Definition
Broken link building is a link building technique that exploits dead links (404 errors) on other websites. The method involves: (1) identifying resource pages or articles in your niche that contain broken links, (2) creating or identifying equivalent content on your site, (3) contacting the webmaster to report the broken link and propose your content as a replacement. This approach is particularly effective because it provides real value to the webmaster (fixing a dead link improves their site's user experience) while earning you a backlink. Tools like Ahrefs, Check My Links, or Screaming Frog facilitate broken link detection.
Key Points
- Win-win technique: webmaster fixes a dead link, you get a backlink
- Resource pages (.edu, .org) are ideal targets
- Tools like Ahrefs and Check My Links facilitate detection
Practical Examples
Broken link on resource page
You find a university's 'SEO Resources' page listing 30 tools but 5 links are dead. You create equivalent content and contact the university to propose your link as a replacement.
Competitor broken links
With Ahrefs, you identify backlinks pointing to competitors' 404 pages. You create similar content and contact sites linking to those dead pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use Ahrefs (Broken Backlinks report), Screaming Frog to crawl resource pages, or the Chrome extension Check My Links to visually detect dead links on a page.
Yes, it's a perfectly ethical technique. You help webmasters fix issues on their site while proposing quality content. Google has never penalized this approach.
Go Further with LemmiLink
Discover how LemmiLink can help you put these SEO concepts into practice.
Last updated: 2026-02-07