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To find broken links across a website, crawl it with a link checker, confirm suspicious failures, record the pages and link text pointing to each failed URL, fix the link at its source, and crawl again. Use Google Search Console to check Google’s view of particular URLs and indexing issues—not as a complete inventory of every broken link.
Choose the right scope for the check
Start by deciding what you need to check. A single-page spot check, a sitewide crawl, and an investigation of URLs flagged by Google are different jobs. A crawler can report only pages it discovers and can access; authentication, blocked paths, and unlinked areas may leave gaps.
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- One page: Inspect links on that page when you have a specific page or destination in mind.
- The whole public site: Crawl the site to find internal and outbound link failures and identify each source page.
- A Google-reported issue: Use Search Console’s URL Inspection or Page indexing report to understand Google’s observations about a URL.
For a deliberate sitewide audit, a crawler is usually the most useful starting point because it connects a failing destination to the page that links to it.
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Crawl the site and trace each failed destination
Use a crawler for sitewide discovery
In Screaming Frog SEO Spider, enter the website URL and start a crawl. Review the broken-link response codes, then find the pages linking to each failed destination. The vendor’s tutorial explains this workflow: Screaming Frog’s broken-link tutorial.
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Screaming Frog says its free SEO Spider can crawl 500 URLs; its paid license removes that limit and unlocks advanced features. Check the vendor’s current SEO Spider product page before choosing a plan, since limits and features can change.
Record enough detail to make a targeted fix
For each confirmed issue, note the source page, destination URL, link text, and reported status. That context helps distinguish a typo or stale link from a temporary fetch failure—and shows exactly where to make a correction.
Confirm failures before changing links
A 404 is a useful signal that a requested page was not found, and server errors deserve attention. But a failed crawler request alone does not prove that a destination is permanently gone. A server may be temporarily unavailable, block the checker, require authentication, or respond differently to a crawler than to a browser.
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- Open the destination in a browser to see whether it loads for a visitor.
- If the question is how Google sees a URL on your verified property, use Search Console’s URL Inspection. Google distinguishes the indexed report from the live URL test; the two answer different questions. See Google’s URL Inspection documentation.
- Confirm whether the failure persists before removing a link or redirecting a destination.
Fix the link at its source
- Mistyped or outdated URL: Correct the destination in the source page’s link.
- Destination moved: Link to the correct replacement. Consider redirecting the old address only when the new destination is genuinely equivalent.
- Content removed with no suitable replacement: Remove the link or replace it with a relevant alternative. Do not redirect visitors to an unrelated page.
After making changes, rerun the crawler and confirm that the source page points to a valid destination. For a URL with a Search Console indexing issue, inspect it again and use the report’s validation workflow when applicable. A successful link request does not guarantee that Google will index the page.
Know what Search Console can—and cannot—tell you
| Search Console tool | Useful for | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| URL Inspection | Checking Google’s indexed view or testing a particular URL on a verified property. The indexed report and live test provide different information. | A complete crawl of every link on the site. |
| Page indexing report | Reviewing indexing problems Google has reported and validating a fix when the workflow applies. | A full inventory of broken outgoing links. |
| Links report | Reviewing examples of links Google associates with a property. | A comprehensive or necessarily current link list. Google describes the report as a sample, and entries may reflect links that have since changed. |
Search Console reports Google’s crawl and indexing observations, which may not match every visitor’s live experience. Use a crawler to discover site links and Search Console to investigate Google-specific questions.
Check crawl coverage, including rendered links
A basic crawl may miss links it cannot discover or access. Google Search Central says: “Generally, Google can only crawl your link if it’s an <a> HTML element with an <href> attribute.” See Google’s guidance on crawlable links.
Script-driven links, pages behind authentication, blocked paths, and unlinked pages may need separate coverage. If links are rendered by JavaScript, inspect rendered pages or configure the crawler to discover them; do not assume that a simple crawl has found every link on the site.
Choose a checking method for the job
| Method | Best fit | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Website crawler such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Sitewide discovery of internal or outbound failures, with source-page context and exportable findings. | Coverage depends on crawl settings and which pages the crawler can discover and access. Free limits and paid features can change. |
| Search Console URL Inspection | Checking Google’s indexed view or live test for a specific URL on a verified property. | URL-focused diagnostics, not a complete sitewide link crawl. |
| Search Console Page indexing report | Reviewing indexing issues Google has reported and validating fixes when applicable. | Reports Google’s indexing observations; it does not inventory every broken outgoing link. |
| Search Console Links report | Reviewing examples of links Google associates with a property. | The report is a sample, not a comprehensive list, and entries may reflect links that later changed. |
When selecting a crawler, consider site size, whether you need internal links, outbound links, or both, JavaScript rendering, source-page and anchor-text reporting, and export needs. Choose Search Console when the question is specifically about Google’s view of a URL.
Troubleshoot common broken-link audit results
A crawler reports a failure, but the page opens in a browser
The destination may be temporarily unavailable, require authentication, or block the checker. Confirm the result before changing a production link; use URL Inspection if you need to compare it with Google’s view.
A crawl finds fewer links than expected
Check whether the missing pages are blocked, unlinked, behind authentication, or rendered with scripts the crawl did not process. Inspect rendered pages or adjust crawl coverage where needed.
A URL appears in Search Console but is not in the crawler’s findings
The reports answer different questions: Search Console reflects Google’s observations, while a crawler reports what it discovers and can access under its settings. Inspect the specific URL and check crawl coverage rather than treating either report as a complete list.
A repaired page still has an indexing issue
Rerun the crawl to verify the link itself. Then inspect the URL in Search Console and use the applicable validation workflow. A valid link request by itself does not ensure indexing.
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If you need screenshots of pages while inspecting a site, ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server—not a link crawler. It can help you capture a page without setting up a browser: cookie banners are accepted and removed, along with known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets, before the shot. Bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are not billed; response headers say the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server lets AI agents use screenshot tools.
One GET request returns an image or PDF. For example, save a PNG screenshot of the page you want to inspect:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.pngSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. One thousand screenshots per month are free with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots. Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan.
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