# Broken link building: find a dead page, write the replacement, tell the sites

Broken link building finds a page that died while other sites kept linking to it, replaces it with something better, and tells the sites that link to the corpse. It works because you are fixing the other site's page, not asking for a favour. Here are the five steps, the tools for each, and the version you can run in one afternoon.

Updated 2026-09-15 · Source: https://porteur.ai/guides/broken-link-building

## What broken link building is

Somewhere in your category, a useful page died. The tool was shut down, the company was bought, the blog was migrated and the URL changed. The pages that linked to it are still live, and their links now go nowhere.

You write the page that should sit at the end of those links, then tell each site that its link is broken and that you have the replacement. That is the whole method.

1. Find a dead URL that several sites in your category still link to.
2. Confirm the links exist and that the pages still get read.
3. Write the replacement, better than what died.
4. Email the person who wrote each page.
5. Record what you sent and what happened.

## Why it works when other outreach does not

Most link emails ask a stranger to do you a favour. This one hands them a defect report for their own page, with the fix attached. The editor gains a working link; you gain a link. Nobody is buying or trading anything, so nothing here touches Google's link spam policy.

It also puts a floor under the quality of your page. If the thing that died was a well-cited tool or reference, your replacement has to be at least as useful, or the editor will simply delete the link instead of repointing it.

> The ask is small and specific: one link on one page, with a reason that helps their reader. That is why the reply rate beats a generic pitch, even though most people still will not answer.

## Step one: find dead pages in your category

You are looking for a URL that returns 404, and that other people still cite. Three places give you candidates without a subscription.

1. **The tools that shut down** List the products in your category that closed, were acquired or dropped a feature in the last few years. You already know several. Their old documentation, pricing and comparison pages were linked from roundups.
2. **The roundups themselves** Open the "best X tools" and "X resources" pages that rank for your category. Run a broken link checker over each one. Every dead link on a live roundup is a candidate, and you get the linking page for free.
3. **Your own lost links** Check the Links report in Search Console and your backlink index for links pointing at URLs of yours that now 404. Those are the easiest of all: the page was worth linking once, and you can restore or redirect it today.

Write each candidate in a sheet with four columns: the dead URL, what it used to be, the pages that link to it, and whether you could write something better.

## Step two: check the links are worth chasing

A dead URL with two links from abandoned blogs is not worth an afternoon. Judge each candidate before you write anything.

| Check | Chase it | Skip it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How many live pages link to it | Several, on sites a person in your field would recognise | One or two, on sites nobody reads |
| Are the linking pages maintained | Dated this year, or updated visibly | Last touched years ago, no author, no contact |
| Can you write the replacement | You know the subject and can go deeper than what died | You would be guessing, or padding |
| Does the link fit your product | The reader of that page is the person you sell to | Different audience, no reason for them to come back |

A backlink index lists who links to the dead URL. Search Console shows only your own links, so for a rival's dead page you need an index, or you work from the roundups you found by hand.

## Step three: write the replacement

The replacement lives on your domain, at a URL you will not change, and it answers what the dead page answered. Do not turn it into a product page. The editor is linking to a reference, not to your pricing.

- If a calculator died, build the calculator, on its own page, with no account needed.
- If a reference table died, publish the table, with the source and the date.
- If a guide died, write the guide, and cover the parts people complained were missing.
- If a comparison died, write the comparison, and be honest about the tool you sell.

Worked example. A free HTTP status code reference at oldtool.com/status-codes goes offline. Nine guides and two university course pages still link to it. You publish yourproduct.com/guides/http-status-codes with the full list, what each means for a crawler, and a table of the ones that matter. That page is now the obvious repair for eleven editors.

## Step four: the email

One paragraph. Name the page, name the broken link, offer the replacement, stop. Send it to the person who wrote the page, found in the byline or on LinkedIn, not to a contact form if you can avoid it.

```text
Subject: broken link on your HTTP status codes guide

Hi Marta,

Your guide at example.com/guides/status-codes links to
oldtool.com/status-codes, which has been down since the tool closed.
I wrote a replacement with the full list and what each code means for
crawlers: yourproduct.com/guides/http-status-codes. Either way, the
current link is dead and worth removing.

Thomas
```

- No template variables visible, ever. One escaped placeholder ends the conversation.
- No flattery opening. "I really enjoyed your article" reads as a form letter because it usually is.
- One follow-up at most, a week later, two sentences. Then stop.
- If they remove the link instead of replacing it, that is a fair outcome. Do not argue.

