Free Tool · Link checker
Broken Link Checker
Check every link, image and resource on a page one by one: see addresses that return 404s, redirects or server errors, with their anchor text and where they sit on the page.
How does it work?
- We request the page. The address is requested through the Enar SEO server, just like a browser would; JavaScript is not executed, and the links in the raw HTML are examined.
- We collect the targets. Links (
<a href>), images, CSS, JS, iframes and media files, plus head links such as canonical, hreflang and og:image, are extracted; each address is checked only once. - We check every target. A HEAD request is sent first and verified with GET if the server doesn't support it; redirects are followed to the end.
- We classify the results. Broken, redirected, unverifiable and healthy targets are listed with their anchor text and position on the page (menu, content, footer).
What do the status codes mean?
| Code | Result | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | OK | The target opens without problems. |
| 301 / 308 | Permanent redirect | The link works, but every click makes an extra request. Update internal links to point straight to the final address. |
| 302 / 307 | Temporary redirect | Says the target has moved temporarily; if the move is permanent, change it to a 301 or update the link. |
| 404 / 410 | Broken | The page doesn't exist or has been removed. Update or remove the link, or 301-redirect the target to the closest matching page. |
| 5xx | Server error | The target server is returning an error. It may be temporary; if it persists, let the site owner know or change the link. |
| 401 / 403 / 429 | Couldn't verify | The target blocks automated requests or requires a login (common on social networks). If it opens in your browser, there's no problem. |
| DNS / timeout | Broken or couldn't verify | If the domain can't be found at all, the link is broken; timeouts and SSL errors may be temporary, so check them manually. |
Frequently asked questions
How do broken links affect SEO?
A single broken link won't drop your rankings, but it leads users to a dead end, wastes internal link value and sends Googlebot's crawl budget to error pages. Lots of broken links signal a poorly maintained site and hurt the user experience.
Do I need to fix redirected internal links?
It isn't urgent because the link still works, but every redirect means an extra request and delay, and the longer the chain, the more likely Google stops following it. Updating internal links, menus and the sitemap to the final address is an easy, lasting improvement.
Why do some links show as “couldn't verify”?
Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X reject automated requests with a 403, 429 or 999 code, and some sites respond slowly. We don't count these links as broken; you can open them in your browser to check manually.
What should I do about broken links to other sites?
Find the target page's new address and update the link; if there isn't one, link to a similar trustworthy source or remove the link. An archived version (e.g. the Wayback Machine) is a last resort, only for citing a source.
How do I find broken links across my whole site?
This tool checks a single page. To crawl up to 50 pages of your site and list every broken link and image with the page it appears on, use the Technical SEO Audit tool.
For the page's other SEO elements, use the On-Page SEO Checker; for the whole site, use the Technical SEO Audit.