How to find broken links on a page, and which ones really are broken
Check a page for broken links by hand: find 404s, server errors and redirects, learn which error codes don't mean broken, and fix them.
Links and URLs
Broken and redirected links, crawlable pagination and clean, consistent URLs.
Guides
Pagination SEO: links search engines can follow, Load more and infinite scroll
Google follows links, not buttons. How to check your pagination, Load more and infinite scroll are crawlable for SEO, and fix them without a redesign.
URL structure for SEO: capitals, underscores, parameters and other traps
URL structure for SEO: capitals, underscores, spaces, session IDs and tracking parameters create duplicate URLs. What Google advises, and how to check.
Every links and urls check SEOSnip runs 13
Some links have no readable text
Links without text are unclear to screen reader users and give search engines little context.
How to fix
FixGive each link clear text, or a description if it is an image.
For developersAdd visible link text, an aria-label, or image alt text to anchors that have none.
Search engines can't follow the page numbers
Google follows links but doesn't click buttons, so products or articles on later pages may never be found.
How to fix
FixMake the page numbers and Next button real links, each to its own page address.
For developersRender pagination and Load more as
<a href> links to crawlable URLs such as ?page=2, enhanced with JavaScript on top; or keep the button and add a real link to the next page beside it.The web address contains capital letters
Addresses are case-sensitive, so capital and lower-case versions can be treated as different pages.
How to fix
FixUse lower-case addresses and redirect the capitalised version.
For developersLower-case the path and 301-redirect mixed-case URLs to it.
The web address contains spaces
Spaces turn into %20, which makes addresses hard to read and easy to break when shared.
How to fix
FixUse hyphens instead of spaces and redirect the old address.
For developersReplace spaces in the path with hyphens and 301-redirect the old URL.
The web address has repeated slashes
Sites often show the same page with and without the extra slash, creating duplicates.
How to fix
FixRemove the extra slash from links and redirect the old address.
For developersFix the links that build // paths and 301-redirect the double-slash URL.
The web address uses underscores between words
Google reads hyphens as word breaks but may treat words joined by underscores as one word.
How to fix
FixUse hyphens in new addresses; only change existing ones if worth the redirects.
For developersUse hyphens as word separators in new URLs; redirect if renaming existing ones.
The web address contains special characters
Accented and other special characters get encoded inconsistently, which can split links between versions.
How to fix
FixUse plain letters, numbers and hyphens where possible.
For developersPrefer ASCII slugs, or percent-encode the path the same way in every link.
The web address is very long
Long addresses are harder to share and are cut short in search results.
How to fix
FixShorten the address to the words that describe the page.
For developersShorten the slug (under about 115 characters overall) and 301-redirect the old URL.
Web addresses include session IDs
A new address for every visit gives search engines endless copies of the same pages.
How to fix
FixKeep visitor sessions out of the address.
For developersStore sessions in cookies and strip jsessionid, sid and similar parameters from URLs and links.
Links within the site carry campaign tracking codes
They create extra addresses for search engines and overwrite visitors' real traffic source in analytics.
How to fix
FixLink to the clean address and track clicks another way.
For developersRemove utm_ and click-ID parameters from internal links; use analytics events for internal tracking.
Links on the page lead to missing pages
Broken links send visitors to dead ends and waste the time search engines spend on the site.
How to fix
FixPoint each link at a working page, or bring back or redirect the missing ones.
For developersFix the hrefs that return 4XX/5XX, or 301-redirect the missing URLs to their replacements.
Links on the page go through redirects
Each redirect slows visitors down and can weaken the value a link passes on.
How to fix
FixUpdate the links to point straight at the final page.
For developersReplace internal hrefs that redirect with their final URLs.
Links to other websites are broken
Dead links to other sites frustrate visitors and make the page look out of date.
How to fix
FixUpdate or remove the broken links.
For developersUpdate or remove external hrefs returning 404/410/5XX; confirm no-response ones in a browser.
Find these issues on any page
SEOSnip checks the page in your browser, compares the server HTML with the rendered page, and turns each issue into a ticket with the evidence attached.