Bounded website crawl
Broken Link Finder
Check a public website for broken internal links, failed external citations, redirects, and pages that could not be verified. Every result keeps the source page, destination, anchor text, and response status together.
Enter the website you own or are authorized to review. Larger sites need a full crawler; this free scan is intentionally bounded so it stays quick and responsible.
Publisher quality
Broken Link Finder
Crawl a bounded set of internal pages and report URLs that return errors or redirects.
Read the crawl report
Start with links that stop visitors from completing a task
A broken link is not just a status code. An internal 404 can interrupt a purchase path, strand an important page, or leave search crawlers following a route that no longer leads anywhere. A failed external citation can make otherwise useful content feel neglected.
The report separates broken, redirected, blocked, and unverified destinations because they need different decisions. Google recommends returning a real 404 or 410 for removed pages and using a permanent redirect when there is a clear replacement. Its crawling-error guidance is a useful reference when choosing the repair.
- Broken internal link. Repair or replace it before looking for outreach opportunities.
- Redirected destination. Update the source when the final URL is stable and appropriate.
- Broken external citation. Confirm the source is genuinely gone before replacing it.
- Blocked response. A firewall or bot rule may prevent verification even when a browser can load the page.
- Unverified result. Retry manually before treating it as a confirmed problem.
A practical workflow
Repair the site first, then research outreach opportunities
The most useful order is simple: protect the visitor experience, confirm what failed, and only then decide whether a broken external source creates a relevant editorial opportunity.
Scan a representative section
Begin with the homepage or a content hub. Use the source column to see where each destination appears instead of reviewing a disconnected list of URLs.
Verify and repair
Open important failures manually. Restore a missing page, correct the URL, remove the reference, or redirect to the closest genuine replacement.
Prepare relevant outreach
When another site cites a dead resource, suggest a replacement only if your page answers the same need and improves the reader experience.
Worked example
A deleted research guide leaves two different jobs
Suppose an education consultancy moved a scholarship-research guide during a redesign. Its own resource hub still links to the old URL, while a partner article cites a third-party study that now returns 404.
The internal problem should be corrected immediately. The external citation deserves a content review: the team should find the current study or create a genuinely useful replacement before contacting any publisher. A dead link is a reason to investigate, not permission to send an unrelated pitch.
Useful evidence to keep
- The source page where the link appears.
- The destination and returned status.
- The visible anchor text and surrounding topic.
- The correct replacement URL, if one exists.
- A short explanation of why the replacement helps readers.
Limits and judgment
A crawler cannot make the editorial decision for you
Some websites block automated requests, delay responses, or serve different content by location. Those cases appear as blocked or unverified rather than being mislabeled as broken. JavaScript-only navigation may also sit outside a lightweight HTML crawl.
The scan is limited to public HTTP and HTTPS pages and rejects private-network destinations. It does not store the fetched page content. Treat the export as a working list and confirm valuable pages in a browser before changing links or sending outreach.
- Scope. Up to 25 internal pages and 40 external destinations per scan.
- Privacy. Fetched page text is processed for links and is not retained as a content archive.
- Safety. Private IP ranges, local hosts, and unsupported protocols are rejected.
- Accuracy. Timeouts, bot protection, and temporary server failures require a manual recheck.
Continue the review
Related tools and services
Common questions
Broken-link questions worth answering before a repair
What is the difference between a 404 and a 410?
Both mean the requested resource is unavailable. A 404 says it was not found; a 410 explicitly says it is gone. Either can be appropriate for removed content, while a permanent redirect is better when a close replacement exists.
Does every redirect need to be removed?
No. Redirects are normal after migrations and URL changes. Update a source link when it points through an unnecessary chain, lands somewhere unexpected, or can be replaced with the stable final URL.
Why does a working page sometimes appear blocked or unverified?
Security services may reject automated requests, rate limits may slow the scan, and some pages rely on browser-side JavaScript. Open important results manually before calling them broken.
Can I scan a private staging site?
No. The tool accepts public HTTP and HTTPS destinations and blocks private or local network addresses for security.
Will fixing broken links improve rankings?
It can improve navigation, maintenance, and crawl paths, but no single repair guarantees a ranking change. The value depends on the page, the failed link, the replacement, and the wider condition of the site.
Campaign support
Found an opportunity that deserves a closer look?
Send the source page, broken destination, suggested replacement, target market, and the service you need. The result button above can carry a compact scan summary into this form without changing the existing order workflow.
We can review the editorial fit, identify suitable publishers, prepare the article angle, and confirm placement terms before any order proceeds.
Prefer email? Write to [email protected].
A broken-link opportunity is checked for relevance and publisher availability before outreach or placement work begins.