Broken Link Building

Why It Matters

Broken link building is one of the most effective white-hat tactics with 20-30% success rates (vs 1-5% for cold outreach). It solves a real problem for site owners, making them more receptive to your pitch. It builds high-quality, contextually relevant backlinks from authoritative sources.

How It Works

You find pages with broken outbound links (using tools or manual checking), create superior content that replaces the dead resource, then contact the site owner offering your content as a replacement. Site owners are motivated to fix broken links for user experience, making them receptive to helpful suggestions.

Use Cases

• A marketing blog finds 50 broken links to outdated SEO tools on industry sites, creates a comprehensive tool guide, and earns 15 DA 50+ backlinks
• A SaaS company finds broken links to defunct competitors, creates comparison content, and captures competitor backlinks
• A resource directory identifies broken charity links on .edu sites, creates replacement resources, and earns authoritative educational backlinks

Best Practices

• Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Check My Links browser extension to find broken links efficiently
• Target resource pages, link roundups, and 'best of' lists where broken links are common
• Create content that's genuinely better than the dead resource, not just a replacement
• Personalize outreach - mention the specific broken link location and why your content is a good fit
• Follow up once after 5-7 days if no response, but don't be pushy
• Track broken links on authority sites (DA 50+) for maximum link value