Broken link building

Broken link building is one of the most durable white-hat tactics in link building. The premise: you help someone fix their site (they appreciate it), and they link to you as the replacement. Everyone wins. This page walks through the workflow, the tools, the Wayback Machine trick that dramatically raises conversion rates, and how to scale without spamming.

The mindset

Most cold outreach fails because it's all ask, no give. Broken link building flips that. Your email arrives with a free favor (we found a bug on your site) and a small ask (swap the broken link for this relevant replacement). Even when they don't swap to your link, you've earned goodwill. Best white-hat tactic for cold outreach.

The 4-step workflow

Tools for finding broken links

• Ahrefs Site Explorer, Outbound Links, Broken. Enter a domain, see every broken outbound link.
• Check My Links (Chrome extension). Highlights broken links on any page you visit. Good for quick spot checks on resource pages.
• Screaming Frog. Crawl a site, export outbound links, filter for 404 responses.

Targeting strategy

• Resource pages. Pages that exist to link to resources ("Top 25 SEO tools," "Insurance Industry Resources"). Many outbound links, some will rot over time.
• Old guides and evergreen content. Articles from 2015 to 2020 often link to tools that shut down. Find those, offer your modern replacement.
• Competitor-linking sites. Sites that link to your competitors are already inclined to link to your topic. Check their outbound profiles for broken links.

The Wayback Machine trick

When you find a broken link, check Archive.org to see what the original content was. If your content is similar (or could be), your pitch gets much stronger. You can literally quote the original to show the editor you understand what was there and why it mattered.

The outreach email

Short, specific, offer value first.

Hi [Name],

Read your "Best SEO Tools of 2023" post, great list. Noticed the link to ToolX (section 4) is broken, looks like the site went offline.

I write about an SEO tool directory that covers similar tools and is actively maintained: [your URL]. Might be a useful swap for the broken link.

Either way, thought you'd want to know the link is dead.

Best,
Samuel

Conversion rates you can expect

Why it works

• You provide real value first (fixing a broken link)
• The ask is clear and small (swap one link for another)
• Updating an existing post is easier than deciding whether to add something new
• Editors appreciate the heads-up even when they don't use your replacement

Common pitfalls

• Pitching unrelated content. Your replacement must be at least as relevant as the broken link.
• Obviously templated emails. Personalize. Cold, robotic outreach gets deleted.
• Asking for multiple swaps at once. One win at a time. Don't overload the email.
• Ignoring the relationship after. A successful link swap is a warm contact. Nurture it.

Scaling carefully

You can scale broken link building, but not infinitely. Sending 500 identical emails a day kills reply rates and flags you as a spammer. Aim for 20 to 50 personalized pitches per week, with real research per target. Sustainable rate, durable reputation.

What to do with this

Pick three resource pages in your niche. Run Check My Links on each. Note any broken outbounds. For each broken link, check if you have (or could create) a relevant replacement. Send 3 personalized pitches this week. You should get at least one link from the attempt.

Next: digital PR, the highest-ROI link-building tactic available.

The workflow

1. Find a site in your niche with good authority
2. Identify broken outbound links on their site
3. Find a link that was pointing to content related to something you've produced (or could produce)
4. Reach out to the site owner. "Your link to X is broken; I have a resource on the same topic you might use instead"

Tools for finding broken links

Ahrefs. Site Explorer → Outbound Links → Broken

Enter a domain. See every broken outbound link. Filter by which target URLs are 404'd.

Check My Links (Chrome extension)

Highlights broken links on any page you visit. Useful for quick checks on resource pages.

Screaming Frog

Crawl a site, export outbound links, filter for 404 response codes.

Targeting strategy

Resource pages

Pages that exist to link out to resources ("Top 25 SEO Tools," "Insurance Industry Resources," "Tools for Founders"). These have many outbound links; some will be broken over time.

Old guides + evergreen content

Guides from 2015-2020 often link to tools that have shut down. Find these, offer your modern replacement.

Competitor-linking sites

Sites that link to your competitors are already inclined to link to your topic. Check their link profiles for broken outbounds.

The "Wayback Machine" trick

When you find a broken link, check Archive.org to see what the original content was. If it's similar to something you have (or could write), your pitch is much stronger. You can literally quote the original to show you know what was there.

The outreach email

Short, specific, and offer value.

Hi [Name],

Read your "Best SEO Tools of 2023" post, great list. Noticed the link to ToolX (section 4) is broken, looks like the site went offline.

I write about an SEO tool directory that covers similar tools and is actively maintained: [your URL]. Might be a useful swap for the broken link.

Either way, thought you'd want to know the link is dead.

Best,
Samuel

Conversion rates

• Cold email with no context: <1%
• Broken link pitch, relevant replacement: 5-15%
• Same, with existing relationship: 20-40%

Why it works

• You're providing real value (fixing a broken link)
• The ask is clear and small (swap one link for another)
• Updating an old post is easier than deciding whether to link to something new
• Editors often appreciate the heads-up even when they don't use your replacement

Common pitfalls

• Pitching unrelated content. The replacement must be at least as relevant as the broken link.
• Spammy tone. Cold, obviously templated emails get ignored. Personalize.
• Over-asking. Don't ask for multiple link swaps in the same email. One win at a time.
• Ignoring the relationship. A successful link swap is a warm contact. Nurture it.

Scaling (carefully)

You can scale broken link building, but not infinitely. Sending 500 identical emails a day kills reply rates and flags you as a spammer. Aim for 20-50 personalized pitches a week, with a real research step on each.