Technical SEOOctober 9, 20266 min read

How to find and fix broken internal links

Broken internal links waste crawl paths and frustrate visitors. How to find them with free tools, fix them properly and stop new ones appearing.

An internal link is a link from one page on your site to another. When it points to a page that no longer exists, visitors hit a dead end and search engines lose a path through your site. A few broken links won't sink a site, but they build up over time, especially after redesigns and when content gets deleted.

Why broken internal links matter

Visitors hit a 404 and often leave
Search engines waste crawling on dead URLs
Pages lose the internal link support that helps signal their importance
They make the site look neglected

How to find them

Google Search Console: the Pages report lists "Not found (404)" URLs Google tried to crawl. Inspect each one to see which pages refer to it.
A site crawler: desktop crawlers (many have free tiers for small sites) follow every link and report broken ones along with the page they appear on.
Your SEO audit: an audit that checks links will flag broken internal links as part of its technical review.
Your CMS: some platforms and plugins report broken links. Use these with care, as heavy plugins can slow a site down.

How to fix them

For each broken link, decide on the best fix:

Update the link: if the content moved, change the link to point at the new URL directly. This is the cleanest fix.
Redirect the old URL: if the old URL has links from other sites or visitors still use it, add a 301 redirect to the closest equivalent page.
Remove the link: if there's no equivalent content, remove or reword the link.
Restore the page: if the page was deleted by mistake and still has value, bring it back.

Avoid these redirect mistakes

Redirecting every missing page to the homepage, which Google may treat as a soft 404
Building redirect chains instead of pointing straight to the final URL
Leaving internal links pointing at redirected URLs when you could update them

Prevent new broken links

When you change or delete a URL, add a redirect and update internal links at the same time
Keep a simple log of URL changes during redesigns
Run a crawl after every major update
Check the Search Console 404 report monthly

Example: linking a topic cluster

A guide page links down to each article, and each article links back up and across to one or two related ones:

            /local-seo  (guide)
           /       |        \
  GBP guide   Maps ranking   Local checklist
       \________/  \__________/
        related links between articles

Frequently asked questions

Do broken links hurt SEO?

A few won't do major damage, but they waste crawling, weaken internal linking and frustrate visitors. They're worth fixing.

Should I redirect all 404s to the homepage?

No. Redirect to the closest relevant page, or let truly dead pages return a 404.

What's the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?

A 301 is permanent and a 302 is temporary. Use a 301 for content that has moved for good.

Are broken external links a problem too?

They're a smaller SEO issue but still a poor experience. Update or remove them when you find them.

How often should I check for broken links?

After site changes and at least every month or two.