages aren’t indexed.
4. Look for anything under “404 not found.”
5. Click to view the page + find what linked to it.
   

This won’t catch every broken link, but it shows you which broken pages Google is seeing, which is key for rankings.

Free WordPress Plugins to Detect Broken Links (So You Don’t Have to)

If you’re a WordPress user (hi 👋 me too), you don’t have to run a manual broken link check every month.

There are plugins that can quietly monitor your site in the background and let you know when something breaks.

Here are a few I rate:

Broken Link Checker

This one’s a classic!

• Scans everything: posts, pages, comments, images, even custom fields.
• Picks up both internal and external broken links.
• Flags issues in your dashboard or sends you email alerts.
• You can fix broken links right there, no digging through individual pages.
  

It can be a little heavy on your server if you’re running a large site, but for most service-based businesses, it’s totally fine.

Rank Math SEO

If you’re already using Rank Math for SEO, you might not even realise it has a broken link tracker built in.

• Monitors broken links in the background.
• Pairs beautifully with Rank Math’s redirect manager, so you can fix links and redirect them in one go.
• Everything’s right there in your SEO dashboard. No extra tools needed.
  

It’s not quite as detailed as a dedicated link checker, but if you’re already using it? It’s a win.

SEOPress (Pro version)

the link checker isn’t included in the free version, but if you’re using SEOPress already, the upgrade is worth it.

• The Pro version includes link monitoring (so yes, you’ll need to upgrade).
• Keeps your site fast and tidy — doesn’t hog server resources.
• Plays nicely with other SEO tools.

Fixing Broken Links – Your Options

For Internal Links (stuff pointing to your own site)

These are the most important ones to fix because they affect both your user experience and your SEO.

Option 1: Redirect the page (301 redirect)

If you deleted or renamed a page, set up a 301 redirect so visitors and search engines know where to go instead.

Example:

Old URL: /services/insta-coaching

New URL: /services/content-strategy-intensive

Add a 301 redirect so the old link sends people to the new page automatically.

Here’s how to set it up, depending on your platform:

WordPress

Use a plugin like Rank Math, SEOPress, or Redirection.

Most SEO plugins have a redirect tool built in. Just paste the old URL and the new one, hit save, done.

Showit (with WordPress blog)

You’ll need to add redirects via your WordPress dashboard, using one of the plugins above.

Showit itself doesn’t have built-in redirect options for static pages, so this only works if you’ve got a WordPress blog attached.

Squarespace

Go to Settings > Advanced > URL Mappings

Use this format:

/old-url -> /new-url 301

Shopify

Head to Online Store > Navigation > URL Redirects
Click “Create URL redirect,” then enter the old and new URLs.

Wix

Go to SEO Tools > URL Redirect Manager
Choose “Single Redirect,” pop in the old and new links, and save.

Option 2: Update the link

Sometimes all you need to do is swap the broken link with the correct one.

This is ideal if the page still exists but the URL was mistyped, changed slightly, or the link was copied wrong.

To fix it just find the broken link and replace it with the correct one.

Option 3: Remove it

If the page no longer exists and isn’t relevant anymore, just take the link out.

No one’s going to miss a link to your 2022 Black Friday bundle. Trust.

For External Links (stuff pointing to other websites)

You’re not in control of these, but you can control how they affect your site.

Option 1: Replace with a similar resource

Find a new article, tool, or blog that covers the same topic.

Even better: replace it with your own content if you’ve got something relevant.

Option 2: Use archive.org if the content is gone

If the site has vanished but the content was valuable, try dropping the old URL into archive.org, it might have a cached version you can link to. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than a 404.

Option 3: Add nofollow or remove it entirely

If you have to keep the link (maybe it’s in a guest post or testimonial), you can add a nofollow tag so Google doesn’t crawl it.

Some platforms (like WordPress) let you tick a box to do this.

Others might need you to add a little HTML manually.

Just Google your platform + “add nofollow”. Or just remove the link altogether and save yourself the hassle. Don’t let someone else’s expired blog tank your UX.

Pro Tips for Ongoing Link Health

You fixed your broken links, legend. But if you want to keep things running smoothly (and not end up doing this all over again in a few months time), you need a low-effort system to stay on top of it.

Here’s how to keep your links in check without turning into a full-time web maintenance gremlin:

• Add a recurring calendar event. It takes 10–15 minutes and saves you hours of future chaos.
  
• Use a plugin (like Broken Link Checker) if you’re on WordPress — it’ll scan in the background and flag issues as they come up.
  
• Set up a custom 404 page that’s actually helpful — include a funny or friendly message (like MailChimp), maybe a search bar, or links to your top pages.
  

• Keep an internal URL map (a simple Google Sheet will do) so you always know what’s been changed, redirected, or deleted.
  

Keep Your Links Alive (Your SEO Will Thank You)

Checking and fixing broken links is one of those little tasks that makes a big impact.

So go on, run that link check, clean up a few dead ends, and give your site the love it deserves. And if you want to go deeper into making your website an SEO magnet?

Grab my Free SEO Checklist Template

It’s the exact step-by-step I use with my own clients to spot SEO issues and clean them up fast. No fluff. Just results.

Or if you’re done DIY-ing and ready to hand over the whole SEO thing?

Explore My SEO Services

Got more broken link questions? I’ve probably answered them here… 

FAQs

What’s the best free broken link checker for beginners?

BrokenLinkCheck.com.

It’s free, fast, and you don’t need to sign up for anything. Just pop in your URL and go.

Can broken links really hurt my SEO rankings?

Yes. Google sees broken links as a sign that your site isn’t being maintained, which can hurt your crawlability, authority, and overall user experience score. 

How often should I check for broken links?

Once a month is ideal. Set a reminder, run a quick check, and fix what’s broken.

Should I use plugins or manual tools for large websites?

Go plugin if you’re on WordPress, it’ll save your sanity. For larger sites or non-WP platforms, manual tools like Screaming Frog will give you deeper data and more control. It really comes down to how much time you’ve got and how much detail you want.

Is it better to remove or redirect a broken link?

Here’s the general rule of thumb:

• If the page still exists (just moved)? Redirect it.
• If the content’s gone forever but still matters? Replace it.
• If it’s irrelevant now? Just delete it and move on.