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Free Broken Link Checker

Scan any page for dead links and 404 errors. Find broken links that hurt your SEO, waste crawl budget, and frustrate your visitors.

Scans up to 50 links on the page. External and internal links are both checked.

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How to Find Broken Links in 3 Steps

Step 1: Enter a URL, Broken Link Checker screenshot
1

Enter a URL

Paste the URL of any page you want to scan. Our tool crawls the page and extracts every link, internal, external, anchors, and resource links.

Step 2: Scan all links, Broken Link Checker screenshot
2

Scan all links

The checker tests every link on the page in real time, checking HTTP status codes, response times, and following redirects to find the final status of each link.

Step 3: Review results, Broken Link Checker screenshot
3

Review results

See a clear breakdown of working links, broken links (404, 410), and server errors (500, 502, 503) with actionable details to fix each issue.

What Are Broken Links and Why Do They Matter?

A broken link is a hyperlink that points to a page or resource that no longer exists or cannot be reached. When a user clicks a broken link, they see an error page (typically a 404 "Not Found") instead of the content they expected. Broken links are also called dead links, link rot, or dangling links. They are one of the most common, and most overlooked, technical SEO issues on the web.

Broken links matter because they create dead ends for both users and search engine crawlers. Every broken link is a missed opportunity: a visitor who bounces, a page that loses link equity, a crawl budget slot wasted on a 404. Studies show that the average website has 5-10% broken links at any given time, and the percentage grows as the site ages. Regular broken link audits are essential for maintaining a healthy, well-ranked website.

Example broken link scenario:

https://example.com/blog/old-post → 404 Not Found

The page was deleted without a redirect. Any internal or external links pointing to this URL now lead to a dead end, losing all link equity and frustrating visitors.

HTTP Status Codes for Broken Links

404Not Found

The page does not exist at this URL. This is the most common broken link error. The server understood the request but could not find the resource.

SEO impact

Wastes crawl budget, leaks link equity, and creates a dead end for users. Set up a 301 redirect to the correct page.

410Gone

The page has been permanently removed and will not return. Unlike 404, this explicitly tells search engines to stop checking this URL.

SEO impact

Search engines de-index 410 pages faster than 404s. Use 410 intentionally when you permanently delete content.

500Internal Server Error

The server encountered an unexpected error and could not complete the request. This usually indicates a bug in the server-side code or a misconfigured server.

SEO impact

Signals instability to search engines. Frequent 500 errors can cause Google to reduce crawl rate and drop pages from the index.

502Bad Gateway

A server acting as a gateway or proxy received an invalid response from the upstream server. Common with load balancers and reverse proxies.

SEO impact

Usually temporary but repeated 502s indicate infrastructure problems. Monitor and fix the upstream server or proxy configuration.

503Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to handle the request, usually due to maintenance or overload. The server may include a Retry-After header.

SEO impact

Google treats 503 as temporary and will re-crawl later. Use 503 for planned maintenance to preserve your rankings.

How Broken Links Hurt Your SEO

Broken links are more than just a bad user experience, they directly impact your search engine rankings. Google's crawlers follow links to discover and index pages. When they encounter broken links, it signals that the site is not well-maintained, wastes valuable crawl resources, and prevents link equity from flowing to the pages that need it most.

Wasted crawl budget

Search engine bots have a limited number of pages they will crawl per visit. Every broken link sends the bot to a dead end, wasting one of those crawls. On large sites, this can prevent important pages from being discovered and indexed.

Poor user experience

Users who click a broken link and land on a 404 page are likely to leave your site immediately. High bounce rates and low engagement signal to search engines that your site is not providing a good experience, which can indirectly hurt rankings.

Lost link equity

When another site links to a page on your site that returns a 404, the link equity (PageRank) that would have boosted your rankings is completely lost. It does not pass through to any other page unless you set up a redirect.

Common Causes of Broken Links

Deleting pages without redirects

When you remove a page from your site, any existing links to that page (internal and external) become broken. Always set up a 301 redirect from the deleted URL to the most relevant alternative page before removing content.

Changing URL slugs

Renaming a page URL without updating internal links or creating a redirect. CMS platforms often let you change slugs freely, but every old link becomes broken. Always create a redirect when changing a URL.

External sites changing their URLs

You linked to an external resource that later moved, was deleted, or the domain expired. This is unavoidable, which is why regular broken link audits are important.

Typos in manually entered URLs

A mistyped URL in your content, email, or social media post creates a broken link from the start. Always verify links work before publishing, and use copy-paste instead of typing URLs manually.

Site migrations and CMS changes

Moving to a new CMS, domain, or URL structure without comprehensive redirect mapping. Large migrations can break hundreds or thousands of links at once if not planned carefully.

