Have you ever clicked on a link only to be redirected to a page that no longer exists? This is known as link decay, also referred to as link rot, broken links, dead links, or link equity loss. Link decay happens when links become outdated or are removed from a page, resulting in a poor user experience and potentially impacting your website's ranking.
Link decay is the process of links becoming irrelevant or non-functional over time. This can happen for a variety of reasons such as:
When this happens, the link that once directed users to valuable content now leads to an error page.
Link decay can have a negative impact on your website's ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Search engines like Google consider broken links as an indication of poor quality and relevancy. Links are one of the primary factors used by search engines to determine the authority and value of web pages. When links go bad, it reduces your site's authority and value.
Detecting broken links can be done easily with tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, and Moz. These tools will crawl your website and flag any broken or missing links. Once you identify broken links, you can either remove them or replace them with new ones.
The best way to prevent link decay is by constantly monitoring your website's links and maintaining them. You can do this by:
By implementing these practices, you can ensure that your website maintains its link equity and authority.
Preventing link decay has several benefits, including:
Link decay is a real problem that can negatively affect your website's SEO and user experience. By regularly monitoring and maintaining your links, you can prevent link decay and ensure that your website continues to thrive.
