SEO

Broken link building

By Paul Brock·Updated on 22-04-2026
TL;DR

Broken link building is the technique of finding broken links on other sites and proposing the owner replace them with a link to your relevant content.

Broken link building works because you help the webmaster solve a problem (dead outbound link, bad for UX and SEO) while offering a replacement destination. Response rates beat cold guest-post outreach. Tools: Ahrefs Broken Backlinks, Check My Links. Expect success on 5-15% of pitches.

Example

A finance blog links to a now-404 page. You pitch: 'Your link to X on article Y is broken. I recently published similar data on webrockmedia.nl/blog/..., possibly valuable as replacement.'

Frequently asked questions

Is BLB still relevant in 2026?

Yes, and even more effective now that classic guest-post tactics are saturated. Broken link building feels less like spam to recipients.

Related terms

Further reading

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