Does Broken Link Building Still Work in 2025?

SEO strategies that once ruled can quickly become outdated. But when it comes to broken link building, the question remains—does it still hold weight?

While some tactics have fallen out of favour, broken link-building continues to be a powerful tool for savvy marketers who know how to use it. 

In this article, we’ll discuss whether this strategy still belongs in your SEO toolkit and how to leverage it effectively. 

What is Broken Link Building?

Broken link building is a time-tested SEO strategy in which you identify broken (or dead) links on websites and contact the site owner with the suggestion to replace what’s broken with your own relevant content. 

The idea is simple with a broken link-building campaign: websites that link to outdated or non-existent pages are missing out on valuable traffic and link equity, and you can help them fix this by offering a replacement to another linked page.

Here’s how it works:

• Find Broken Links: Using tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs, you identify broken links on sites in your niche. These could be 404 errors or links that lead to pages that no longer exist that you find in the broken link report.
• Offer a Solution: Once you’ve found broken link-building opportunities, you contact the website owner or content manager, informing them of the issue and suggesting your relevant content as a way to replace the broken link.
• Earn a Link: If they agree, you gain a backlink to your website, improving your SEO efforts by increasing the number of high-quality, relevant backlinks.

Broken link building works by helping website owners fix broken links while simultaneously enhancing their own site’s authority and link profile. 

While it may sound simple, the strategy requires research, outreach, and patience to achieve results.

Does Broken Link Building Still Work?

Yes, but it’s more difficult. 

Findingn broken backlinks to a dead page is still a viable strategy, but its effectiveness has diminished somewhat. 

The reason? 

Most broken links on resource pages and elsewhere have already been identified and redirected by website owners or content managers. As websites continue to improve their internal link structures and perform regular maintenance, the opportunities for finding fresh broken links are fewer and farther between.

That said, finding broken page links can still work if you’re strategic about it.

The key is identifying sites that have yet to address their broken links or focusing on high-authority pages where a broken link may have slipped through the cracks. 

While the process might be more challenging than it once was, with the right tools and persistence, it can still yield valuable backlinks.

Is Looking for Broken Links Worth It?

Whether or not it’s worth using this to get high-quality links depends on your resources and your broken link-building strategy.

Searching for broken links can be time-consuming, especially if you’re targeting high-traffic websites or niche industries. 

However, if you have the time and tools to perform effective link audits, it can be worthwhile. The process involves finding dead links, crafting outreach messages, and then waiting for responses—so it’s not a quick-win tactic.

If you’re in a competitive industry, broken link-building might be less fruitful than other methods, such as content marketing or guest blogging. If you’re targeting smaller websites or niche industries that have yet to fully optimise their internal linking, this strategy can still be a goldmine. 

The best way to determine whether it’s worth your time is to assess the competition and check the number of broken links on high-authority sites in your niche.

Benefits of Broken Link Building

While it may require more effort, broken link building offers several benefits for SEO:

• Even though fewer broken links exist, the ones that remain are often valuable. These are links from high-authority websites in your niche that can improve your site’s credibility and search rankings.
• By helping website owners fix their broken links, you contribute to a better user experience for their visitors, potentially leading to more link opportunities down the road.
• If your competitors aren’t focusing on broken link building, this can be a relatively quick way to gain an edge by securing backlinks they’ve overlooked. It’s also a way to quickly get high-quality links without relying solely on content creation.
• Broken link building allows you to focus on links that are relevant to your content. Unlike general link building, this method targets high-quality, niche-specific sites that align well with your offerings.

Alternatives to Broken Link Building

While broken link building is still a viable SEO strategy, other methods may be more efficient or effective in today’s competitive SEO landscape. 

Here are a few alternatives to consider:

Digital PR

Digital PR is a modern approach to link-building that combines public relations strategies with digital marketing techniques. 

Unlike traditional PR, which focuses on media outlets and print publications, digital PR is all about securing online mentions, backlinks, and media coverage through digital channels. The goal is to build relationships with influencers, journalists, bloggers, and industry leaders to generate coverage on high-authority websites, blogs, and news outlets.

With digital PR, you can craft compelling stories about your brand, products, or services and pitch them to online publications. This can help you get valuable backlinks and boost your SEO rankings. 

Not only does this strategy improve your link profile, but it also enhances brand visibility and credibility.

For businesses looking to use the power of digital PR, you can learn more about how this approach works from Prosperity Media’s Digital PR services. 

Niche Edits

Niche edits are another alternative to broken link building and can provide valuable backlinks quickly. 

This method involves finding existing, authoritative content relevant to your industry or niche and securing a link placement within that content. 

Rather than creating new content to earn backlinks, niche edits focus on inserting your link into already published articles, blog posts, resource pages, or other pages that still have active traffic.

This can be an efficient way to get high-quality links without the need to produce new content or do outreach for broken links. 

However, it’s important to ensure the content you are adding your link to is still relevant and maintains a strong backlink profile.

While niche edits can be effective, they need to be done carefully to avoid the risk of appearing manipulative or unnatural to search engines. It’s always a good idea to work with reputable providers who focus on ethical, high-quality placements.

Guest Posts

Guest posting is a well-established method for gaining backlinks by writing content for other websites or blogs in your industry. 

When you contribute guest posts, you can place your link naturally within the content, often within author bios or body content. To make guest posting effective:

• Target websites with high domain authority with relevance to your niche. 
• Write unique, valuable content that aligns with the host website’s audience.
• Focus on building relationships with the blog or website owner, as repeat opportunities can help solidify your SEO strategy.

Guest posting is one of the best ways to build backlinks, improve your authority, and create connections with industry influencers.

Work with an Experienced Link Building Agency

Link building is usually a time-consuming and complex process that requires expertise, strategy, and persistence. 

While DIY methods like broken link building or guest posting can yield results, working with a dedicated and experienced link-building agency can elevate your SEO efforts. 

When you work with our link building services, you’ll benefit from:

• Access to a wide network of reputable sites and influencers.
• Securing backlinks from authoritative, niche-relevant websites.
• Continuous monitoring and tweaking to ensure sustained success.

Let the experts handle the work while you focus on growing your business.

If you’re serious about improving your website’s SEO and building a strong, sustainable link profile, it’s time to partner with professionals who can get you real, measurable results.