How to Identify Broken Links Using Google Search Console

Identifying broken links using Google Search Console (GSC) is a crucial part of maintaining the health of your website. Broken links (404 errors) not only impact user experience but can also hinder Google’s ability to crawl and index your site effectively. While Google Search Console doesn’t offer a dedicated “broken link” tool, you can still use it to find 404 errors (and other client-side issues) that point to broken internal and external links.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to identify broken links using Google Search Console:

Step-by-Step Guide to Identify Broken Links Using Google Search Console

1. Sign In to Google Search Console

Go to the Google Search Console login page.

Select the website property that you want to analyze.

2. Navigate to the Coverage Report

The Coverage report in GSC provides details on how Google is indexing your site and any issues it encounters, including 404 errors.

From the left-hand menu, click on ‘Index’.

Then, click on ‘Coverage’. This section provides insights into which pages are successfully indexed and which ones encounter errors.

3. Filter for Excluded Pages with 404 Errors

In the Coverage report, you’ll see various sections that indicate why certain pages were excluded from the index. To identify broken links:

Look for the ‘Excluded’ section.

Under ‘Excluded’, click on ‘404 (Not Found)’. This will show you all the pages that Google attempted to crawl but found to be missing (404 errors).

4. Examine the 404 Errors

Once you click on ‘404 (Not Found)’, you’ll see a list of URLs that returned a 404 error when Googlebot tried to crawl them. This could be due to broken internal links or missing pages that were linked from other parts of the site.

For each 404 error, you’ll see a list of URLs where these broken links were discovered.

You can also click on individual error links to see more details and review the exact source pages (the pages linking to the broken page).

5. Investigate Broken Internal and External Links

Internal Links: The broken links might be internal ones pointing to pages that no longer exist. For instance, if an important page was deleted or its URL was changed, any internal links pointing to that page will return a 404 error.

External Links: You might also encounter broken links pointing to external websites that no longer exist or have moved.

You can identify where these internal broken links are located by clicking on the ‘Error’ link next to each 404 entry. This will show you the source page (internal page) where the broken link is located.

6. Review the “Valid” and “Fixed” Status

If you’ve already fixed a broken link (by updating the URL, redirecting the page, or removing the link), Google Search Console will reflect that in the ‘Fixed’ status, but it may take some time before it’s updated in the Coverage report.

Similarly, pages that were previously excluded due to 404 errors may move to the ‘Valid’ status once fixed.

7. Fix the Broken Links

Once you’ve identified the broken links, you can take the following actions to fix them:

Update or Redirect: If the URL for the page has changed, update the internal link to point to the new URL, or implement a 301 redirect to automatically redirect users and search engines to the new page.

Remove or Replace: If the page has been removed and there’s no replacement, remove the internal link or replace it with a link to a relevant page.

Re-validate in Google Search Console: After you fix a broken link, you can request Google to re-crawl the page by clicking ‘Validate Fix’ in the Coverage report. This will prompt Google to re-check the page and update its status.

8. Regularly Monitor for New Broken Links

Google Search Console doesn’t provide real-time alerts for 404 errors, so it’s important to regularly check the Coverage report to stay on top of any new broken links.

Tips:

Set Up Alerts: You can set up Google Search Console email notifications for coverage issues to get alerted when new 404 errors arise.

Monitor Traffic Changes: Keep an eye on pages that lose traffic or become unavailable, as they could be linked to broken links. Monitoring your site’s performance can help you catch issues early.

Additional Features to Use in Google Search Console

Besides the Coverage report, you can also use Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool to check individual pages for 404 errors or index issues.

URL Inspection Tool:
- Enter a URL into the search bar at the top of Google Search Console.
- Click on ‘Enter’ to inspect the URL.
- If the URL is broken, you’ll see a 404 error message. You can then check if the link was recently moved or deleted.

Benefits of Using Google Search Console to Identify Broken Links

Free Tool: Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google, and it’s an essential part of any SEO toolkit.

Directly from Google: Since this data comes directly from Googlebot’s crawling of your site, it provides accurate information on what Google is encountering during its crawl.

Identifying Crawl Errors: Broken internal and external links can affect your site’s crawlability, and using GSC helps you identify these issues early.

Easily Identify Source Pages: Google Search Console helps you see exactly where the broken links are located, making it easier to fix the issue.

Conclusion

Google Search Console is a powerful tool for monitoring your website’s health, and it provides a straightforward way to identify broken links (404 errors). By regularly reviewing the Coverage report, you can quickly spot and fix broken internal and external links, ensuring that Google can crawl your site effectively and users have a smooth experience navigating your pages.