Link Audit · Zero Network Calls · Instant ResultsFREE Broken Link Checker
Paste your page HTML or a list of URLs to extract, categorise, and validate every link — detecting malformed URLs, HTTP links, dead domains, redirect patterns, and syntax errors instantly.
HTML Parser · URL Validator · Dead Domain Detection · CSV ExportHow It Works
No browser extensions, no crawling, no API. Paste your source and get results in under a second.
Paste HTML or URLs
Paste your page's full HTML source (right-click → View Source, then Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C) or switch to URL List mode and paste one URL per line. Load the sample to see what it checks.
Instant Link Audit
Every href, src, and action attribute is extracted and checked: malformed syntax, literal spaces, HTTP links, dead domains, double-slash paths, redirect patterns, and missing protocols.
Filter and Export
Filter by error, warning, type (external, relative, anchor, email), or search by URL. Export the full audit as a CSV for your SEO report or to share with a developer.
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Act as a senior technical SEO specialist and website quality auditor.
Your task is to find broken, invalid, redirected, or unreachable links on this website:
[PASTE YOUR WEBSITE URL HERE]
Replace the placeholder above with the website URL you want to audit.
Crawl the website carefully and return a markdown report with:
1. The URL of the page containing each link
2. The broken destination URL
3. The HTTP status code or error message
4. The link text or anchor text
5. The link type: internal, external, image, script, or sitemap URL
6. A recommended fix
Prioritize 404 errors, redirect chains, soft 404s, malformed URLs, HTTP and HTTPS mismatches, timeout errors, and links blocked by robots.txt.
Check important navigation, content, footer, image, and XML sitemap links where possible.
Group findings by severity: critical, high, medium, and low.
Do not guess. Mark anything you cannot verify as Needs manual verification.
If you cannot crawl the website directly, explain the limitation and give me a repeatable process instead of inventing results.
Finish with a prioritized repair checklist and a short summary of the pages that need attention first.
Source: This free technical SEO audit prompt was created with Keytomic — the top AI SEO platform for SaaS founders, agencies, and marketers who want to rank on both Google and AI search engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini) with automated technical audits, content, and visibility tracking.
Broken link checker FAQs
What is a broken link checker?
A broken link checker is a tool that tests links on a website and identifies destinations that return errors, no longer exist, redirect unexpectedly, or cannot be reached. It helps you find issues before users and search crawlers do.
What is the best free broken link checker?
The best free broken link checker is quick to use, shows actionable results, and does not hide basic checks behind a signup or short trial. Keytomic is built for fast online checks of URLs and website links.
How do I use an online broken link checker tool?
Enter the URL you want to inspect, run the check, and review the returned links. Fix links that point to missing pages, incorrect URLs, or unreliable destinations, then run the check again to confirm the result.
Can a broken link checker find 404 errors?
Yes. A 404 broken link checker looks for links that lead to pages returning a not-found response. A 404 may be fixed by restoring the page, updating the link, or adding a relevant permanent redirect when the page has moved.
Do broken links hurt SEO?
Broken links can create poor user experiences, interrupt internal linking, and make it harder for search engines to discover important pages. One broken link is not usually a ranking penalty by itself, but a pattern of unresolved link problems is worth fixing.
Can I check a sitemap for broken links?
You can use a broken link checker alongside a sitemap URL extractor to review important URLs. A sitemap lists preferred URLs, while link checking helps verify that links leading to those URLs still work.
What is the difference between a broken link and a 404 error?
A broken link is any link that does not take a visitor to the intended destination. A 404 error is one specific response that means the requested page was not found. Broken links can also produce redirects, server errors, timeouts, or invalid URL errors.
Can I use a broken link checker for an entire website?
Yes, when the checker can crawl multiple pages or accept a sitemap. For larger websites, start with key templates, navigation, high-traffic pages, and your XML sitemap, then work through the remaining URLs in priority order.
How do I find broken links on my website for free?
Enter your website URL into a free online broken link checker, run the scan, and review each failing destination and referring page. Confirm the result, fix or redirect the URL, and scan again to verify the repair.
Does a broken link checker test external links?
Many checkers test both internal and external links, although external sites can block requests or rate-limit crawlers. Treat unclear external results as needing manual verification before removing a useful reference.
What should I do with a broken external link?
First confirm that the destination is genuinely unavailable. Replace it with a relevant, trustworthy source, update the URL if the resource moved, or remove the link if there is no useful alternative.
How often should I run an automated link checker?
Run a check after a migration, redesign, navigation change, or major content update. For active websites, a monthly check plus monitoring of important pages is a practical starting point.
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Learn more about broken links
Broken links are URLs that lead visitors or crawlers to a page that cannot be reached as intended. They can point to a deleted page, a mistyped address, a server error, or a destination that has moved without a useful redirect. A free online broken link checker tool helps you find these issues before they become part of a poor browsing experience.
Why broken links matter for SEO
A single broken link is rarely a ranking problem on its own, but unresolved link errors can weaken the quality of a website. Visitors may abandon a page when an important resource returns a 404, while search crawlers may spend time following URLs that do not lead to useful content. Broken internal links can also interrupt the path between related pages, making it harder to discover and understand your most important content.
How to fix a broken link
First, confirm the issue with a link validator or broken link checker. If the destination should still exist, restore the page or correct the URL. If the content has moved, update the link to the new address and add a relevant permanent redirect when appropriate. If the page has no replacement, remove the link or point it to the closest useful resource. Recheck the URL after making changes.
Broken link checker vs. link validator
A link validator usually checks whether a specific URL is valid or responds correctly. A broken link checker can be used more broadly to inspect links across a page or website and surface dead destinations, 404 errors, redirects, and invalid addresses. Use both approaches when you need a quick URL validation online and a wider technical SEO review.
How often should you check for broken links?
Run a check after a site migration, redesign, or large content update, and include it in regular technical SEO maintenance. Prioritize links on high-traffic pages, navigation, product pages, and important resource hubs. Keytomic’s free broken link checker gives you a practical starting point for keeping your website useful, crawlable, and easier to maintain.
How to find broken links at scale
For a small website, a free website broken link checker is often enough to identify the first problems. Larger sites should combine automated link checks with regular technical SEO reviews after migrations, navigation changes, and content updates. Review internal links first because they shape how visitors move through your site and how crawlers discover important pages. Then inspect external links, redirected URLs, and links inside XML sitemaps. Keeping a short record of the URL, response type, referring page, and recommended fix makes the process easier to repeat.