# Broken links

_Source: https://seomatrix.ai/tools/broken-links/_

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## What it does

A broken link checker scans the links on a page and flags the ones that return a 404 or resolve through a dead redirect instead of a working destination. Dead links waste crawl budget, break the paths crawlers and AI answer engines follow to map your site, and erode the trust that makes a page worth citing. Fixing them keeps link equity flowing and keeps your content reachable to both search bots and the models that quote it.

## What it checks

- **HTTP status code** — The numeric response a linked URL returns — 200 is healthy, 404/410 means the target is gone, and 5xx means the server failed.
- **404 Not Found** — A link pointing to a page that no longer exists, sending crawlers and readers to a dead end and signaling neglect.
- **Dead redirect** — A link that forwards to a URL which itself errors or loops, so the visitor never reaches real content.
- **Redirect chain** — A link that hops through multiple 301/302 steps before landing; each hop leaks link equity and slows crawling.
- **Internal vs external links** — Whether the broken link points inside your own site (your fix) or to a third-party page (their outage or removal).
- **Crawl reachability** — Whether a bot following the link can still reach live content, which determines what gets indexed and quoted.

## How to use it

1. Paste your page URL into the scanner and run the check (up to 25 links).
2. Review the flagged links — note the status code and whether each is a 404 or a dead redirect.
3. Fix each one: update the URL to a live destination, restore the missing page, or remove the link.

## FAQ

### What counts as a broken link?

A broken link is one whose destination returns an error (commonly a 404 Not Found or a 5xx server error) or forwards through a redirect that ends in an error or loop, so the visitor or crawler never reaches a working page.

### Why do broken links hurt SEO and AI citations?

They waste crawl budget on dead ends, block the link paths crawlers and AI engines use to map your site, and signal low maintenance — all of which lower the odds a page gets indexed, ranked, or quoted.

### How many links does this tool scan?

It scans up to 25 links from the URL you paste — enough for the main in-content links on many pages. For link-heavy pages, run it on your most important pages one at a time.

### Do I need to sign up or pay?

No — the checker is free and requires no signup; paste a URL and get the results in your browser.