Short answer
A broken link points to a page that no longer works, usually returning a 404 "not found" error. To fix one, update the link to the correct page, add a 301 redirect from the old address if the page moved, or remove the link if there is no replacement. A site crawler finds broken internal links quickly; Search Console shows addresses Google tried and could not load.
Why broken links matter more than they seem
For a visitor, a dead link is a dead end. They wanted your price list or booking page and got an error, so they leave. For search engines, links are how they discover and understand your pages. Many broken internal links waste crawling and suggest a site that is not looked after.
One broken link on an old blog post is not an emergency. A broken link in your main menu or on your contact button is.
Where broken links come from
- Pages deleted or renamed without a redirect.
- Slugs changed when a page title was edited.
- A redesign or move to a new platform with a different address pattern.
- Typing mistakes in links added by hand.
- Outside websites that closed or reorganised, breaking links you made to them.
- Old PDF brochures or menus that were replaced and removed.
Decide the fix for each link
- The page still exists at a new address: update the link to point straight to it.
- The page moved and other sites or old posts link to it: add a 301 redirect from the old address to the new one, and also update your own links.
- The page is gone with no close replacement: remove the link or point it to the most helpful related page. Do not redirect everything to the home page; that confuses visitors and search engines treat it like a missing page.
- The link goes to another website that has closed: remove it or link to a different source.
Fix the most important pages first
Start with links in your header, footer and menus, because they appear on every page. Then fix links on pages that get the most visits, which you can see in Search Console or Google Analytics. Leave old, low-traffic posts for last.
Stop new broken links appearing
- Before you delete or rename a page, decide where its address should redirect.
- Keep a simple list of old and new addresses whenever you restructure the site.
- Use your CMS's link picker instead of typing addresses by hand.
- Re-crawl the site after every redesign, theme change or large content update.
How AI Marketing Master finds them
The website audit crawls your site by following internal links, respecting robots.txt, and reports links that lead to error pages, along with the page each broken link sits on. It also flags links that pass through redirects, which are worth tidying while you are there. After you fix them, the next audit confirms the links now work.
What it does not do
- The audit checks links it can reach by crawling. Pages behind a login or blocked by robots.txt are not checked.
- Broken links are reported with a suggested fix, but the app does not change links or add redirects on your site for you.
Questions people ask
Do broken links hurt my Google ranking?
A few broken links will not sink a site. Many of them, or broken links in key navigation, make it harder for Google to crawl and for visitors to find what they need.
Should I return 404 or 410 for a deleted page?
Both tell Google the page is gone. 410 says it was removed on purpose and may be dropped slightly sooner. Either is fine; the important part is fixing your own links to it.
What is a soft 404?
A page that says "not found" or is nearly empty but returns a normal 200 success code. Search Console reports these. The fix is to return a real 404 or put useful content on the page.
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