Broken link building refers to a technique that entails researching and finding resources in your web domain that doesn't exist anymore. After finding them, a similar version is created, and webmasters who link to the earlier resources are reached again. They are requested to replace the broken links you find with the new resources you've made. Broken link building is an excellent method to develop links for your site and help webmasters refine their websites.
Methods to build broken links have been around for a long time. But since the last decade, they have grown tremendously. In the recent decades, there has been a massive transformation of websites in terms of redesign and integration of new technologies. Today, broken links are pretty common. So, there's no more suitable time than right now for broken link building.
How Can Broken Link Building Help You
When users click on a broken or inactive link, they usually see error messages like 'Bad URL' or ‘404 Page Not Found.' There can be many issues that result in a broken link. They include:
A website does not exist anymore.
Modifying the URL structure of a website without the redirect.
A site is getting blocked by a firewall.
If the link was deleted permanently and does not work anymore.
Broken link building allows you to extend help to businesses by pointing to the broken links on their domain. You offer this assistance for free to businesses and thus forge a level of trust. They can then pay back by giving your domain one or more backlinks.
Broken link-building outreach also allows you to build valuable connections with businesses having considerable authority in your niche. It proves to be highly rewarding for your business in the future.
How to Identify and Resolve Broken Links on Your Website
Fixing broken links will help you build your domain authority and make the various search engine algorithms more noticeable. Thus it should be a part of your SEO strategy for building domain authority. Here are some ways you can identify and fix broken links.
Use tools to find broken links
Presently numerous tools can help you in this task. An effective one is Google Analytics. Sign in to your Google Analytics account and navigate to the 'Behaviour' tab for using it. After that, choose the 'All Pages' button below 'Site Content.' Now set an assessment period according to the frequency you inspect for broken links. Checking for them monthly is the best way forward. After that, select 'Page Title.' You can make a filter on this option and choose the 'Advanced' feature where you can put ‘404 Page' to detect the broken links on your domain. Now export all these broken links and fix them by either replacing them or establishing redirects that'll take the visitors to another page.
Create reports to monitor changes
After identifying the broken links, you must make a report, preferably in an Excel sheet. It will facilitate easy tracking of the link redirect process. If you employ Google Analytics, you can directly export the data in the form of spreadsheets or CSV.
Making these reports will assist you in tracking all modifications you make on your site. It will pave the way for a smooth link-building process. You can also use these reports to check for discrepancies in your link-building procedure. Thus, you can take steps to avoid them in the future.
Evaluate reports and determine the links that should get redirected.
The tools you employ for discovering broken links will provide you with all the links on your site that may be broken. However, before redirecting them, it's a good practice to evaluate them and your web pages to discover why they aren't working.
There are some cases when users get redirected to a URL that doesn't work. It might happen due to errors like mistyping or putting an incorrect URL. But these are usually very rare cases. Broken links that get numerous clicks from users should indeed be fixed.
It's essential to redirect the links that record many visits after an extensive assessment of the reports. Links with underlying errors should also be worked on.
Redirect the broken links in your CMS
After identifying the broken links you have to fix and redirect, you can take the final step. It entails redirecting them in your content management system. This step will finish the process of identifying and fixing links that are broken on your website.
For instance, suppose you are employing Drupal CMS. Navigate to 'Site Building' below the 'Administration' tab. Then tap on 'Redirect' and type in the 'From' and 'To' sections with the broken links and redirects.
Advantages of Broken Link Building for SEO
Broken link building has a symbiotic relationship with SEO. It allows you to gain backlinks and make your site completely SEO-proof. Here are some benefits of it that you should know.
Broken link building helps you gain valuable backlinks, enhancing your search engine visibility. Your site has a relevant content piece that is linked to relevant websites. It raises the SEO authority and enables it to rank higher on search engines results pages.
Using broken link building, you can get ahead of your competitors. When you secure backlinks on websites with high domain authority against competing sites with broken links, it'll put you way ahead of your competitors.
Broken link-building strategies allow you to capitalize on an entirely new audience base. As you discover these links, you also find several new websites with keywords and topics you haven't explored yet. As a result, your website can expand and reach out to those who might be just waiting for your content. So you gain various new avenues and build valuable connections with relevant businesses in your domain.
Final Words
Broken link building is a good strategy because it facilitates marketers to begin a relationship with a webmaster by extending their help first. Although there can be instances when the webmaster may not always replace the broken link for your link, there will be a higher likelihood of them opening your emails and responding to them. Use the techniques in this article to find and fix broken links and consequently enhance your domain authority and ranking.