Broken Link Building: Still Effective, Rarely Done Well
A method that works because it offers genuine value rather than asking for a favour.
Link Building
Why it works
You are telling someone their page has a broken link, which they want to know, and offering a replacement, which saves them work. The value exchange is real, which is why response rates exceed generic outreach substantially.
Finding opportunities
Identify resource pages in your niche, crawl them for 404s, and check whether the dead resource has been archived. Alternatively, find a competitor site that shut down and reclaim links pointing to its old content.
Making the replacement work
Your content must genuinely replace what was lost, not merely be adjacent to it. If the dead link was a detailed technical guide, a product page is not a replacement and the pitch will fail.
Key takeaways
- The value exchange is genuine, which drives response rates
- Resource pages and defunct competitor sites are richest sources
- Your content must genuinely replace what was lost
- Adjacent content fails; equivalent content converts
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