How to deal with broken links

Links

Links are a big part of websites and links working is a necessity for the navigation on and off your website to work the way you need it to, so it is important to make sure that they work and continue to work.

 

What are redirects?

An important part of SEO is changing parts of your website. This can sometimes mean that you end up having to change up the names of links that have existed for a long time and has been used in different ways. So, if you don’t want to lose your exposure that you have previously gotten then you can use redirects.

There are many ways to use redirects to improve SEO. Broken links end up lowering your SEO and a simple redirect, either temporary or permanent, will help your overall ranking.

Having links that don’t lead to anything or only lead to a 404 page will greatly affect the user experience, so understanding how redirects work and how to use them can greatly improve many parts of your website.

 

Different types of redirects

301 redirects are a type permanent redirects that are used for pages that have been permanently moved and informs the visitors of this fact and moves them onto the new page.

302, 303 and 307 redirects are a type of temporary redirects that are used to inform users of the fact that the page is temporarily unavailable.

304 redirects are a type of not-modified redirects that lets the visitors access a cached version of the page they are trying to access, if the site hasn’t been updated or changed since the user last accessed it.

308 redirects are another type of redirect. They are an alternative to 301 redirects and will essentially accomplish the same outcome. This is the least popular version of this type of redirect compared to 301.

 

Plugins that will help you

Redirects can end up being a lot of work for you, so there are a lot of help to find through different plugins.

AIOSEO

This plugin is an overall SEO plugin that will help you with all of your SEO needs. So, if what you are looking for is overall help with your SEO, then this plugin can help you. It does also include link checkers, but this is only in Pro and Elite version, meaning that you would need to pay to access it. But you do get a lot for your money.

 

ThristyAffiliates

This plugin is made specifically for affiliate link, links that work by referring the user a product and through it the creator gets a commission. This plugin will let you handle different problems and analytics surrounding these types of links.

So, if what you are looking for is a way to deal with affiliate link then this is this is the product for you.
It has three different plans. Guaranteeing that you can find something that works for you.

 

Redirection

This plugin is made specifically for 301 redirects. It lets you find 404 errors and easily create redirects and fix loose ends. It will make it easier to set up redirects using a straightforward URL matching that lets you redirect based on simple conditions. The best part – it is completely free.

 

BetterLinks

This is a very broad link plugin that gives you many different features around the handling links in all of their forms from creation, management to redirects. It makes it easy to manage your links overall.

If you simply want the 301 redirect plugin then it is free and available through the WordPress.org plugin directory. If you want the full plugin then you can get it three different paid plans or the ability to bundle it with other plugins from the company.

 

Pretty Links

This plugin is an affiliate link plugin that a wide range of features including redirects and broken link finders. These are just some of the many features of the plugin that can help you take care of most aspects of the links on your site.

It has three different plans there should be one that works for you.

 

404 to 301

This plugin is made specifically for changing 404 into 301s all aspects surrounding this. From getting email notifications or logs of failed attempts. It is developer friendly and is very easily customized if you want or have the ability to do this.

It is also completely free.

 

Broken Link Checker

This plugin is a simple and easy to use broken link checker. It regularly checks your website, so that you can quickly fix them as they show up.

This plugin is free, but does also require a bit more work from you as they find the links, but you have to fix it.

 

Conclusion

Thinking about what to do with your links if they end up not working or you have to change aspects of your website is a good idea. Links that doesn’t work will negatively impact the user experience and the SEO ranking of your website, so it is a good idea to create a plan for how you would fix this. There are many different solutions out there, so you just have to find the one that works for what you need.

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