Broken Link Checker

Detect dead links, 404 errors, redirect chains, and server failures. instant status check with visual dashboard. Perfect for SEO audits, website maintenance, and content quality assurance.

Enter the full URL (including http:// or https://). The tool will scan all <a> tags on that page.

Why Detect Broken Links on Your Pages?

Broken links (404s, 500 errors) harm user experience and SEO. Search engines like Google see dead links as a sign of neglect, which can lower your rankings. Regularly auditing your internal and external links helps maintain site authority, improves crawl efficiency, and reduces bounce rates. This tool automatically extracts every link from any webpage and checks their HTTP status – saving hours of manual work.

SEO Impact: According to Google's Webmaster Guidelines, fixing broken links is a recommended best practice. Pages with fewer broken links tend to rank better.

How It Works (Technical Overview)

  1. Extract: The backend fetches the target webpage using cURL, parses HTML, and extracts all <a href="..."> links.
  2. Validate: Each extracted URL is checked via HEAD/GET request (follows redirects, timeout 15s).
  3. Classify: Status codes are categorized as Working (2xx), Redirect (3xx), Broken (4xx/5xx), or Unknown.
  4. Report: Results are displayed with a pie chart, statistics, and sortable/filterable table. Export to CSV for record-keeping.
Understanding HTTP Status Codes & What To Do
Code Range Meaning Recommended Action
200–299 Success (working) No action needed
300–399 Redirection Verify final destination; update if redirect chain exceeds 3 hops
400–404 Client error (missing page) Fix or remove link; implement 301 redirect if content moved
500–599 Server error Contact site administrator; re-check later or report issue
Network Error Timeout / DNS failure Manual inspection required; URL might be temporarily down

Best Practices for Link Maintenance

  • Schedule regular scans – Weekly for high-traffic sites, monthly for smaller projects.
  • Prioritize high-authority pages – Fix broken links on homepage, cornerstone content, and backlink targets.
  • Use 301 redirects for moved content – Preserve link equity and user experience.
  • Monitor external outbound links – External sites change; re-check quarterly to avoid link rot.
  • Document fixes – Maintain a changelog for audit transparency.

Technical Implementation & Transparency

Our backend uses PHP cURL with CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION enabled (max 5 redirects), timeout of 15 seconds per URL, and a realistic User-Agent header. We restrict requests to HTTP/HTTPS protocols only, rejecting file://, ftp://, or internal IPs to prevent SSRF. No URLs are logged beyond the current session, aligning with privacy-first principles. For extremely large sites (10k+ URLs), consider using dedicated crawlers like Screaming Frog, but for daily audits and quick checks, this tool is ideal.

Frequently Asked Questions

All absolute and relative links (converted to absolute using the page URL). Internal, external, image links, anchor links are extracted. You can filter results later.

Up to 500 links per page. For large pages, consider using a dedicated crawler. Our tool is optimized for typical blogs, landing pages, and documentation sites.

Yes, the checker follows up to 5 redirects and reports the final HTTP status code.

Absolutely. The backend processes your request in real-time and does not store any URLs or results. Privacy is our priority.
Built following Google Search Central guidelines and HTTP specifications. Reviewed by GetZenQuery's technical  team (April 2026). References: Google: HTTP Errors, RFC 9110, W3C Link Checker Best Practices.