Broken Backlinks

What Are Broken Backlinks in SEO?

Broken backlinks are external links from other websites that point to pages on your site that no longer exist. When this happens, the link value—or “link juice”—that should be passed to your site is completely lost.

This issue usually occurs when you delete or change a page URL without realizing that other sites are linking to it. While broken links inside your own site (internal links) are harmful, broken backlinks are particularly costly because they waste the effort it took to earn them in the first place. Recovering this lost authority is one of the fastest ways to boost your SEO without creating new links from scratch.

Why Do Broken Backlinks Matter for Rankings?

Broken backlinks matter because they cut off the SEO value flowing into your site, reducing your authority and visibility in Google search. Every backlink acts like a vote of trust from another website, and losing one is like having that endorsement erased.

Building backlinks is one of the hardest parts of SEO—often requiring outreach, high-quality content, or strong industry relationships. That’s why losing a backlink due to a deleted page is more damaging than it seems. A single high-value backlink could have been contributing significantly to your rankings, and without it, competitors can more easily outrank you.

Fixing broken backlinks quickly is not only damage control but also one of the easiest wins in SEO strategy.

How Can You Identify Broken Backlinks?

You can identify broken backlinks using SEO tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Google Search Console. These platforms scan your website’s link profile and flag any external sites linking to pages that return a 404 error.

Semrush, for example, provides a dedicated report where you can see all inbound links and whether they lead to live pages or broken ones. This insight is invaluable—it’s like having X-ray vision into where your site is losing SEO authority.

Regularly checking for broken backlinks should be part of your ongoing SEO maintenance, especially after redesigns, URL updates, or content pruning.

How Do You Fix Broken Backlinks?

There are two main ways to fix broken backlinks: contacting the linking site or setting up redirects.

1. Request a Link Update: The best option is to reach out to the website owner linking to your missing page and ask them to update the link to an existing, relevant page. If they agree, you regain 100% of the link value. Unfortunately, many site owners may ignore the request or be hard to reach.

2. Set Up a Redirect: If outreach isn’t possible, implement a 301 redirect from the old, missing URL to a relevant new page on your site. This typically passes around 80% of the original link value—still a major recovery compared to leaving it broken.

   
   

Ideally, you should use both approaches: attempt outreach for maximum benefit, but always set up redirects to avoid permanent SEO loss.

What Is Broken Link Building vs. Link Reclamation?

Broken link building and link reclamation are related strategies, but they serve different purposes.

• Link Reclamation: This is what you do for your own site—recovering SEO value from backlinks that already exist but point to broken URLs.

• Broken Link Building: This is a more advanced technique where you find broken links on competitor websites, then pitch your content as a replacement to the sites linking to them.

For most site owners, link reclamation is the priority because it protects the value of links you’ve already earned. Broken link building can come later as a proactive way to gain new backlinks.

Before & After Optimization: Fixing Broken Backlinks

Example Context	Poor Example	Optimized Example
Link Update	Ignore a broken backlink and leave it unresolved	Reach out to the linking site to update the URL and regain 100% of link value
Redirect	Delete a page without replacing it	Create a 301 redirect from the old URL to a new relevant page
Ongoing SEO	Never check for broken backlinks	Run regular audits in Semrush or Ahrefs to monitor and fix issues quickly

What Happens If You Don’t Fix Broken Backlinks?

If you don’t fix broken backlinks, you lose both SEO value and user trust. Visitors who click on those external links will hit a 404 error page, which damages your credibility. More importantly, search engines stop counting those links as signals of authority, which directly impacts your rankings.

Over time, the cumulative effect of lost backlinks can push your site further down in search results, even if your content quality remains high. In competitive industries, this can make the difference between ranking on page one or being buried where few users will ever find you.

The Bottom Line

Broken backlinks quietly drain your SEO power, but the fix is straightforward: reclaim them through link updates or redirects. By recovering this lost value, you strengthen your site’s authority, improve user experience, and protect the hard work you’ve already invested in building links.

Don’t let broken backlinks go unnoticed—regular audits and quick fixes can deliver one of the highest ROI improvements in SEO.