Introduction:
Have you ever wondered how the internet works? It’s absolutely vast, and yet, you type a web address into a browser, or click on a website link, and suddenly all the information you wanted fills your computer screen – awesome! But, what happens when the links don’t work? The dreaded “404 page error – page not found” and you’re left wondering what went wrong. Well, read the short article below and look at it from your site visitors point of view…
Hidden broken links can really annoy your visitors because when a broken link happens, then users click on it, and it doesn’t lead them to the target web page. That’s no big deal, right?
Wrong!
When Google's web crawlers or bots index a webpage, they follow these links to gather data. Encountering broken links during this process, also known as “link rot”, can cause your site to rank lower on search engines until the issue is resolved.
Website visitors can easily become frustrated and annoyed when they encounter broken links on a website. Simply put, you’re not delivering on what was promised: the web page in question!
Broken links can be a major turn-off for users because of:
Negative User Experience
Visitors click on a link expecting to find relevant content and instead encounter a broken link, leading to disappointment and a negative perception of your website.
Wasted Time and Effort
You’re wasting your users valuable time trying to access information that is no longer available.
Loss of Trust
Users may question the website's credibility and reliability and even question if you’re still in business.
Reduced Engagement
Broken links can deter users from exploring further within your website and they may leave, leading to a higher “bounce rate” and potentially lost sales.
To avoid these negative consequences, you can regularly check for broken links and implement proper link management strategies to ensure a smooth user experience and maintain the credibility of your website.
How to Correct the Problem?
First, check for broken links using a tool like Google Analytics or SEO platforms such as Ahrefs or Semrush.
Next, replace broken links with live ones. If you only have a few broken links on your website, the best approach is to replace them with working links.
For considerably outdated links, maybe 4-5 years or older, that are no longer relevant, it's best to remove them entirely.
If you encounter a broken backlink (a link from another website to yours), contact the site owner and ask them to fix the link.
And in the case of a broken internal link within your website, implement a 301 redirect, which sends users to the live and functioning page.