Enter a URL
Bad links may lead users to non-existent pages, as well as make navigation difficult and desirable content less accessible. The Free SEO Pro Broken Links Finder lets you begin your research for broken links of a page by specifying the URL. It is designed for bloggers, website owners, website developers and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professionals looking for finding link issues and creating a strategy for mending those apps. Regular Link Checking can help you keep a more stable site, but you should always check if the issues reported are actually occurring or not before taking measures.
The Broken Links Finder is an analysis tool for finding out which links on a site are broken (or don't work for some reason).
A hyperlink is a way of linking one webpage to another webpage, file or resource. This can be called broken connection if the destination becomes unavailable.
For instance, suppose you've written a how-to article on selecting indoor plants. The article has a link to a garden resource which has since been removed.
When visitors click the link they might be forwarded to an error page rather than the information of their expectation.
Almost any kind of website, educational, business, blog, and online stores could have broken links.
The Free SEO Pro Broken Links Finder
it asks for a URL with a box to enter it and shows a processing view.
These tools include links and page performance research tools related to the page.
It has a user friendly UI to help you get a check started from a webpage URL. The final results interface has not been tested however.
The list of report fields, limits on the number of pages, the ability to download, and restrictions on processing therefore aren't confirmed.
Internal links are those that connect pages in the same website together.
A home page with a link to a contact page is an example of an internal link.
External links will take visitors to a different site.
You can break either kind, and reparations might depend on their sort.
The ability to edit your own internal links is generally available on-text. If linking to external resources, it may be necessary to update the target or to remove the link.
Although, broken-link checking tools generally inspect the hyperlinks that are located on a webpage, and see if the links may be accessed.
A typical checking process consists of discovery of links, requesting links' destinations and interpretation of responses.
But, the way is different for different services.
Some check individual pages. Others crawl various pages or whole sites.
While the Free SEO Pro page doesn't describe the way it checks or whether it provides a website crawl, its user ratings suggest that it does some form of crawl.
In most cases, when a browser (or other checking service) tries to retrieve a webpage, the server will respond with an HTTP status code.
That code will give you a clue about the request's status.
HTTP status General meaning
200 The request succeeded
Permanent redirection made for a resource that no longer exists at its previous location and has no new location.
This is a temporary redirect message, i.e., the resource has been moved but will be relocated later.
403 Access is forbidden
404 The requested resource wasn't found
410 The resource is gone
500 An error was found at the server.
Temporarily unavailable (case 503).
The answer you get is 404—usually it means a point of destination is missing, but it doesn't follow that any non-200 answer would result in a link's having to be replaced.
Using a redirect for example, can successfully redirect people to the page they are looking for.
Link failure can result from the deletion of the destination, a change in its address or because the site is down temporarily.
Another typical reason is typing errors.
Often a website will deny access to automated requests but still allow "regular" visitors to open the page.
Hence, the importance of manual checking of a reported problem.
The interface of the visible tool features a text box for typing in a URL. Here's how to start checking a public webpage.
Start Free SEO Pro Broken Links Finder.
Find the box that says "Enter a URL.
Select the Web page to analyze.
Type in it's full URL (address), for example
https://example.com/blog/
.To process the form, use form's submission control.
Wait until a tool has completed its request.
Analyze return link data if it is any.
Manual launch of suspicious destinations to verify it.
Write out "Correction Links".
The terms on the submission button and the final report have not been precisely finalized by a 'Test with Californians'.
From a page with several key link.
A good place to begin will be your homepage, your navigation pages, popular articles or service pages.
If it is just checking the webpage submitted, then it will have to be repeated for other pages.
Do not try to submit your homepage and think you submitted all the pages of your website.
Draw up a brief list of the pages that are important to visitors.
Add pages of helpful navigation links, product information, downloads and external links.
Focus on these pages first to solve issues that are likely to disrupt a visitor's experience.
In this illustrative example, an explanation of a typical broken-link investigation is presented. It isn't a finished evaluation of the Free SEO Pro tool.
Suppose that you have a cooking blog.
One article that you found described how to make homemade bread; it contained three links to other sources.
