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Overview

Broken links are one of the most common and damaging website issues. They frustrate users, waste search engine crawl budget, and signal poor site maintenance to both visitors and search engines. SEO Crawler automatically discovers and reports every broken link on your domain.
Available on: All plans (Free, Solo, Pro, Agency)

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What We Detect

Our crawler identifies links that return error status codes, indicating they’re broken or inaccessible.

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Client Errors (4xx)

Status CodeNameCommon Cause
400Bad RequestMalformed URL or invalid characters
401UnauthorizedProtected content requiring authentication
403ForbiddenServer denies access to the resource
404Not FoundPage was deleted or URL was changed
405Method Not AllowedWrong HTTP method for the endpoint
410GonePage was intentionally removed
429Too Many RequestsRate limiting from target server

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Server Errors (5xx)

Status CodeNameCommon Cause
500Internal Server ErrorServer-side code error
502Bad GatewayUpstream server communication failure
503Service UnavailableServer overloaded or in maintenance
504Gateway TimeoutUpstream server took too long

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Other Failures

TypeDescription
TimeoutServer didn’t respond within 30 seconds
DNS FailureDomain name couldn’t be resolved
Connection RefusedServer actively rejected the connection
SSL ErrorCertificate validation failed

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SEO Impact

Google’s crawlers encounter the same broken links as your users. Excessive 404 errors can hurt your search rankings.
  • Wasted Crawl Budget: Search engines have limited resources to crawl your site. Every broken link is a wasted request.
  • Lost PageRank: Internal links pass authority. Broken links leak that authority into nothing.
  • Indexing Issues: Broken links can prevent search engines from discovering new content.

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User Experience Impact

  • Increased Bounce Rate: Users who hit 404 pages often leave immediately
  • Lost Conversions: Broken links in conversion funnels directly cost revenue
  • Damaged Trust: Broken links make your site appear unmaintained or unreliable

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How It Works

1

Discovery

Our crawler starts from your homepage and follows every link, building a complete map of your site’s link structure.
2

Validation

Each discovered URL receives an HTTP HEAD request to check its status code. If HEAD isn’t supported, we fall back to GET.
3

Classification

Links are categorized by type (internal/external) and status code, with errors flagged for review.
4

Source Tracking

For every broken link, we record which pages contain it so you know exactly where to make fixes.

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Reading Your Results

After a crawl completes, broken links appear in the Issues tab sorted by severity.

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Result Fields

FieldDescription
URLThe broken link URL
StatusHTTP status code or error type
TypeInternal or External
Found OnPages containing this link
First SeenWhen the link was first detected as broken
Anchor TextThe visible link text
Click any broken link to see all pages where it appears. This makes bulk fixes easier—you might find the same broken link on 50 pages due to navigation or footer links.

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Common Fixes

If you intentionally removed the page:
  1. Set up a 301 redirect to the most relevant existing page
  2. Update all internal links to point to the new destination
  3. Submit updated sitemap to search engines
# .htaccess redirect example
Redirect 301 /old-page /new-page
Check if the content exists at a new URL:
  1. Search the target site for similar content
  2. Check Wayback Machine for historical versions
  3. Update your link to the new URL or a suitable alternative

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403 Forbidden

<Note>
  403 errors on external links may be false positives. Some servers block 
  automated requests but work fine for real users. Check manually before 
  taking action.
</Note>
For internal 403 errors:
  • Check server permissions on the file/directory
  • Verify .htaccess rules aren’t blocking access
  • Ensure directory indexes are enabled if linking to folders

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500 Server Errors

Internal server errors indicate code problems:
  • Check server error logs for stack traces
  • Review recent code deployments
  • Test the page directly in a browser

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Best Practices

Regular Crawls

Schedule weekly crawls to catch broken links quickly. The longer a link is broken, the more damage it causes.

Fix Internal First

Prioritize internal broken links—you have full control over these and they directly impact your site structure.

Use Redirects

When removing pages, always set up 301 redirects. This preserves any SEO value and helps users find relevant content.

Monitor External Links

External sites can break anytime. Regular monitoring catches these before users report them.

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Filtering Results

Use filters to focus on specific issues:
FilterOptions
Status CodeFilter by specific codes (404, 500, etc.)
Link TypeInternal only, External only, or Both
Source PageShow only links from specific pages
First SeenNew issues vs. persistent problems

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Exporting Data

Export broken link data for team collaboration or client reporting:
  • CSV: Full data export for spreadsheet analysis
  • PDF Report: Formatted report with charts and summaries
  • API: Programmatic access to all crawl data
Pro and Agency plans include white-label PDF exports for client-facing reports.

Redirect Chain Analysis

Detect redirect loops and excessive chain lengths.

Response Time Tracking

Monitor page performance alongside link health.