Quick Wins: Broken Link Checker

Maintaining a healthy website is crucial for SEO, and fixing broken links is an easy but impactful way to improve your site health. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to run a free broken link checker on your site and how to fix the broken inbound and outbound links it identifies.

What are Broken Links?

1. Inbound Links: These are links from other websites directed to your site. If they lead to a non-existent page, they're broken.
2. Outbound Links: Links from your site to other websites. They become broken if the external page is removed or relocated.

How Broken Link Checkers Work

Broken link checkers like the one on Ahrefs crawl your website, identifying any links that lead to dead ends. They provide a report categorizing links into inbound and outbound, helping you pinpoint exactly where the issues lie.

Addressing Broken Inbound Links

Broken inbound links are particularly harmful as they lead potential visitors astray. The solution? Redirects. Here's a step-by-step guide on setting up redirects in Webflow:

1. Access Your Webflow Dashboard: Navigate to your project's settings.

‍2. Locate Redirects Section: Find the Publishing tab, where you'll see an option for 301 redirects.

3. Create a Redirect: Enter the old URL (broken link) and the new URL where visitors should be directed.

Note: You will need to add a hosting plan to set up redirects.

For other platforms like WordPress, Shopify, etc., consider these resources:

• WordPress Redirect Guide
• Shopify URL Redirects

Tackling Broken Outbound Links

For outbound links, regularly audit your site using tools like Ahrefs. Update or remove any links that lead to non-existent pages.

Conclusion

Keeping a vigilant eye on broken links and addressing them promptly ensures your site remains navigable and credible. Utilize tools like broken link checkers and familiarize yourself with redirect processes to maintain a healthy online presence.