Broken Link Building: A Proven Strategy That Still Works

Why Broken Link Building Still Crushes It

Paid links age like milk. Guest posts are a grind. But broken link building? It works because you're doing the site owner a favor. You're saying "hey, that resource you linked to is dead — here's a replacement."

I've built links to brand-new domains with zero authority using this method. It's that effective if you do it right.

Step 1: Find Broken Pages in Your Niche

You need three things:

• A competitor's resource page or roundup post
• A broken external link on that page
• A piece of your own content that's better than what used to be there

Use a tool like Check My Links (free Chrome extension) or Ahrefs' broken link checker. Run it on pages like "best X tools" or "ultimate guide to Y" — these pages accumulate dead links fast.

Focus on pages with high Domain Rating (40+) and real traffic. A broken link on a DR 70 page with 10k monthly visits is worth ten links on a DR 30 page.

Step 2: Create or Repurpose a Replacement

You don't need to write something new every time. Got a good post that covers the same angle? That's your replacement. Just make sure it's objectively better than what was at the dead URL.

Better means: more recent, more detailed, better formatted, or includes something the original didn't (a video, a downloadable template, original data).

Step 3: Write the Outreach Email

Here's the template I use. It works because it's short and direct:

Subject: Quick fix on your [page title] page

Hi [Name],

I was reading your post on [topic] — really helpful stuff.

Noticed that your link to [dead URL] is returning a 404. If you're looking for a replacement, I've got a resource at [your URL] that covers the same ground and is up to date.

No pressure either way. Just wanted to flag it.

Best,

[Your name]

Response rate on this? Around 25% in my experience. The trick is not asking for anything. You're genuinely helping.

Step 4: Follow Up Once

If you don't hear back in 5-7 days, send a one-liner: "Just following up on the broken link I mentioned. No worries if it's not relevant."

Anything beyond that is annoying. Move on.

Tools That Make This Scalable

I use Ahrefs for discovery and BuzzStream for tracking outreach at scale. But when I started, I used Check My Links and a spreadsheet. Same results, just slower.

The ROI on broken link building is ridiculous because the links tend to stick. Webmasters don't usually remove replacement links — you fixed their problem. Before starting any link building campaign, make sure you understand which backlinks are actually helping vs hurting you — our backlink analysis guide shows you how to spot toxic links.

Related Articles

• Backlink Analysis: Identifying Toxic Links vs Valuable Links
• Ego-Bait Content: How to Get Natural Backlinks from Industry Leaders