Broken internal link (4xx/5xx): what it is, why it matters, and how to fix it

This page contains a link to another page on the same domain that returns a 4xx or 5xx HTTP status code. The linked page is either missing or experiencing server errors.

Broken internal links waste crawl budget as search engines attempt to follow dead links. They dilute link equity that should flow to working pages and create poor user experience when visitors hit dead ends. A high number of broken internal links signals poor site maintenance to search engines, potentially affecting crawl frequency and overall quality assessment.

Either fix the destination page so it returns a 200 status, update the link to point to a valid alternative URL, set up a 301 redirect from the broken URL to the correct destination, or remove the link entirely if no suitable replacement exists.

This is a high-severity issue: it directly suppresses rankings or click-through on the pages it affects. It belongs in your current sprint, prioritised by how many pages carry it. It belongs to the internal_links family of checks.

Run a free Dr Urls audit: it crawls your site, detects broken internal link (4xx/5xx) on every affected page, shows example URLs, and generates a ready-to-use fix task. Re-scan after fixing to verify the issue is gone.