Free Broken Link Checker
Scan any page for 404s, 500s and dead links. Check every internal and external link in seconds. Works on any website. No sign-up required.
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Internal + External
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Enter a page URL to scan
Paste any public URL above and click Scan Links. We'll extract every link on the page and check each one for errors.
What Are Broken Links?
A broken link (also called a dead link) is a hyperlink that points to a page that no longer exists or returns an error. When a user clicks it, they either see a 404 error page, a redirect to an unrelated page, or a blank screen.
Broken links are one of the most common technical SEO issues. Every site accumulates them over time — pages get deleted, URLs change, external sites shut down, and old content is restructured. A monthly scan catches them before they hurt your rankings or user experience.
How broken links affect SEO
Broken links do not directly lower your rankings, but they cause real indirect harm:
- Wasted crawl budget. Googlebot spends time following dead links instead of crawling fresh, important content.
- Frustrated users. A visitor who clicks a broken link usually bounces. High bounce rate signals low-quality to Google.
- Blocked link equity. Internal broken links stop PageRank from flowing through your site.
- Lost conversions. Every click on a broken link is a click that could have led to a sale or signup.
- Trust signals. Outbound links to dead pages look unprofessional and reduce brand credibility.
HTTP status codes you'll see
| Code | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 200 OK | Link works — page loads normally. | ✅ No action needed |
| 301 Moved | Permanent redirect to a new URL. | Update the link to point directly |
| 302 Found | Temporary redirect. Should not be used permanently. | Change to 301 or update the link |
| 403 Forbidden | Server refuses to allow access. | Broken — remove or replace the link |
| 404 Not Found | Page no longer exists. | Broken — fix or remove |
| 410 Gone | Page permanently removed (Google removes it faster than 404). | Broken — remove the link |
| 429 Too Many Requests | Rate limit hit — not a real broken link, retry later. | Recheck after a delay |
| 500 Server Error | The destination server crashed. | Broken — recheck periodically |
| 503 Service Unavailable | Server temporarily down for maintenance. | Recheck later |
| Timeout | Server didn't respond within the timeout. | Usually means server is down |
How to fix a broken link
- Update the URL. If the destination moved, update your link to point to the new location.
- Restore the page. If you accidentally deleted it, restore it from a backup or republish it.
- Set up a 301 redirect. If the old URL should point somewhere new, use a permanent redirect to preserve any link equity.
- Remove the link. If there's no good replacement, remove the dead link entirely (or keep the text but remove the anchor).
How often should you check?
- Active blogs: monthly
- E-commerce sites: weekly (broken product links cost sales)
- News sites: daily (fast-changing URLs)
- Static sites: quarterly is often enough
- After any migration or restructure: immediately
Common causes of broken links
- URL slug changes. Renaming a page without setting up a redirect.
- Deleted content. Removing old posts without checking what linked to them.
- External site shutdown. A site you linked to went offline.
- Typo in a URL. A single character breaks the link.
- Migration without redirects. Moving to a new domain or CMS without preserving URLs.
- Moved content. Reorganizing categories or structure changes URLs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a broken link?
A broken link (or dead link) is a hyperlink that points to a page that no longer exists or returns an error. The most common type is a 404 Not Found. Broken links hurt user experience, waste crawl budget and can harm your SEO.
How do broken links affect SEO?
Broken links do not directly hurt rankings but they have indirect effects: (1) they waste Google's crawl budget on your site, (2) they frustrate users and increase bounce rate, (3) internal broken links stop link equity from flowing through your site, (4) outbound broken links look unprofessional and reduce trust signals.
What HTTP status codes mean a link is broken?
4xx and 5xx status codes are broken links. The most common are: 404 Not Found (page removed), 410 Gone (permanently removed), 403 Forbidden (access denied), 500 Internal Server Error (server crash), 502 Bad Gateway, 503 Service Unavailable. 3xx redirects are not broken but should be followed to their final destination.
How often should I check for broken links?
For active blogs and news sites, monthly is a good minimum. For e-commerce or sites with thousands of pages, weekly is better. You should also run a check after any major site changes, migrations or URL restructuring.
How do I fix a broken link?
Four options, in order of preference: (1) Update the link to the correct URL if the destination moved, (2) Restore the missing page if you deleted it by mistake, (3) Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the closest matching page, (4) Remove the link entirely if there is no good alternative.
Why does this tool need a server?
Browsers are blocked by CORS from requesting pages on other domains. A Cloudflare Worker bypasses this restriction and can check any link on the web. The Worker is free (100,000 requests per day).
Is this broken link checker free?
Yes — 100% free, no sign-up, unlimited scans. The optional Cloudflare Worker also runs on a free tier.