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October 16, 2025

# Broken Links (404 Errors) FAQ: Questions People Actually Ask

**What is broken links (404 errors), in plain terms?**
A broken internal link doesn't just frustrate one visitor — it's a dead end for crawlers too, cutting off the flow of link equity to whatever page it used to lead to.

**How often should this be checked?**
Regularly, not just once. Fixing the visible symptom (the link) without checking whether the destination page itself has other structural problems. Set a recurring reminder rather than trusting memory.

**What's the most common mistake here?**
Only checking navigation and footer links while ignoring links buried in years of blog content, where most rot actually accumulates.

**Does this actually affect rankings, or is it just best practice?**
It's rarely a single ranking factor on its own, but it affects whether search engines and users can do what you actually need them to do — which shows up in rankings indirectly, often more than any one direct factor would.

**What's the fastest way to check this on an existing site?**
Broken Link Checker — paste your URL in and it does the check directly, no setup.

Related: our guide to keyword cannibalization.

Try Broken Link Checker yourself

Everything in this guide runs directly in your browser — no signup, no install.

Open Broken Link Checker →
More on broken links (404 errors)
Broken Link Checker vs. Doing It by Hand: Is It Worth Switching?
A practical look at what Broken Link Checker actually saves you over doing broken links (404 errors) manually, and when manual still makes sense.
The Broken Links (404 Errors) Checklist: What to Verify Before You Publish
A short, practical checklist for broken links (404 errors) — the things worth checking every time, not just the first time.
Does Broken Links (404 Errors) Still Matter in 2026?
A quick, honest look at whether broken links (404 errors) is still worth the effort, or a holdover from an older era of SEO.
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