What are broken internal links?
A broken internal link points from one page on your website to another URL that returns an error or does not reach the intended content. The link may look normal to a visitor, but the destination can respond with a 404 Not Found, 410 Gone, or another failed request.
They often appear after a page is renamed, deleted, or moved during a redesign. A link can also break because of a typo, a trailing-slash change, or a destination that now redirects.
Why do broken internal links matter?
Broken links interrupt the path through your site. A person reading a service page may be unable to reach the related guide they need, while a crawler may spend time following dead ends instead of discovering useful pages.
- Users: errors create friction and reduce trust.
- Crawling: dead destinations waste crawl paths and hide content.
- Internal linking: important pages lose a useful route and context.
- SEO: the problem is usually indirect, but unresolved errors can compound across a large site.
How to find broken internal links
Run a crawl that can reach the pages where your internal links live. Then review the destination status rather than relying on a browser check of a single URL. Grouping results by broken destination helps you fix one issue everywhere it occurs.
Understanding the results
Each result connects a broken destination to the page where Clearcrawl found the link. The status tells you what happened when the destination was checked. A 404 is missing, a 410 has been deliberately removed, and a 301 means the URL redirects somewhere else.
| Broken URL | Found on | Status |
|---|---|---|
/example-old-page/ | /services/ | 404 |
/guide/seo-basics | /resources/ | 301 |
/contact-team/ | /about/ | 410 |
A redirecting destination is not always a broken link, but it is a useful cleanup opportunity. Update the source link when you know the final URL.
How to fix broken internal links
Choose the fix based on whether the original content still has a useful home. Do not treat every error as a redirect problem.
- 01Identify the broken destination.
Open the URL and confirm the response, then check whether the page has moved.
- 02Decide whether the destination should still exist.
Look for the current version, a replacement page, or a reason the content was retired.
- 03Update the internal link.
Change the source page to the correct live URL and keep the link text useful.
- 04Remove the link when there is no replacement.
Rewrite the sentence so it still reads naturally without sending people nowhere.
- 05Redirect only when it is genuinely relevant.
A redirect can preserve a moved page, but it should not hide an unrelated destination. When a destination has moved, follow the guide to relevant 301 redirects; if it has disappeared, use the 404 repair guide.
Verify the fix
Publishing the change is only half the job. Run another Clearcrawl crawl and confirm that the affected destination is no longer reported as broken from any source page. Include recurring broken-link checks in a monthly SEO checklist.
- Update the affected links
- Run another crawl
- Check the broken internal links report
- Confirm the URLs are no longer reported
Common mistakes
Visitors expect a relevant answer, not a generic landing page.
Point the source directly at the final destination where possible.
Keep the route if the content still helps the reader.
Without a second check, you cannot tell whether every source was fixed.
Frequently asked questions
Are broken internal links bad for SEO?
They can be. A few isolated errors will not usually cause a ranking penalty, but broken links make important pages harder to discover, weaken the internal path through your site, and create a poor experience. Fix the links that users and crawlers actually need.
Should I redirect every broken internal link?
No. First update the link to the correct live URL. Use a redirect when the old destination has a clear, relevant replacement that should remain available to visitors or external websites. Do not send unrelated pages to the homepage.
How often should I check for broken links?
Run a crawl after launches, migrations, and large content edits, then check at a regular interval that matches your publishing pace. A monthly check is a useful baseline for many small sites; active sites may benefit from weekly checks.
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