Broken Links in SEO Are the £10K Mistake Quietly Killing Your Rankings

Broken links in SEO aren’t just minor annoyances; they’re silent revenue killers. Whether it’s a 404 on a top product page or an outdated internal link buried in your navigation, these hidden issues quietly erode your rankings, bleed authority, and waste Google’s crawl budget. If your pages are slipping down the SERPs, this could be the reason, and fixing it might be your fastest SEO win.

Most eCommerce teams underestimate the real cost. But when product discovery drops and conversions stall, broken links are often to blame. In this guide, we’ll break down why they matter, how much they’re costing you (in pounds, not just rankings), and how to fix them before they cripple your growth.

What Are Broken Links in SEO And Why They Matter More Than You Think

Beyond the immediate frustration of a messy user experience, broken links represent a deeply overlooked technical SEO challenge, steadily eroding search rankings, authority, and crucially, your revenue.

In simple terms, a broken link (also called a dead link) is any hyperlink that points to a page that no longer exists or can’t be accessed. When a visitor or search engine crawler clicks that link, they land on a 404 error page instead of the content they expected.

And here’s where the real damage begins.

Why Broken Links Hurt More Than You Realise

Google’s algorithms treat broken links as signs of poor site quality. And in the eyes of search engines, poor quality equals poor rankings.

Here’s how broken links cause trouble:

• They waste crawl budget: Search engines hit a dead end and can’t discover new or updated pages efficiently
• They degrade user trust: Visitors land on errors, bounce off, and rarely return
• They drain link equity: Valuable internal and external links pointing to broken pages pass no SEO value

If your site has hundreds (or thousands) of products, blog posts, or old collections, the risk multiplies fast. Most e-commerce managers don’t even know it’s happening until traffic starts quietly slipping away.

According to Moz, even a handful of broken internal links can lead to reduced crawl efficiency, lower indexation rates, and ultimately, lost search visibility. And yet, most SEO audits still treat it as a minor hygiene task.

Let’s change that.

Want to check your own site?

Run a free crawl with Screaming Frog or Ahrefs Site Audit. If you find a long list of 404s, 410s, or redirected pages, that’s your first red flag.

The 3 Most Common Types of Broken Links (And How They Happen)

Not all broken links are created equal, and if your SEO audit tool shows a list of 404s, redirects, and broken resources, it’s tempting to treat them all the same. But behind each type of broken link lies a different root cause, and a different threat to your rankings and crawlability.

Let’s break down the top three culprits damaging your SEO behind the scenes.

1. 404 Errors from Deleted or Moved Pages

This is the most familiar and deceptively damaging type of broken link. A 404 error means the link points to a page that no longer exists. It may have been deleted, unpublished, renamed, or moved without a proper redirect.

Real example:

You retired a seasonal collection or discontinued a product, but forgot to remove the link from navigation, internal recommendations, or your sitemap.

The impact: Google wastes crawl budget hitting dead ends, and any link equity pointing to that deleted URL is lost unless redirected correctly.

Pro tip: Even expired pages can hold SEO value. If the page earned backlinks, you should 301 redirect it to a relevant category or parent page to preserve authority.

2. Broken Redirect Chains & Loops – Internal SEO Killers

These are silent killers that often go unnoticed unless you run a deep crawl. A redirect chain happens when Page A redirects to Page B, which then redirects to Page C… and so on. A loop occurs when redirects circle back on themselves, trapping crawlers in an infinite loop.

How it happens:

• You change a product URL multiple times over months or years
• You migrate platforms (e.g., Shopify to Shopify Plus) and forget to audit legacy redirects
• Plugins or CMS rules auto-generate redundant redirects

Why it’s dangerous:

• Chains dilute link equity across multiple hops
• Googlebot may abandon crawling after 5+ hops
• Loops completely block access to content

3. External Link Rot and Outdated Resources

Link rot isn’t just an academic term; it’s a growing SEO liability. External links pointing to third-party content (like supplier sites, product manuals, or blog references) naturally decay over time as those sites change, shut down, or restructure their URLs.

Why it matters:

• Outbound 404s reduce your site’s credibility in Google’s eyes
• They degrade user experience and increase bounce rate
• They can break contextual trust signals that support rankings

According to Moz’s guide on Link Rot, even high-authority domains suffer from 30%+ link rot over a few years, and most websites have no system in place to check or update them.

Broken links are just one part of a larger picture, often tied to deeper technical SEO issues that silently block your rankings

Spot the pattern? Each of these broken link types damages your SEO in different ways, from crawl efficiency and indexation to trust, user flow, and ultimately revenue.

We recently helped a UK fashion retailer who, after a platform migration, had over 500 unredirected 404s, bleeding valuable link equity. By strategically fixing the top 50, we saw a 15% increase in organic category traffic within just three weeks.

Up next, we’ll show you exactly how broken links in SEO silently drain rankings, sales, and crawl equity, especially on large eCommerce sites.

How to Find Broken Links Without Wasting Hours

While broken links can quietly accumulate, draining crawl equity and costing you traffic over time, simply spotting a few 404s in Google Search Console isn’t enough to fix the issue at its root.

If you’re serious about fixing the issue at scale, you need a system to find, prioritise, and act on broken links with strategic intent, not just plug gaps.

