What is a broken Link?
A broken link (a dead link) is an inaccessible URL or a broken hyperlink on a web page. Broken links are bad for SEO and user experience since they can prevent users from accessing the desired content. Broken links can be caused by mistyping, misspelling, or deleting existing pages. It is important to regularly check your website for any broken links and fix them to improve your site’s performance.
A 404 HTTP response error occurs when a user clicks on a link that leads to a non-existent page or URL. This type of error is most commonly seen with broken external and internal links but can also happen with images if the source path is incorrect or the image no longer exists on the server.
What causes a broken link?
Broken links can be caused by various factors, such as changes in website structure, misspelling or mistyping URLs, and deleted pages. Broken links can also occur when links are incorrectly coded when transferring to a new domain or when creating a website from scratch. Additionally, changes in third-party services that link to your content can lead to broken links. Finally, broken links can arise due to typos in HTML code and faulty redirects. Therefore, it is important to regularly check for broken links on your website to keep it running smoothly.
What happens when you click on a broken link?
When someone clicks on a broken link, they usually have an error page displaying a message like “404 Not Found” or “Page Cannot Be Found”. This happens because the URL of the clicked page can no longer be accessed. Broken links can also lead to slower website speeds due to the requesting and waiting time of accessing a non-existent URL. Additionally, it is important to note that users may become frustrated when clicking on broken links, which could affect their opinion of your website or business. Broken links can also adversely impact your SEO ranking since search engine algorithms consider broken links as low-quality content, which could reduce your visibility on SERPs. Therefore, it is essential to regularly check for any broken links and fix them as soon as possible to improve your site’s performance and user experience.
How do you fix a broken link?
To fix a broken link, modify the URL in the HTML code to point to the new location or use a 301 redirect. You can modify the URL directly within your content management system (CMS) if it is due to typos or mistyping in the original link. Additionally, suppose your website has multiple broken links caused by transferring from one domain and/or creating a website from scratch. In that case, you may consider using an automated tool that scans for all broken links on your site. Finally, if third-party services cause Broken Links, contact them and ask them for updated URLs. Fixing Broken Links helps improve user experience and SEO ranking on SERPs. Therefore it is important to check for Broken Links and fix them right away regularly.
What are the types of broken links?
Broken links can be classified into three categories: broken internal, broken external, and broken images.
Broken Internal Links: Broken internal links occur when a link is directed to an incorrect page within the same website. This can happen when pages are moved or deleted without updating the link. Broken internal links often cause a 404 error to appear on the browser.
Broken External Links: Broken external links occur when a hyperlink is directed to an external website that no longer exists. Broken external links can be caused by third-party services changing their URL structure and typos in HTML code.
Broken Images: Broken images happen when an image file fails to load due to incorrect formatting or source path. Broken images are bad for SEO since they decrease page loading speed and create a poor user experience.