Broken Link Building

Broken link building starts with finding broken pages that have significant backlinks pointing to them^[1]. Two main approaches: (1) Competitor broken pages — use Ahrefs Site Explorer to check competitors' 'Best by Links' report filtered to 404 status; if a competitor's deleted page has many inbound links, create better content on that topic and reach out to the linkers. (2) Resource page broken links — find resource pages in your niche ('useful links for marketers') using search operators, then crawl them for broken links using tools like Check My Links (Chrome extension) or Screaming Frog. For each broken link found, identify what the page covered (use the Wayback Machine at web.archive.org to see the original content) and assess whether you have — or can create — a suitable replacement.

Effective broken link building outreach is specific and helpful, not generic^[1][2]. The message should: identify exactly where the broken link appears on their page (link to the specific page and describe the section), explain that the link is broken (confirm the 404 error), and offer your replacement resource as a suggested fix — not demand it. Keep the email short. The key differentiator from generic link outreach: you're solving a problem they have. Webmasters who take UX seriously will appreciate the heads-up about a broken link regardless of whether they use your replacement. Response rates for this tactic typically run 5-20%, compared to 1-5% for cold outreach, because the value exchange is clearer.

Broken link building targets broken links on other sites that could point to your content. Link reclamation targets broken links that were supposed to point to your site — existing backlinks that have become broken due to your own URL changes or content deletion. Both are high-efficiency link tactics because they involve links that either already exist or have clear rationale for existing. The tools overlap: Ahrefs' Backlink report filtered by '404 not found' shows which of your existing backlinks are broken. Google Search Console's 'Links' report shows your top linked pages — cross-referenced with 404 errors in the 'Coverage' report reveals broken inbound links to reclaim. Prioritize link reclamation first (recovering existing links is faster than building new ones) before pursuing broken link building for new link acquisition.