Crawl Tools That Surface Hidden Issues

Not all broken links are visible in GSC or on-page. To find what Google sees (and ignores), you’ll need to run a comprehensive site crawl using tools built for technical SEO:

• Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Detects 404s, redirect chains, broken outbound links, and orphaned pages
• Sitebulb: Adds visual crawl maps and explains crawl hierarchy, great for identifying broken internal structures
• Ahrefs Site Audit: Excellent for uncovering broken backlinks from external domains

Tip: Combine crawl tools with Google Search Console for maximum visibility. GSC shows live user data, while crawlers expose legacy or buried issues that Googlebot may still crawl.

Prioritise by SEO Impact: Not All Broken Links Are Equal

Here’s the mistake most teams make: they treat every broken link like a high priority.

In reality, broken links fall into three categories:

• High-impact: Internal broken links on top-converting pages or indexed product/category pages
• Moderate-impact: Redirect loops in legacy pages or expired URLs with decent backlinks
• Low-impact: Broken links in blog archives, footer widgets, or expired outbound resources

Start where it hurts most:

• Pages with high traffic potential
• URLs with backlinks
• Errors blocking indexation (e.g., internal links to non-indexable pages)

A single broken link in your homepage footer isn’t a crisis. A 404 in your best-selling product’s internal link flow? That’s a silent killer.

Fix or Replace? When to Redirect, Reclaim, or Let Go

Once you’ve identified broken links, don’t rush into blanket redirections. The fix depends on context and strategic value.

• Redirect it – If the broken URL had backlinks, traffic, or was previously ranking
• Replace it – If it points to a resource that no longer exists, swap it for an updated version
• Retire it – If the page had no value, backlinks, or history, and redirecting would confuse bots/users

Bonus Tip: Avoid redirect chains by always pointing redirects to the final live destination, not to another redirected URL.

Need help prioritising what to fix?

Book a Technical SEO Audit, we’ll give you a clear, commercial-impact roadmap, not just a crawl dump. Know which broken links are killing your rankings (and which aren’t worth touching).

Broken Link Building: Is It Still Worth It?

Beyond being a technical hurdle, broken links in SEO can be transformed into strategic assets, offering untapped opportunities to regain lost authority and strengthen your overall SEO profile. But in today’s evolving landscape, is broken link building still worth the effort?

What It Is and Why It Still Works for Authority

Broken link building is the practice of finding links that point to dead or outdated pages and replacing them with relevant, high-quality content. When executed correctly, this not only restores trust signals with Google but also helps you reclaim lost link equity. It’s a smart way to increase topical relevance and support your domain authority, without creating new content from scratch.”

How to Find Broken Backlinks to Reclaim Link Equity

Start by auditing your own site for broken inbound links using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console. Focus on backlinks from authoritative sources; those carry the most SEO weight. Once identified, either:

• Recreate the original content (if high-performing)
• Redirect the URL to a relevant page
• Reach out to update the referring source

This approach helps you recover SEO value from existing relationships without heavy content investment.

When Broken Link Outreach Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)

Outreach can be effective, but only when your replacement content adds real value. Editors are more likely to update a broken link if your version enhances the user experience or adds credibility to their article. But cold outreach with irrelevant swaps often gets ignored.

If your priority is efficiency and ROI, it’s smarter to focus on broken backlinks to your own site first, as this ensures you’re not letting valuable SEO equity slip through the cracks.

Want help recovering lost links without chasing dead ends?

Explore our Off-Page SEO Services; we specialise in smart link reclamation strategies that boost rankings and authority.

Recommended Reading: Ahrefs Guide to Broken Link Building

Fixing Broken Links Is About Revenue, Not Just Rankings

Ultimately, the true impact of broken links in SEO extends far beyond technical metrics; they are silent revenue killers that directly impede your business growth. Every dead end a crawler hits is also a journey your potential customer doesn’t complete. Yet most brands treat broken links like a checklist item, rather than a revenue problem.

Let’s be clear: This is not about fixing every 404. It’s about fixing the ones that matter, the links tied to discoverability, conversion flows, and high-authority backlinks.

You Don’t Need to Fix Every Link. Just the Ones That Cost You

There’s a hierarchy to broken links. Some point to low-traffic blog posts; others block product discovery or cut off revenue-driving landing pages. Smart SEO isn’t about chasing every broken link; it’s about prioritising those with the highest commercial impact.

A proper audit will tell you exactly where the loss is happening and where to focus your fix efforts first.

Broken Links in SEO = Broken Buyer Journeys

A broken link isn’t just a failed crawl; it’s a failed customer path.

When internal product links lead nowhere, or high-traffic category pages return 404s, the user bounces. They don’t convert. They don’t come back. And Google takes note.

Fixing those links restores not only SEO performance, but also customer experience and trust, and that’s where the real gains lie.

If broken links are affecting category or product discoverability, it could be just one reason why your product pages might not be ranking in search.

The Fastest Way to Win Back Lost Traffic

If you suspect broken links are quietly draining your rankings, traffic, or conversions, you’re probably right,  but fixing them isn’t about blindly patching every 404. It’s about identifying the ones that actually cost you money and user trust.

Call with our team, and we’ll run a focused crawl diagnostic, highlight exactly where your biggest SEO leaks are, and give you a clear, actionable fix plan tailored to your platform, whether you’re on Shopify, WooCommerce, or a custom build. No fluff, no jargon, just clarity on what’s broken, what’s worth fixing, and how to recover lost traffic fast.

Book Your Free Technical SEO Call Today

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