What the broken link checker checks

Every link. Checked live.

Internal links first, then external, with the honest verdict for each.

142 links checked2 broken
  • /pricing200
  • /docs/old-guide404
  • partner.com/page200
  • /blog/2021/post410

Up to 150 links

0 pts

Every anchor on the page, de-duplicated, internal links first so your own dead pages are always covered.

File health1 error
  • Disallow: / under User-agent: *
  • No Sitemap: line
  • Crawl-delay ignored by Googlebot
line 12

Real requests

0 pts

A HEAD request first, then a small GET when a server refuses HEAD, so servers that mishandle HEAD do not produce false positives.

User-agent: *
Disallow: /private/
Allow: /private/helplongest match wins
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Disallow: /blocks everything

Honest verdicts

0 pts

Broken (4xx, 5xx), unreachable (no response), redirect (works via a hop), blocked (401, 403, 429: bot protection, not a dead link) and OK.

<html lang="en">
<link rel="canonical">
<meta name="description">
<main>
text 18%

Anchor text and scope

0 pts

Each link shows its anchor text and whether it is internal or external, so you can find it on the page in seconds.

Internal linksdepth ≤ 3
orphan

Redirect targets

0 pts

For every redirect, the final URL is shown so you can update the link and save the hop.

73
Health score
9 issues · 2 critical
  • Meta tags
  • Headings
  • Images
  • Schema
  • Mobile

Link health score

0 pts

The share of links that load, excluding bot-blocked ones, so the number reflects what you can actually fix.

Why it matters

Dead links leak trust. From readers and from crawlers.

A 404 halfway through an article ends the visit. For a crawler, it wastes budget and drops the authority the link was meant to pass.

01

Readers do not come back

A broken link is the moment a reader decides the page is unmaintained. It costs conversions on the pages you worked hardest on.

Up to 150 links
02

Internal 404s waste crawl budget

Every internal link to a dead page sends Googlebot to nothing. On big sites that measurably slows discovery of new content.

Honest verdictsLink health score
03

Redirect chains dilute value

Links that hop through redirects still work, but each hop loses a little signal and adds latency. Linking to the final URL is free.

Redirect targets
How to improve

Fix broken first. Then shorten the redirects.

  1. 1

    Replace or remove broken links

    For internal 404s, point to the new page or set up a redirect. For external ones, find the current URL, link to an archive copy, or drop the link.

  2. 2

    Update redirecting links to their target

    Copy the final URL shown next to each redirect and use it directly. It saves a hop for every reader and crawler.

  3. 3

    Check blocked links by hand

    A 403 or 429 usually means the destination blocks bots. Open it in a browser; if it loads, it is fine.

  4. 4

    Fix the pages with the most links first

    Hub pages, navigation and footers multiply every broken link across the site. Check them before individual posts.

  5. 5

    Re-check the page after editing

    Results refresh after two hours. Paste the URL again once the fixes are live.

Score after fixes
41 → 93
F
D
C
B
A
robots.txt
llms.txt
FAQPage

Never ship a dead link again

SiteLift validates every link before an article is published and audits your existing pages on a schedule, so broken links are fixed before readers find them.

No credit card required

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about the broken link checker.

Up to 150 per page, internal links first. Pages with more show how many were not checked. Run the tool on a section page or split the content to cover the rest.