What is broken link building?
Broken link building is a tactic used in search engine optimization (SEO). It involves finding broken links on other websites and suggesting that the website owner replace them with working links. This working link is coming from your own website. This helps improve your own website’s search engine rankings by increasing the number of high-quality backlinks pointing to your site.
Here’s how the process typically works:
- Identify Broken Links. By using tools like website crawlers or SEO software, you can scan websites in your niche or industry. This helps you find pages with broken links. Broken links are hyperlink that leads to a page that no longer exists or returns a “404 Not Found” error.
How do you find broken links on other websites?
To find broken links on other websites, you can use a variety of tools such as:
- Check My Links Chrome Extension: This is a free tool that can be installed on your Chrome browser. It quickly checks all the links on a webpage and highlights any broken links.
- Ahrefs: Ahrefs is a popular SEO tool that can be used to find broken links on websites. You can enter the website URL and use the “Broken Links” report to see all the broken links.
- Screaming Frog: Screaming Frog is another SEO tool that can be used to find broken links on websites. You can enter the URL of a website and use the “Response Codes” report to see all the broken links on that website.
- Google Search Console: Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google that can be used to find broken links on your own website. You can use the “Crawl Errors” report to see all the broken links on your website.
Once you have identified broken links on other websites, you can reach out to the website owner or webmaster and suggest replacing the broken link with a link to your own content if it is relevant. This tactic is known as broken link building and can be an effective way to build backlinks to your website.
- Relevant Content Creation: Once you’ve identified a broken link, you need to create high-quality, relevant content on your own website. Your content can replace the missing or outdated content that the broken link was originally pointing to. This is an essential step to ensure that the website owner finds your replacement content valuable.
- Reach out: Reach out to the website owner or webmaster to let them know about the broken link on their site. Provide them with the link to your replacement content. You can frame the outreach as a helpful suggestion to improve the user experience of their site by fixing the broken link.
- Benefits: If the website owner decides to replace the broken link with your content, you gain a valuable backlink to your site. Backlinks from reputable websites are a crucial factor in search engine rankings, as they indicate to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant. This can lead to improved organic search visibility and more traffic to your site.
What are the benefits of broken link building for SEO?
The benefits of broken link building for SEO include:
- Improved search engine rankings: By acquiring high-quality backlinks through broken link building, your website’s authority and relevance can increase, leading to improved search engine rankings.
- Increased website traffic: Broken link building can drive traffic to your website by redirecting users who would have otherwise encountered a dead end on another website.
- Enhanced user experience: By suggesting alternative links to website owners, you are helping them provide a better user experience for their visitors, which can lead to increased engagement and lower bounce rates.
- Cost-effective: Broken link building is a cost-effective way to acquire backlinks, as it only requires time and effort to find broken links and suggest alternatives.
Overall, broken link building is a valuable technique for improving your website’s SEO and driving traffic to your site.
- Monitoring: After your outreach efforts, it’s a good idea to monitor the targeted website to see if they’ve replaced the broken link with your content. If they do, you’ve successfully acquired a new backlink. If not, you can continue your outreach efforts or look for other broken link opportunities.
Broken Link Samples:
Here’s a table with samples of broken links and examples of broken link-building opportunities:
| Broken Link Samples | Broken Link Building Examples |
|---|---|
| Example: http://www.example.com/page123 | Find relevant broken links on industry blogs or resources |
| Reach out to the site owner with a replacement suggestion |
| for the broken link | |
|---|---|
| Example: https://www.sample-site.com/link | Identify broken links on resource pages within your niche |
| -to-resource | |
| Create a similar, high-quality resource on your own site |
| and suggest it as a replacement for the broken link | |
|---|---|
| Example: http://blog.example.org/article | Discover broken links on educational or informational |
| -123 | websites related to your field |
| Develop a comprehensive guide or article that covers the |
| topic and offer it as an alternative to the broken link | |
|---|---|
| Example: https://www.industry-site.com/ | Look for broken links on websites that list tools, |
| tools/tool123 | software, or resources |
| If you have a relevant tool or resource on your site, |
| reach out and suggest it as a replacement for the broken link | |
|---|---|
| Example: http://news.example.com/ | Search for broken links on news websites or event pages |
| event/news-event-2022 | related to your industry or field |
| If you have a relevant news article or event information, |
| propose it as a substitute for the broken link |
|---|
These are just a few broken link samples and potential broken link-building opportunities. The idea behind broken link building is to identify broken links on other websites. This creates valuable content that can replace those links by reaching out to site owners with your content as suggestion. This not only helps you build backlinks to your site but also provides value to the website owner. By offering a solution to their broken link problem, you also build your own backlinks at the same time.
Is broken link building considered a white hat or black hat SEO tactic?
As for whether broken link building is considered a white hat or black hat SEO tactic, yes, it is. It is generally considered a white hat technique as it involves creating high-quality content. In addition, it also provides value to the website owner by fixing their broken links. However, like any SEO tactic, it can be abused. It can be used in a spammy way, which would then make it a black hat technique. It’s all about the intent and execution of the tactic.
Can broken link building be used for any type of website or niche?
Yes, broken link building can be used for any type of website or niche. It can be beneficial for improving your website’s search engine rankings and driving traffic to your site. However, it’s important to ensure the content on your website is high-quality and relevant to the broken link in question. This increases the likelihood of the website owner agreeing to replace the link.
Therefore, it’s important to approach broken link-building ethically and genuinely. Your content should be relevant and valuable to the website owner’s audience, and your outreach should be respectful and informative. Broken link building can be effective. to improve your site’s SEO and gain valuable backlinks.
