Frequently asked questions
Broken links
A broken link is a hyperlink that no longer works because the destination webpage or resource is unavailable. This can happen due to several reasons, such as the page being deleted, the URL structure changing, or the server hosting the resource going offline.
Broken links can occur for various reasons, including:
- The linked webpage has been moved or deleted.
- Typos or errors in the URL.
- The domain name has expired or changed.
- Technical issues on the destination website.
- The resource being linked (e.g., image, PDF) has been removed or renamed.
You can identify broken links by:
- Manually clicking on each link to see if it works.
- Using tools like Freelinkchecker
- Employing browser extensions or plugins designed for detecting broken links.
Broken links negatively impact SEO because:
- They create a poor user experience, leading to higher bounce rates.
- Search engines as Google may view your site as less reliable or poorly maintained.
- They can cause link equity (SEO value from links) to be wasted if pointing to nonexistent pages.
Fixing broken links can be done by:
- the URL : Correcting the link to point to the correct or updated page.
- Redirecting: Setting up 301 redirects to guide users from the broken link to the appropriate page.
- Removing the Link: Deleting the broken link if there’s no relevant destination.
- Contacting the Website Owner: If the broken link points to an external website, you can notify the owner or find an alternative source to link to.
Error messages
Your website probably has security systems in place (e.g., firewalls, CAPTCHA, or bot detection) that block Freelinkchecker for link checking.
A 403 status for a link can occur for various reasons, including:
- Link is protected by a login.
- Blocked by firewall.
- The server suspects malicious or unauthorized activity.
- Rate limiting.
This is a response indicating rate limiting, a mechanism servers use to prevent abuse or overloading. The HTTP status code 429 Too Many Requests means the server has received too many requests within a given timeframe.
A possible cause could be that the server is improperly configured, causing a loop between multiple URLs or redirecting back to itself. Another cause could be that the server might issue redirects to handle login or session initialization and gets stuck in a redirection loop.