Checks / Links, canonical and speed
Link to a page that no longer exists
A link that sends readers, and crawlers that follow it, to a page that is gone (HTTP 404 or 410) or to a domain that no longer exists. We asked twice, 30 seconds apart, and got the same answer.
broken_external_link · Links, canonical and speed · Notice
What to change
Replace the link with a working address or remove it.
How common it is
We have not measured how common this is on a sample of sites. Counts appear here when a study covers it.
About this check
| Check ID | broken_external_link |
|---|---|
| Report section | Links, canonical and speed |
| Severity | Notice |
| How it is decided | Measured: read directly from the page or the server's response. |
| Added | Version 11, 24 October 2026 |
| Status | Measured in every report |
| Report gives the code | No, the fix is described in words |
Related checks
- Broken internal links
- Canonical points to a broken or redirecting URL
- Redirect loop
- Canonical points to a noindex page
- Canonical points to another page
- Pages refuse or do not answer our crawler
See whether it applies to your site
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How an audit works: method