An SEO writer, content editor, or blogger would never want his website to have broken links, whether it’s a personal website or a professional one. Organic search occupies ample space in content amplification, and it matters the most to search engines. A website or content’s ranking on search engines highly depends on the links in the content. A broken link degrades the visitor’s experience, affecting search engine ranking and traffic. This factor is essential and fixing the problem of broken links is easy too, with multiple link checking tools available.
What broken links are
Broken links are the links that display an error message. The user can understand a link is broken if:-
- A website is out-of-date
- A website is inaccessible for long
- A website is deleted
- A website transferred to the new domain
Some causes of broken or dead links are:-
- Reformation of a site
- Grammatical or spelling error in the link
- Changing to a different ISP
Impacts of broken links on a website
Websites have frequent updates and multiple editors as the CMS (content management systems) are growing. The process often results in the suffering of webpage links.
Broken links disrupt the user’s journey into a website and annoy them, making the site drop in search engine rankings. They impact the website’s credibility and, in turn, revenue and sales.
How to fix the problem
It is impossible to check website links manually; this is where link checker tools step in. So, bloggers and writers need to find a helpful SEO links tool.
Why fixing broken links is important
Proper tools can fix the broken links without hampering the website, attract more traffic, increase search engine ranking and improve the website overall.
Essential link checking tools
However, all link tools do not work correctly. Some may report broken links even when the links work perfectly.
Screaming Frog SEO
It is a Mac-compatible tool that is very simple and cheap, and it may even serve for free, depending upon website size. This tool offers more than link checking.
Xenu Link Sleuth
This tool automatically crawls the entire website and returns the broken links and the pages to access to fix the issue. It is fast and user-friendly, marks any error in the website red, and provides other information about it too.
Google Webmaster tools
This tool maintains the performance of a website free of cost. It authenticates Google’s access to the website contents. The tool helps in SEO, ads, better crawling actions, and visions.
W3C Link validation tool
It is a free web service. Just go to the tool, enter the URL, and check. The process takes a bit of time to ensure the server works properly. However, it is helpful for services such as redirecting and new domains.
Broken link checker
This WordPress plugin monitors all internal and external links on a website. It detects not only the links of pages, posts, blogroll, and comments but also missing images and offers redirects.
Dead link checker
This tool is free, and its use is effortless, making it suitable for a page or a whole website. It offers auto check and multi checks, scans and fixes 404 errors, server errors, and timeout, among other errors.
Dr. Link Checker
It can check one thousand links on a website for free and provide an organized report of problematic links. The tool offers an auto check.
Ahrefs Broken link checker
It’s a reputed SEO tool offering free broken link checking. Scanning is instant with this tool, finding links that may become broken later.
Some other link tools
- Integrity link checker
- Sortsite
- Free link checker
- Site 24×7
- WP Broken link status checker
- Website plus
- Cyber Spyder Link test
- Link scan
- Power mapper
- Error 404 atom SEO
Conclusion
These link checking tools mentioned above are popular, easily accessible, and affordable or free of cost. SEO and content writers and bloggers may use one or more tools regularly to resolve broken link issues quickly. Checking and fixing broken links will positively impact a website’s reputation, reach, and revenue.
