01 Mapping the Territory
Our crawler visits your homepage and follows every single link it finds. This creates a map of your "Internal" ecosystem (your own pages) and your "External" relationships (other sites you link to).
02 The "Spider Web" Analogy
Imagine your website is a spider web:
Internal Links
The strong strands that hold your web together. If they break, parts of your web collapse.
External Links
Threads attaching your web to other trees. They provide context but are outside your direct control.
03 Know Your Connections
Your Pages
Links that point to other pages on the SAME domain. Crucial for passing "Link Justice" and helping users navigate.
Outbound
Links pointing to OTHER domains (e.g., Wikipedia, Partners). Too many broken external links hurts your credibility.
Page Jump
Links that jump to a specific section on the same page (e.g., #contact-us).
04 Link Rot
"Link Rot" is the natural tendency for hyperlinks to stop pointing to their original file over time.
05 Why Fix Them?
A clean link profile is a signal of quality.
1. User Experience
Users stay longer on sites where navigation works seamlessly.
2. Crawl Efficiency
Google has a limited "budget" for crawling your site. If it wastes time checking 404 pages, it might miss your new content.
3. Liability
Sometimes an old domain you linked to expires and is bought by a scammer. You are now linking your users to a scam site.
06 Frequently Asked Questions
Do broken links hurt SEO?
Yes. Google views broken links as a sign of an abandoned or poorly maintained website, which lowers your ranking. It also wastes your 'Crawl Budget'.
What is an 'Orphan Page'?
It's a page on your website that has zero internal links pointing to it. Users (and Google) can't find it unless they know the exact URL.
Should I use 'nofollow' on external links?
Generally, yes, if you don't fully trust the destination or if it's a paid advertisement. This tells Google 'I am linking to this, but I don't endorse it'.
How often should I check for broken links?
At least once a month. Links break all the time because external websites shut down or change their URL structures without redirecting.