Broken Link Finder
Paste any resource page, roundup or link list. We check every outbound link and show you the dead ones. Each one is a real reason to email the owner, which is what makes broken link building work.
Outbound links (0)
| Status | Anchor text | Destination | What's wrong |
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Email template
Adapt this, don't send it as-is. Mention the specific dead link and why your page fits.
How broken link building works
Websites rot. Pages get deleted, companies shut down, domains expire. Any resource page more than a couple of years old has dead links on it, and the owner usually has no idea. Telling them is a genuine favour, which is why this is one of the few outreach tactics people actually reply to.
1. Find pages that link out a lot
Search Google for your topic plus phrases like "resources", "useful links", "recommended tools" or "further reading". Older university, association and blog pages are the richest. Paste each one here.
2. Check what was there
Before you email, look the dead URL up on web.archive.org to see what the page used to be. You need to know that so you can offer something genuinely equivalent, not just any page of yours.
3. Email the owner
Short, specific, no pitch language. Name the exact link, say where it is on the page, and mention your replacement once. If you have nothing equivalent, tell them about the dead link anyway; that's how you start a relationship worth having.
4. Expect a low reply rate
Ten to twenty percent is a good response rate, and not every reply becomes a link. The links you do get are editorial and permanent, which is what makes them worth the effort.
What counts as an opportunity
- Dead domain: the whole site is gone. The strongest case, because the owner can never fix it by updating the URL.
- 404 or 410: the page is gone but the site is alive. Still a clear opening.
- 5xx: the server is failing. Worth mentioning, though it may be temporary.
- 403 and 401 are not flagged as opportunities. They usually mean the site blocks bots, not that the link is broken.
Questions
Is broken link building still effective?
Yes, because it isn't a trick. You're reporting a real problem on someone's page. Reply rates are far higher than cold link requests, and the links are editorial.
How many links do you check?
Up to 60 outbound links per page, skipping anything that takes longer than six seconds so the report always finishes.
Why are some links marked 403 instead of broken?
Many sites block automated requests. A 403 usually means the link works fine in a browser, so we don't count it as an opportunity.
Do you email anyone for me?
No. We find the opportunities and give you a template; you write and send the email. Automated outreach and automated link placement are spam, and they get sites penalised.