The first link is to a Flower Guide. The second is due to open a website offering kitchen equipment. The third is towards an "old" removed baking guide.
You put your article's URL into a broken links checker.
A hypothetical report finds that the third destination is not available.
Firstly, open the destination you've reported in your browser.
If you get the 404 error, verify if the publisher has uploaded the tutorial elsewhere.
May be you find an article with the same topic and it has been updated.
If you can find an equivalent alternative, change your link.
If not, delete the obsolete reference or select a new reference and make sure that it is reliable.
Make changes to the article and then open up the edited article.
Ensure that it will tie to the desired information and that it can be used on a mobile device.
Then do another link check where the tool supports.
This is the final step to help ensure that the original problem has been resolved.
The Broken-link reports might include URLs, status codes and details about pages on which links were located.
The concepts below are applicable for link checking in general. Are not confirmed fields in the Free SEO pro results interface.
This is the webpage with the hyperlink (source page).
The destination URL is the web address that the hyperlink goes to.
Both bits of info are needed to make an effective repair.
For instance, if you know that the destination is missing, but not which article has an outdated link, then you are not aware of which article to update.
A broken link typically doesn't link to the target content.
Redirect—This is a redirect that sends requests to another address.
Redirects are NOT automatically broken links. If there is a redirect to an irrelevant page or an error, however, this may still need to be dealt with.
Check the final destination before changing the original hyperlink.
Sometimes a server error is only temporary, and that doesn't mean that the webpage has been permanently deleted.
The site might be undergoing maintenance or in short outage.
If a vital link fails on the first attempt, attempt a subsequent link later before taking out the link.
It is recommended to investigate repeated failures, particularly responses indicative of missing pages.
A webpage is sometimes shown with a missing-content message, despite getting an HTTP 200 response.
This occurs and is typically referred to as a soft 404.
It's possible for a simple status-code checker to not detect a problem since the server will return success on a request!
Manual inspection is still fine if the destination seems shady.
Before publishing links check links in tutorials, guides, product pages, and other important articles.
Certain editing will recognize typing errors and references that have become obsolete.
Websites evolve with time.
Articles are pulled from external publishers, businesses redirect their websites and internal links are redirected.
Periodic scans will enable you to see if there are links that are no longer functional since publication.
Take note of important internal links if you are reorganizing your web site, renaming pages, or changing URL structure.
Ensure that there are currently linking navigation menus and articles that explicitly link to destinations to which they actually lead.
Set up redirects, if necessary, from old addresses to new addresses.
Links to resources may change over time or they might even expire as hard-wired links.
These references will provide a chance to update the article and make it more useful.
A link that isn't working is not an automatic by itself reason for Google to drop the page from its index.
But navigable important internal links should be connected to the accessible destinations for visitors and crawlers to browse your website.
Addressing issues with navigation is wise, as it is part of technical SEO.
The broken link report is just a starting point, and not a decision as to which links to remove.
Know where you are going and why before making edits to your site.
Problem What to check
A complete url is expected (spelling, protocol and complete address)
Do not complete processing: Connection, availability of services, accessibility of pages
A working link is reported as broken if there are automated request blocking or temporary errors
A redirect shows up in search results Is the end destination proper or not?
No problems were found (or should have been) for the intended page and links that were checked with the tool.
If the checker points out an error don't delete an important reference.
Click the destination, check the response and see if they've provided you with a new URL.
Particular attention should be given to internal links since it is typically a link from one page of your site to another one that you control.
Update addresses, fix broken pages or redirect when content has been migrated.
A working link does not necessarily equal a valuable link!
If the replacement does not address the reader's original question, locate a more appropriate source(s) or delete the source(s).
A Broken Links Finder can never ensure that all the links in a Web page were validated.
The Free SEO Pro interface doesn't offer a setting to specify if to test any one page, additional pages, or whether to process links generated by JavaScript or whether to test downloadable files.
It is also unclear whether it tracks supported limits, checking frequency, export features, and whether it needs to redirect in the same manner as the original.
Fixing Broken Links can enhance the navigation and also assisting search engines to easily locate valuable pages.
Correcting a 404 error link does not necessarily increase your position in search engine results, however, and does not guarantee that your site will be indexed.
