Broken link building is a link building tactic where you find broken (dead) links on relevant websites and reach out to offer your content as a replacement. Site owners benefit by fixing broken links, and you earn a backlink—a win-win approach.
How Broken Link Building Works#
The Process#
- Find pages with broken outbound links
- Identify links relevant to your content
- Ensure you have suitable replacement content
- Contact the site owner
- Suggest your content as replacement
- Earn the backlink
Why It Works#
Value proposition:
- You help them fix their site
- They improve user experience
- You provide ready replacement
- Low friction for them to say yes
Finding Broken Links#
Target Pages#
Best pages to check:
- Resource pages
- Curated link lists
- Old but authoritative content
- Industry guides
- Educational pages
Discovery Methods#
Finding broken links:
Check My Links extension:
- Chrome extension
- Scans page for broken links
- Highlights dead links
- Quick manual checking
Ahrefs:
- Best by Links report
- Filter for 404 pages
- Find who linked to dead pages
- Scale discovery
Screaming Frog:
- Crawl sites for broken links
- Find external 404s
- Bulk analysis
- Export for outreach
Search Operators#
Google searches:
site:example.com inurl:resources"topic" + "resources" + "links"intitle:resources "your keyword""your keyword" + inurl:links
Creating Replacement Content#
Content Requirements#
Ideal replacement content:
- Covers same/similar topic
- Equal or better quality
- Currently maintained
- Directly relevant
- Actually serves their audience
Content Strategies#
Option 1: Use existing content
- If you already have relevant content
- Ensure it truly fits
Option 2: Create new content
- Build specifically for opportunities
- Research what the dead link covered
- Make yours better
Option 3: Improve and pitch
- Enhance existing content
- Add what original had
- Position as comprehensive replacement
Outreach for Broken Links#
Email Structure#
Key elements:
- Point out the broken link
- Show you're being helpful
- Mention your replacement
- Make it easy to fix
Example Template#
Subject: Broken link on your [topic] resources page
Hi [Name],
I was reading your [page name/topic] and noticed that
the link to [describe dead link/anchor text] appears
to be broken.
I recently created a resource on [similar topic] that
covers [what the original likely covered]. It might
be a good replacement:
[Your URL]
Either way, wanted to give you a heads up about the
dead link.
Best,
[Your name]
Key Principles#
Effective outreach:
- Be genuinely helpful first
- Don't make it all about you
- Provide specific information
- Make action easy
- Don't be pushy
Scaling Broken Link Building#
Building a System#
Process at scale:
- Build target site list
- Crawl for broken links
- Identify relevant opportunities
- Match to your content
- Batch outreach
- Track and follow up
Tools for Scaling#
Helpful tools:
- Ahrefs (broken backlink finder)
- Screaming Frog (site crawling)
- Pitchbox (outreach management)
- Buzzstream (CRM)
- Check My Links (manual checking)
Success Factors#
What Affects Conversion#
Higher success when:
- Your content truly matches
- Multiple broken links on page
- Your outreach is personalized
- Site owner cares about quality
- Easy replacement process
Lower success when:
- Weak content match
- Impersonal outreach
- Abandoned/neglected sites
- Content isn't actually better
- Just trying to get any link
Common Challenges#
Obstacles#
Frequent issues:
- Many pages are abandoned
- No contact information
- Competition for same opportunities
- Time-intensive process
- Low response rates
Overcoming Challenges#
Solutions:
- Focus on active, maintained sites
- Use multiple contact methods
- Act quickly on opportunities
- Create exceptional replacement content
- Track and optimize outreach
Variations of Broken Link Building#
Link Reclamation#
Related tactic:
- Find links to YOUR broken pages
- Fix or redirect your pages
- Recover your own lost links
Competitor Broken Links#
Approach:
- Find broken competitor pages
- See who linked to them
- Reach out with your replacement
- Capture competitor's lost links
Resource Page + Broken Links#
Combined approach:
- Find resource pages in niche
- Check for broken links
- Pitch your resource plus point out broken links
- Double value proposition
Best Practices#
Do#
- Find genuinely relevant opportunities
- Create high-quality replacement content
- Be helpful in your outreach
- Personalize your messages
- Follow up once
- Track your results
Don't#
- Pitch weak replacement content
- Send mass generic emails
- Be pushy or demanding
- Exaggerate the problem
- Give up after low initial results
- Ignore relevance for quantity
Measuring Success#
Metrics#
| Metric | Typical Range | |--------|--------------| | Response rate | 5-15% | | Link placement rate | 2-10% | | Time to placement | 1-4 weeks |
ROI Considerations#
Track:
- Time invested
- Opportunities found
- Outreach sent
- Links earned
- Link quality
Summary#
Broken link building replaces dead links with your content:
Process:
- Find broken links on relevant sites
- Have or create matching content
- Reach out helpfully
- Suggest your replacement
- Earn the link
Success factors:
- Quality replacement content
- Relevant opportunities
- Helpful outreach
- Persistence
Benefits:
- Win-win approach
- Quality links
- Relatively scalable
- Natural link building
Broken link building works because you're providing genuine value to site owners.