Introduction
Broken internal links and crawl errors can quietly hurt your SEO performance. When search engines struggle to access your pages, your rankings suffer. This guide shows you how to identify and fix these issues using Google Search Console and other proven tools.
What Are Broken Internal Links?
Broken internal links are links on your site that point to pages that no longer exist. These links frustrate users and send negative signals to search engines about your site’s quality.
Common causes include:
- Pages you deleted or moved without updating links
- Typos in URLs when creating links
- Incorrect relative paths in your site structure
How to Identify Broken Internal Links
Start with Google Search Console (GSC). Navigate to the Index > Pages report and filter for “Not found (404)” pages. Many of these 404 errors stem from broken internal links pointing to deleted content.
You can also use specialized crawling tools:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Ahrefs Site Audit
- SEMrush Site Audit
These tools crawl your entire site and generate reports showing broken internal URLs alongside the pages that link to them.
For deeper insight into why certain pages are missed or delayed in indexing, check our guide on how often Google crawls a site.
Fixing Broken Internal Links
Once you identify broken links, choose the right fix:
- Update the Link – If the target page exists but the URL is wrong, correct the link to point to the right location.
- Set Up a Redirect – If the target page is permanently gone, create a 301 redirect to the most relevant existing page.
- Remove the Link – If no suitable replacement exists, delete the broken link entirely.
If you’re not sure where to send a redirected link, consider pointing it to a relevant evergreen resource such as your SEO fundamentals guide.
Understanding Crawl Errors in GSC
Crawl errors occur when Googlebot cannot access pages on your site. Google Search Console displays these under Index > Pages. The main types include:
- 404 Not Found – The requested page does not exist on your server
- Soft 404 – The page loads but contains little or no content, confusing search engines
- Server Errors (5xx) – Technical problems prevent the server from fulfilling requests
You can also prevent unnecessary crawl errors by reviewing your robots.txt vs meta robots tag usage to ensure you aren’t accidentally blocking important pages.
Fixing Crawl Errors Step-by-Step
For 404 Errors: Create 301 redirects to relevant pages or rebuild the missing content if it serves users.
For Soft 404s: Add substantial, useful content to thin pages or remove them if they provide no value.
For 5xx Errors: Check server capacity, configuration settings, or contact your hosting provider about technical issues.
After implementing fixes, use the “Validate Fix” button in GSC to request a re-crawl of the affected URLs.
Best Practices for Site Health Maintenance
- Conduct comprehensive site audits every three months
- Configure monitoring alerts for new crawl issues
- Create redirects before deleting pages with existing traffic
- Update internal links whenever you modify or move content
If you need a structured approach to ongoing optimization, see our SEO process breakdown for a step-by-step framework.
Conclusion
Broken links and crawl errors damage your site’s performance, but they respond well to systematic fixes. Regular monitoring through Google Search Console paired with quarterly maintenance keeps your site healthy and your rankings stable. Pick one broken link from your GSC report and fix it today.
Ready to tackle the link issues affecting your site’s performance? Schedule a consultation with me to uncover the technical problems limiting your search visibility. You can also explore our library of SEO guides for more strategies you can apply right away.