Expired or deleted short links

URL shortener services can shut down, or individual short links can expire or be deleted. This is why using a reliable shortener like Flyn with permanent links and link monitoring is critical.

Broken Link Checker + Link Shortener: Why You Need Both

Find broken links with the checker, then prevent them with Flyn short links that you can update anytime without breaking existing links.

Links that never break

Flyn short links let you change the destination URL anytime. If the target page moves, update the short link, no broken links, no lost traffic.

Link health monitoring

Flyn tracks every click on your short links. Spot broken destinations early with real-time analytics and error detection.

Instant redirects

Flyn redirects complete in under 50ms globally. Your users reach the destination instantly with zero broken link risk.

Click analytics included

Every Flyn link counts clicks out of the box, and Pro adds device, location, and referrer breakdowns so you always know how your links perform.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a broken link?
A broken link (also called a dead link) is a hyperlink that no longer leads to a working destination. When a user or search engine crawler clicks a broken link, they receive an error response instead of the expected page. The most common error is a 404 (Not Found), but broken links can also return 500 (Server Error), 502 (Bad Gateway), or other error codes. Broken links create a poor user experience and signal to search engines that your site is not well-maintained.
How do broken links affect SEO?
Broken links hurt SEO in three major ways. First, they waste crawl budget. Search engine bots have a limited number of pages they will crawl per visit, and every broken link wastes one of those crawls on a dead end. Second, broken links leak link equity (PageRank), any ranking power that would flow through that link is lost entirely. Third, they create a poor user experience, which increases bounce rates and decreases time on site, both indirect ranking signals Google uses.
What is a 404 error?
A 404 error means "Not Found", the server understood your request but could not find the page at that URL. This is the most common type of broken link. It usually happens when a page is deleted, a URL slug is changed without a redirect, or someone links to a misspelled URL. Unlike a 410 (Gone), a 404 tells search engines the page might come back, so they may keep checking periodically.
What is the difference between a 404 and a 410 status code?
Both 404 and 410 indicate a page is unavailable, but they send different signals to search engines. A 404 (Not Found) means the page cannot be found but might return in the future, search engines will re-crawl the URL periodically. A 410 (Gone) means the page has been permanently removed and will not come back, search engines will de-index the URL faster. Use 410 when you intentionally delete a page to speed up its removal from search results.
How does crawl budget relate to broken links?
Crawl budget is the number of pages a search engine bot will crawl on your site during a given visit. Every broken link wastes part of that budget, the bot follows the link, hits a dead end, and has one fewer crawl to spend on your actual content. On large sites with thousands of pages, excessive broken links can prevent important pages from being crawled and indexed. Regularly checking for and fixing broken links ensures your crawl budget is spent on pages that matter.
How often should I check for broken links?
For most websites, a monthly broken link audit is sufficient. High-traffic sites or sites with frequently changing content (e-commerce, news, directories) should check weekly. You should also run a broken link check after any site migration, URL restructure, or major content update. Broken links accumulate over time as external sites change their URLs, content gets deleted, or domains expire.
Can broken links on external sites affect my SEO?
Outbound broken links (links from your site to external sites that are now dead) do not directly hurt your rankings, but they do hurt user experience. If a visitor clicks an external link on your page and gets a 404, it reflects poorly on your content quality. Google has stated that linking to low-quality or dead pages is not a positive signal. Fix outbound broken links by updating the URL, finding an alternative source, or removing the link entirely.
How do I fix broken links on my website?
There are four main approaches to fixing broken links: (1) If the page moved, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. (2) If the content was deleted, either restore it or redirect to the most relevant alternative page. (3) If the link is an outbound link to an external site, update the URL to a working alternative or remove the link. (4) If the page never existed (typo in the URL), update the link to the correct URL. After fixing, re-scan with this tool to verify.
What causes broken links?
The most common causes are: pages being deleted without redirects, URLs being changed (new slug or domain) without updating internal links, external sites going offline or restructuring their URLs, typos in manually entered URLs, content management system migrations that change URL structures, and expired domains. URL shorteners can also cause broken links if the shortener service shuts down or the short link is deleted.
Is this broken link checker free?
Yes, this broken link checker is 100% free with no sign-up required. You can scan any page for broken links, check the HTTP status of every link on the page, and see which links are working and which are dead, all without creating an account. If you want to prevent broken links from the start, you can sign up for a free Flyn account and use our URL shortener with built-in link monitoring.

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Ready to eliminate broken links?

Create reliable Flyn short links that never break. Update destinations anytime, monitor link health, and count every click free, with country and device breakdowns on Pro, all in one platform.

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