## Step five: track it, and what to expect

A sheet with five columns is enough: the page, the person, the date sent, the reply, the outcome. You need it because the same roundups will come up again next year, and because you should never email the same person twice about the same thing.

Expectations, in plain words: most people will not reply. Of those who do, most will fix the link, and some will remove it rather than add yours. A campaign against a well-linked dead page can end with a handful of links from sites that matter, which is a good week for a small product. Anyone promising more than that is selling something.

Judge the result in referring domains a person would recognise, not in a count. Ten links from one directory network are worth less than one from a page your buyers read.

## The afternoon version

If you have four hours and no tools beyond a browser, run this.

1. **Thirty minutes: pick the roundups** Search the three queries your buyers use to find tools like yours. Open the top ten results that are lists rather than products. Save the URLs.
2. **One hour: find the dead links** Run each list through a broken link checker. Collect every 404 with the page it sits on. Group by dead URL: the ones appearing on several lists are your targets.
3. **Ninety minutes: write one replacement** Pick the single best target and write the page properly. One good replacement beats four thin ones, because the editors will open it.
4. **One hour: send the emails** One paragraph each, written by hand, to the author of each list. Log them in the sheet. Then leave it alone for a week.

## Questions

### Is broken link building still effective in 2026?

Yes, because it does not depend on an algorithm quirk. You are repairing a defect on someone else's page and giving them the fix. The reason it feels harder than it used to is that everyone sends outreach now, so a generic email gets deleted faster. A specific one about a specific broken link still gets read.

### Is broken link building against Google's guidelines?

No. Google's link spam policy covers buying and selling links, excessive exchanges, large article campaigns with keyword anchors and automated programmes. Telling a site that its link is dead and offering a genuine replacement is none of those. The link is editorial: the editor decides whether your page deserves it.

### What tools do I need for broken link building?

A broken link checker to scan the pages that might link to dead URLs, and a backlink index if you want to see who links to a rival's dead page. Search Console's Links report covers your own lost links for free. Everything else is a spreadsheet and an email client.

### How many links should I expect from a campaign?

Fewer than the case studies suggest. Most emails get no reply, and some editors remove the dead link instead of repointing it. A campaign around one well-cited dead page can end with a few links from sites worth having. Measure recognisable referring domains, not totals.

### What if the dead page was a competitor's?

That is the common case and it is fine. You are not attacking anyone: the page is gone and the links are broken. Write the replacement on its own merits, and do not mention the competitor's closure in the email beyond the fact that the URL no longer resolves.

### Should I redirect my own dead pages instead?

Yes, first. If a URL of yours had links and is now a 404, redirect it to the nearest equivalent page with a 301. That recovers the links without any outreach at all. Only go hunting for other people's dead pages once your own are handled.

## Read next

- [Broken backlinks: the links you are losing to pages that are gone](https://porteur.ai/guides/broken-backlinks): Links point to deleted pages, wasting authority. Learn how to find broken backlinks, map redirects, when to restore pages, and what not to redirect.
- [The outreach email that gets a reply](https://porteur.ai/guides/link-outreach-email): One paragraph, sent to the person who wrote the page, about their page. The template, the openings that get deleted, and the single follow-up.
- [How to get backlinks for a small product site](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-get-backlinks-for-a-small-site): What to build, who to ask and how to measure. A founder’s plan to earn backlinks without spam or spend, with examples and a checklist.
- [Backlink gap: the sites that link to your rivals and not to you](https://porteur.ai/guides/backlink-gap): Find the sites that link to rivals and not to you. Read the page, make the ask, and track new links. A practical backlink gap workflow.
- [Referring domains: what the count means and what moves it](https://porteur.ai/guides/referring-domains): Learn what referring domains are, how they differ from backlinks, why breadth beats volume, how tools count them, and what actually moves the number.
- [Broken link checker](https://porteur.ai/tools/broken-link-checker): Every link on one page, up to 150, fetched eight at a time: the ones that 404 with the words they carry, the ones that redirect and where to, as a list.
- [Broken link](https://porteur.ai/glossary/broken-link): A broken link sends people and crawlers to an error. See the types, where to find them, and the exact fixes for a small site.
- [Link building](https://porteur.ai/glossary/link-building): Link building is earning links from other sites to yours. Here is what works within Google’s policies, how to measure it, and what to avoid.

Paste your URL and the check reads your site, the searches around it and the rivals on them in about thirty seconds, including the pages that still link to URLs of yours that answer nothing. Free check: https://porteur.ai/