A few months ago, I launched a side project, a niche blog I poured hours into, obsessing over every detail: navigation menus, internal links, load speed, even duplicate content. But something felt off. My bounce rate was high, and I kept hearing from friends that some links on my site just didn’t work. At first, I brushed it off. “Probably a mistyped URL,” I told myself. But curiosity got the better of me.
So, late one night, with a strong cup of coffee and a sense of dread, I dove into my site audit using Semrush’s Site Audit Tool, and wow. That was the moment I realized how deeply broken links were affecting not just my SEO rankings, but also the user experience.
I had no idea broken links could hurt so much
Turns out, a single broken link can trigger a mess of problems. Imagine clicking on a link expecting cool content, maybe a list of cool plugins, and landing on a 404 Not Found page. That’s not just annoying, it’s frustrating. It screams unprofessional. And from Google’s perspective? It signals that your site might be outdated, poorly maintained, or full of crawl errors.
And I wasn’t just dealing with 404s. I had 400 bad request errors too, all because of one mistyped URL. Something as simple as an extra “%” in a product link like “website.com/blue-sne%kers” instead of “website.com/blue-sneakers” was causing issues.
I tried manual checks (and regretted it quickly)
At first, I went the old-fashioned way, manual review. Clicked through each menu item, browsed every blog post, checked image files, scanned internal links. It took hours. Then I installed Check My Links, a Chrome browser extension, and while it helped highlight errors, it still felt like I was patching leaks in a sinking ship.
That’s when I decided to give Semrush Site Audit a real shot. And honestly? I regret not starting there from day one.
How Semrush’s Site Audit Tool changed everything
Setting up was stupidly easy. I clicked Create Project, ran my first scan, and within minutes I had a full list of internal broken links, duplicate content, non-secure pages, and even pages with slow load speed. The Issues tab is where the magic happens. Just type “broken” in the search bar, and boom, a list of every broken link, image, or redirect issue across your site.
One of my pages had 148 incoming internal links pointing to a single 404 page. That was a wake-up call. I never realized how much link equity I was wasting.
I love the autopilot option (because I’m forgetful)
The coolest part? You can automate everything. I set the audit to run weekly, which means I don’t have to remember to check. It just sends me updates if new crawl errors show up. For someone managing multiple sites, this is a lifesaver.
And when I see broken links now? I can manually edit them, bulk-update using a search-and-replace plugin, or if the page is truly gone, set up a 301 redirect using a plugin like Redirection in WordPress. It’s such a relief knowing that every fix not only improves UX but also helps me maintain search engine visibility.
This one reason made me take broken links seriously
It wasn’t just SEO. It was the trust I was losing with readers. One of my analytics tools showed people were clicking a featured product link… and immediately bouncing. Why? The link went to a dead page because the company rebranded and changed their domain. Boom, instant 502 bad gateway error.
That kind of error doesn’t just annoy visitors. It drives them away. It made my site feel untrustworthy, and that’s the last thing I want for my brand.
What I learned (so you don’t have to struggle like I did)
Here are the hard-earned lessons I now live by:
- Always check for broken links after publishing new content
- Use tools like Google Search Console’s Indexing report to spot 404s
- Replace or remove links to deleted or moved pages
- Update navigation menus and hard-coded links when the site structure changes
- Replace missing pages with close substitutes (like swapping /types-of-cats with /kinds-of-cats)
- Use 301 redirects instead of letting users hit a dead end
- Automate your audits, trust me on this one
Final thoughts: fixing broken links isn’t glamorous, but it works
I won’t lie, hunting down broken links isn’t sexy. There are no fireworks or flashy metrics. But it’s the kind of behind-the-scenes work that makes your site faster, safer, and more SEO-optimized.
And the peace of mind that comes with knowing your visitors won’t land on a broken page? That’s priceless.
Whether you’re running a blog, managing a store, or building a portfolio, don’t ignore this stuff. Use tools that automate the boring parts, fix what matters most, and stay ahead of the curve.
Because your site deserves to be trusted. Every click, every visit, every user, they all matter.
