Broken External Links (404)

Broken external links are outbound URLs on your pages that return 404 errors, leading visitors to dead ends on other websites. This critical-level technical issue damages user experience and signals to search engines that your content may be outdated or poorly maintained.

Every broken link is a missed opportunity to provide value and a red flag for quality-focused algorithms.

What Are Broken External Links?

Broken external links are hyperlinks on your website that point to pages on other domains that no longer exist. When a user clicks one of these links, they encounter a 404 "Page Not Found" error on the destination site.

In HTML, an external link looks like this:

<a href="https://external-site.com/resource">Helpful Resource</a>

When the URL https://external-site.com/resource returns a 404 or 410 (Gone) status code, the link is considered broken. The issue isn't with your server, but with the destination you're sending visitors to.

External links break for several reasons: the target website restructured their URLs, the specific page was deleted, the domain expired, or the content was moved without implementing redirects.

Unlike internal broken links (which you control), external broken links require ongoing monitoring because you have no control over what happens on other websites. A link that worked yesterday may break tomorrow when the external site makes changes.

The SEO Impact

Broken external links create significant problems for both users and search engines.

User Experience Degradation: When visitors click a link expecting helpful content and land on an error page, trust erodes immediately. Users may question the reliability of your entire site if they encounter multiple dead links.

Quality Signal to Search Engines: Google's quality guidelines emphasize that sites should provide value to users. Pages littered with broken links demonstrate poor maintenance. While Google hasn't confirmed broken outbound links as a direct ranking factor, they contribute to overall quality assessment.

Reduced Engagement Metrics: Users who hit dead ends often leave your site entirely rather than navigating back. This increases bounce rates and reduces time on site, both of which can indirectly affect rankings through user behavior signals.

Lost Link Context: External links often provide supporting evidence, citations, or additional resources that strengthen your content. When those destinations disappear, your content loses credibility and depth.

Crawl Perception Issues: Googlebot follows external links to understand the context and topic of your pages. Links to non-existent pages provide no contextual value and waste crawl resources.

According to a study by Semrush, pages with broken links tend to have lower average positions in search results compared to pages with all links functioning properly. While correlation isn't causation, maintaining link health is a fundamental aspect of technical SEO hygiene.

Common Causes

External links break for reasons outside your control:

  • Website restructuring: The target site changed their URL structure during a redesign without implementing proper redirects.
  • Content removal: The specific article, product, or resource was deleted by the external site owner.
  • Domain expiration: The entire website went offline because the domain wasn't renewed or the business closed.
  • Platform migration: The external site moved to a new CMS and old URLs no longer resolve.

How Zignalify Detects This

Zignalify performs comprehensive external link validation as part of every site audit.

Our system scans the content of each page on your site and extracts all outbound links pointing to external domains. We filter out internal links, mailto addresses, telephone links, and anchor references to focus specifically on external HTTP/HTTPS URLs.

For each unique external URL discovered, we send a request to check if the destination is accessible. We use an efficient verification method that minimizes load on external servers while accurately detecting 404 and 410 status codes.

To handle servers that behave inconsistently, we perform a secondary verification when initial checks indicate a potential issue. This reduces false positives from servers that don't respond correctly to certain request types.

All checks run with reasonable timeouts, and we process URLs in batches to complete audits efficiently. When a broken link is confirmed, we flag every page on your site that contains that link, so you can fix all instances at once.

Step-by-Step Fix

Problem: Your blog post links to an external resource that now returns 404:

<p>Learn more in this <a href="https://example.com/old-guide">comprehensive guide</a>.</p>

Solution Options:

  1. Find the new URL: Check if the content moved to a new location.
  2. Replace with alternative: Link to a different, working resource.
  3. Remove the link: Delete the reference if no suitable replacement exists.
<!-- Option 1: Updated URL -->
<p>Learn more in this <a href="https://example.com/new-guide">comprehensive guide</a>.</p>

<!-- Option 2: Alternative resource -->
<p>Learn more in this <a href="https://alternative-site.com/similar-guide">comprehensive guide</a>.</p>

<!-- Option 3: Remove link entirely -->
<p>Learn more about this topic in our related articles below.</p>

WordPress

  1. Use a plugin like Broken Link Checker or Link Whisper to identify all instances of the broken URL.
  2. Navigate to the affected posts via Posts > All Posts and use the search function.
  3. Edit each post and update or remove the broken link in the block editor.
  4. For bulk replacements, use Search Regex plugin:
    • Go to Tools > Search Regex
    • Search for the broken URL
    • Replace with the new URL or leave blank to remove

Shopify

  1. Identify affected pages through Zignalify's audit report.
  2. Navigate to Online Store > Pages or Online Store > Blog posts.
  3. Edit the content and locate the broken link.
  4. Update the href attribute or remove the link entirely.
  5. For product descriptions: Products > [Product] > Edit and modify the description field.

Next.js / React

Locate the broken link in your codebase:

# Search for the broken URL across all files
grep -r "https://broken-url.com/old-page" ./src

Update the link in your component:

// Before
<a href="https://broken-url.com/old-page" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
  External Resource
</a>

// After - Option 1: New URL
<a href="https://working-url.com/new-page" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
  External Resource
</a>

// After - Option 2: Remove link
<span>External Resource (no longer available)</span>

For links stored in data files:

// data/resources.js
export const resources = [
  {
    name: 'Guide',
    // url: 'https://broken-url.com/guide', // Old broken URL
    url: 'https://new-source.com/guide', // Updated URL
  },
];

Best Practices

  • Schedule regular audits: Check external links monthly, as destinations can break at any time without warning.
  • Use the Wayback Machine: When a link breaks, check archive.org to find the original content or identify where it may have moved.
  • Prioritize high-traffic pages: Focus on fixing broken links on your most visited pages first for maximum impact.
  • Consider link alternatives: Before linking externally, evaluate if you could create your own resource that won't disappear.
  • Add nofollow strategically: For less critical external links, consider using rel="nofollow" to minimize SEO impact if they break.
  • Document your sources: Keep a record of important external links so you can quickly find replacements if needed.

FAQs

Do broken external links directly hurt my rankings?

Google hasn't confirmed broken outbound links as a direct ranking factor. However, they contribute to overall page quality assessment. A page with multiple broken links signals poor maintenance and reduces the value you provide to users. Focus on fixing them for user experience, and any SEO benefits will follow naturally.

How often should I check for broken external links?

Monthly audits are ideal for most sites. High-traffic sites or those with extensive external linking (like resource directories or news sites) should check weekly. The web changes constantly, and a link that worked last month may break tomorrow when an external site updates.

Should I remove all external links to avoid this problem?

No. External links to authoritative sources add credibility and value to your content. They help users find additional information and signal to search engines that your content is well-researched. The solution is regular monitoring and quick fixes, not avoiding external links altogether. Quality content typically references and links to other quality content.