Broken link building is an SEO tactic where you find broken links on other sites, create relevant content, and suggest your link as a replacement.
What is a Broken Link Building Strategy?
Broken link building is a proactive approach to link building that benefits both webmasters and SEO professionals. Instead of waiting for others to link to your content, you identify links on external websites that no longer work, then suggest your own relevant content as a replacement. This not only provides value to the site owner by fixing broken links but also creates high-quality backlinks to your site. When done correctly, broken link building can significantly improve your domain authority, referral traffic, and search engine rankings.
Broken Link Building Across Different CMS Platforms
WordPress
WordPress makes broken link building easier with plugins like Broken Link Checker. You can quickly scan both your own site and competitors’ blogs to identify opportunities and reach out to webmasters with content suggestions.
Shopify
On Shopify, broken link building can be applied to blog posts, guides, or resource pages. While Shopify stores focus on products, supporting content can be leveraged for outreach and backlinks.
Wix
Wix provides basic SEO tools to analyze site links, and broken link opportunities can be identified manually or with third-party tools. Outreach with replacement content works similarly to other CMS platforms.
Webflow
Webflow offers full control over site structure and URLs, making it easy to create high-quality replacement pages for broken links. Its clean code and strong SEO foundations make link building efficient.
Custom CMS
Custom CMS platforms may require technical tools or developer support to scan for broken links, but once identified, the strategy remains the same: offer valuable replacement content to earn backlinks.
Why Broken Link Building Matters for Different Industries
Ecommerce Businesses
Ecommerce sites can use broken link building to get backlinks from guides, reviews, or industry blogs that once referenced outdated product pages or resources.
Local Businesses
Local businesses benefit by gaining links from local directories, guides, and community websites where old links may have expired.
SaaS Companies
SaaS businesses can improve authority by replacing dead links in resource pages or industry articles with informative content about their software solutions.
Blogs and Content Sites
For content-heavy websites, broken link building is a valuable way to earn high-quality backlinks without creating new outreach campaigns from scratch.
Do’s and Don’ts of Broken Link Building
Do’s
Focus on high-authority websites when searching for broken links. Offer content that is highly relevant and genuinely useful. Track your outreach and follow up politely.
Don’ts
Avoid spammy or irrelevant content. Do not mass-email webmasters without personalizing your outreach. Avoid replacing links with low-value or thin content.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
One common mistake is targeting low-authority websites that offer little SEO value. Another is sending generic, unhelpful replacement suggestions, which reduces response rates. Ignoring proper tracking and follow-ups can also lead to missed opportunities.
Best Practices for Broken Link Building Strategy
Focus on quality over quantity identify authoritative websites with broken links. Make sure your content is highly relevant and improves the user experience. Keep your outreach personal and professional. Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Screaming Frog to efficiently identify broken links and track results. Regularly update your content to ensure it continues to provide value to those linking to it.
FAQs
What is broken link building?
Broken link building is an SEO technique where you identify dead or broken links (404 errors) on other websites and suggest replacing them with working links to your own relevant content. This strategy helps website owners fix user experience issues while earning quality backlinks for your site.
How does broken link building work?
The process involves:
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Finding broken links on authoritative websites in your niche.
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Creating or identifying relevant content on your site that can serve as a suitable replacement.
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Reaching out to the website owner or webmaster, informing them of the broken link, and suggesting your content as a replacement.
This approach offers value to the site owner by helping them maintain a functional website while providing you with a valuable backlink.
Why is broken link building effective?
This strategy is effective because it:
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Helps website owners maintain a positive user experience by fixing broken links.
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Allows you to acquire backlinks from authoritative sites, boosting your SEO efforts.
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Is a white-hat technique, meaning it’s ethical and unlikely to result in penalties from search engines.
What tools can assist in broken link building?
Several tools can help identify broken links:
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Ahrefs: Offers a site audit feature to find broken outbound links.
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Screaming Frog SEO Spider: A desktop program that crawls website URLs to find broken links.
- Google Search Console: Provides a list of broken links that Google’s crawlers have found on your site.
These tools can streamline the process of finding and addressing broken links.
Are there any challenges with broken link building?
While effective, broken link building can be time-consuming and may require persistence. Not all webmasters will respond to outreach efforts, and the success rate can vary. However, when executed correctly, it can be a valuable addition to your SEO strategy.
