Q: What is a broken link and why does it matter?
A: A broken link points to a missing page (e.g., 404). Left unfixed, it wastes crawl budget, interrupts link equity, frustrates users, and can erode trust. Regular checks keep your site healthy and your rankings resilient.
Q: What causes broken links, and how do I prevent them?
A: Common causes include deleted/moved content, URL changes, typos, removed external resources, protocol/server issues, redirect chains/loops, and soft‑404s. Prevent issues by keeping URL structures stable, testing links before publishing, and running routine scans.
Q: How do I find and fix broken links?
A: Run scans with OTTO SEO or a Site Audit to identify errors and redirect chains. Then: fix typos, 301 redirect to the closest relevant page, restore removed content if appropriate, or ask external site owners to update broken backlinks. After fixes, monitor GSC crawl errors, bounce rates, organic traffic, and rankings for improvement.
Q: How often should I scan for broken links?
A: Large/fast‑changing sites: weekly to bi‑weekly. Smaller sites: monthly. All sites should run a comprehensive audit quarterly and within 48 hours after migrations or redesigns.
Q: My links aren’t indexed, can you help?
A: Yes. Share your Order ID and live URL(s) and we’ll submit them for indexing. Typical turnaround is 3–5 business days once we have the URLs, though final timing depends on search engines. We’ll notify you as soon as indexing is detected.