Did you know that broken internal links can do damage to your website’s performance? It’s important to find and fix them to keep your website’s SEO healthy. If you are new to SEO and wondering what this thing is all about, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we will have a look at what is broken internal links and how to fix them.
What are broken internal links?
Broken internal links are simply links that don’t work. When someone clicks on a broken link, they will be taken to a 404 error page. This is bad for two reasons. Firstly, it creates a bad user experience. Secondly, it sends out signals to search engines that your website is not well-maintained, which can impact your SEO ranking negatively. SEO companies help you to find and fix the broken link issues.
From an SEO point of view, you should fix broken internal links as soon as possible. Not only is it important to keep your website’s performance up, but also to send positive signals to search engines.
How to find broken internal links?
There are a few ways you can find broken internal links on your website. Let’s look at all the ways that you can use to find broken internal links.
Use Google Search Console:
If you have a website, you should be using Google Search Console. It is a free service provided by Google that allows you to track your website’s performance on Google search. One of the things you can do with Search Console is to find broken links.
To do this, go to Crawl > Crawl Errors from the left sidebar. Here, you will see a list of all the broken links on your website. You can then click on each URL to get more information about the error.
Use Screaming Frog:
Screaming Frog is a desktop program that you can use to crawl your website and find broken links. It is available for both Windows and macOS. Once you have downloaded and installed Screaming Frog, simply enter your website’s URL and click Start.
The program will then start crawling your website. Once it is done, go to the Response Codes tab from the left sidebar. Here, you will see all the broken links on your website.
Use Ahrefs:
Ahrefs is a paid tool that you can use to find broken links. It is a comprehensive SEO tool that offers a lot of features, including the ability to find broken links. Simply enter your website’s URL and click Start Scan. The tool will then start scanning your website for broken links.
How to fix broken internal links?
Once you have found all the broken internal links on your website, it’s time to fix them. The best way to do this is to redirect the broken links to a working page. This can be done using a 301 redirect.
Redirecting the links:
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells search engines that a page has been moved permanently. When you set up a 301 redirect, anyone who clicks on the broken link will be automatically redirected to the new page.
To set up a 301 redirect, you will need to edit your website’s .htaccess file. This file is usually located in the root directory of your website. If you can’t find it, you can ask your hosting provider for help.
Once you have found the .htaccess file, open it in a text editor and add the following code:
Replace the old page with the URL of the broken link and replace the new page with the URL of the page you want to redirect it to. Save the file and upload it back to your website.
Updating the older link:
If you can’t redirect the broken link, you can also update the link to point to the new page. This can be done by editing the post or page where the link is located and updating the URL.
Remove the URL if not needed:
If the broken link is not needed, you can simply remove it. This is usually the best option if the page being linked to no longer exists.
What are the benefits of fixing the broken internal links?
There are a few benefits of fixing broken internal links:
1. Improve website performance:
Broken internal links can slow down your website’s performance. By fixing them, you can improve your website’s speed and performance.
2. Boost SEO:
Fixing broken internal links can also help boost your website’s SEO. As mentioned earlier, broken links send out signals to search engines that your website is not well-maintained, which can impact your SEO ranking negatively.
3. Keep visitors happy:
No one likes clicking on a link and getting an error page. By fixing broken internal links, you can keep your visitors happy and reduce the chances of them leaving your site prematurely.
4. Maintain a good reputation:
A website with broken links can damage your reputation and make you look unprofessional. By fixing them, you can maintain a good reputation and keep your visitors coming back.
5. Improve user experience:
Lastly, fixing broken internal links can also improve the overall user experience on your website. A well-maintained website is always a pleasure to use and browse.
It’s better to hire a professional company:
If you want to be sure that all the broken links are fixed, it’s better to buy SEO packages from a top USA-based SEO company. They will have the tools and expertise needed to find and fix all the broken links on your website quickly and easily. The company will help you by:
- Find all the broken links on your website: A professional company will use specialized tools to find all the broken links on your website. This includes both internal and external links.
- Fix the broken links: Once all the broken links have been found, the company will help you fix them. This can be done by redirecting the links or by updating them to point to the new page.
- Monitor your website: The company will also monitor your website for new broken links and fix them as soon as they are found. This way, you can be sure that your website is always free of broken links.
Wrapping up
Broken internal links can damage your website’s performance and impact your SEO ranking negatively. It is important to find and fix them as soon as possible. You can use Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, or Ahrefs to find broken links on your website. Once you have found them, you can fix them by setting up a 301 redirect.