Google's crawlable links guidance.Google's crawlable links guidance.
Describes how correctly-implemented links help pages get discovered.
No.
A redirect can be used to assist users getting to updated content if there is an appropriate replacement page for a deleted page.
However, when all lost links go to your home page it can be confusing to users.
When content is permanently gone, and there isn't a good replacement, it may be better to serve an appropriate missing-page response.
The page does not specify what happens to submitted urls, where they are stored, and how URLs are logged and shared.
For checking use other webpages that are not private links (including access tokens or sensitive data).
You can use the Web pages tool in to explore the connections of a Web page. Apply it when you have to view the link structure and the broken link report.
is supposed to be used for conducting link back research on other sites not for checking other sites that you are linking out to.
indeed provides with a distinct job, the reasoning of backlink submission opportunities. It isn't a substitute for repairing broken links.
Once you have found a problem, fix the source web page, check the destination page to replace it, and document the fix. Choose important links in navigation menus in preference to less important links before and on frequently visited pages.
Free SEO Pro Broken Links Finder is an online program designed to identify broken links in web pages. Gives space to enter the URL. It has not been independently verified with completed report format and checked extent of links.
Start the tool, paste a public URL (address of a webpage) in the Enter a URL window and click the Submit button. Do not process, and review any information that is returned. Click on suspect broken links before determining what website changes should be made.
Free SEO Pro markets its website tools as "free" tools. The Broken Links Finder page, however, does not clearly outline all usage limits or registration requirements. Always verify terms and interface of the current Web site to assume that each is unrestricted.
The visible interface will take a URL, but does not specify if they do a site search or just a page search. To find out if it covers everything, check its coverage or talk to a website crawler that states it supports multiple pages.
There are many causes of broken links, such as removed pages, modified link names, typing errors, expired resources and unavailable servers. Sometimes, a link turns up as broken due to the fact that a site is blocking all attempts for a short duration. Always check the destination to determine the probable cause in the first place, before you make changes.
An HTTP 404 response means the server couldn't find the requested resource. It normally happens if a web page is removed or its URL is misspelled. If the content has moved, test to see if it still works before replacing the link, redirecting it, or removing it.
A 404 means the requested resource wasn't found, while a 410 indicates that the resource is gone. Both can be triggered if the linked page does not exist. The type of repair you need will depend on whether there's an equivalent replacement and if you're the one who has control of the destination.
Not necessarily. A redirect can be effective, in transferring the visitors from an old address to a new address. But if it has been redirected to a different site or an error or unrelated information, it may need fixing. Don't ignore any redirect—check the final destination.
broken links can cause navigation problems and could stop visitors and/or crawlers from accessing key pages. Correcting them is an aid for web site upkeep, but does not ensure rankings improvement. Pay particular attention to significant internal links and pages that need to be accessed.
Verify key pages when there are any changes in urls, web moves, or significant content updates. Periodic reviews can also be helpful for older articles with references to outside content. It depends upon the frequency of change in your website and how many link is found on the website.
A destination may reject automated requests, have a server error, or may require authentication. It's possible to get a connection problem with the checking service, too. Be sure to open that link in a browser, and if it is not available, repeat the test; don't assume that the destination is forever off-line.
Make sure you typed the URL of the site correctly and that the site is not inaccessible. If no results are shown, this could indicate that there are no problems, or the service may have been unsuccessful, or it may not have checked all the problematic items. Be sure to verify that all links are active.
Update the internal link to accommodate the redirected address of the destination if it has changed; add a redirect, if appropriate, at the old address. Use a suitable alternative (if provided), if the content is permanently removed. Do not redirect, no matter how useful, unrelated pages, just to remove messages from the ERROR category.
Completed results are not downloadable / exportable from the visible Free SEO Pro page. Go through the results interface after inputting a URL. Keeping a list of source pages which are affected, as well as pages affected in the destination and finished repairs, if no exporting is supported.
Check individual reported issues, prioritise important pages for navigation/commy and remove outdated references. Add suitable redirects when necessary. Make changes and then open up new corrected links and re-check them to ensure that they lead to the desired destination.
