Links are what hold the internet together. They allow users to find information, but also help search engines understand your site. Most importantly, though, they quietly influence how trustworthy your website looks.
Over time, however, some links go bad. Some stop working altogether, while others come from low-quality or spammy sites that can hurt your SEO. These are commonly known as broken links and toxic links, respectively.
In this blog, we’ll explore the difference between the two, their significance, and how to identify and fix them. No need for expensive tools or technical knowledge, either, as the methods are very straightforward.
What are broken links and toxic links?
The first thing we must do is draw the line between these two types of links. It’s important to make this distinction now because “broken” and “toxic” are sometimes used interchangeably.
While both terms describe a type of link, the contexts in which they are used are vastly different. A broken link leads nowhere, while a toxic link is still live but not something you want linking back to you. The distinction goes deeper than that, though.
What are broken links?
Broken links are links that lead to a 404 (Not Found) error. They don’t point to a different page; they're dead ends. There are typically two types of broken links:
Broken links (to internal or external pages).
Broken backlinks.
Every website has at least some of those, since the internet is dynamic. Pages move or get deleted, so it’s perfectly normal to have some broken links. However, since you control your website, you can easily fix those.
That’s where the defining difference between broken and toxic links is: broken links are placed on a website you control, regardless of where they point.
What are toxic links?
On the other hand, toxic links are low-quality backlinks pointing to your website from different sites. This is a massive distinction because with toxic links, you have no direct access to their source.
Legitimate backlinks are a great way to build site authority. However, if you notice backlinks from sources like these, be careful:
Sites known to be spammy.
Sites that are irrelevant to your content or language.
Auto-generated pages.
Known link farms.
Private blog networks.
Having a few of these will not be the end of your website. Getting backlinks from another country or language is sometimes expected from international brands, for example.
What Google doesn’t like, however, is when “suspicious” links begin appearing at scale. That’s what can trigger a Manual Action. which can lead to suppressed rankings or even delisting from search results until the issue is resolved. This doesn’t happen often, but you shouldn’t rely on Google not noticing.
Why you should find and fix bad links on your website
Search engines and users love a tidy website. Broken and toxic links are the poison to a neat link profile. Dealing with such links will stop them from gradually undermining your website’s reputation.
The table below perfectly illustrates what each type of bad link does for your website.
Issue Type | What Goes Wrong | Why It Matters | Who It Affects Most |
Broken links (internal and external) | Links on your site lead to missing pages or error messages. | Frustrates visitors expecting to see a page, and wastes crawl budget. | Users and crawlers. |
Broken backlinks | Other websites link to a page on your site that no longer exists. | Wastes link equity (could have gone to a live page) and sends weak SEO signals to search engines. | SEO & rankings. |
Toxic backlinks | Low-quality or spammy sites link to your website en masse. | Can reduce search engine trust and trigger a Manual Action, hurting your rankings. | Domain authority. |
The effects of letting such links linger aren’t immediate. It takes time for the downsides to appear. It’s best not to get to that point in the first place. Fortunately, dealing with such links isn’t difficult.
How to find and fix broken links on your website
The best part about dealing with broken links is that they live on your website. You have complete control over finding and fixing them. That’s infinitely helpful because you don’t have to rely on anyone else but yourself to fix this issue.
Find broken links with Google Analytics
Google Analytics (GA4) is one of the easiest and fastest ways to see how users interact with your website. That includes finding out which links are broken. Here’s what you need to do.
Log in to your Google Analytics account.
Click Explore in the left menu.
Click Path Exploration.
Click Start Over in the top right.
Click on Ending Point and select Page title and screen name.
Select the page title corresponding to your error page. If you don’t know it, go to a non-existent URL on your website.
When you do that, you’ll see a report of all the pages people have visited on your website before arriving on the error page. That typically indicates there’s a broken link on that page.
Find broken links with an extension
Another way to find broken links on your website is with a browser extension. There are countless checkers you can use; here are two available in most major browsers.
Both tools will analyze your page and scan all its links. You will see a report that clearly marks all broken links on that page, making them easy to identify.
You can use this method if you want to scan just one page or do it on the go without logging into GA4. It’s quick and easy, and will give you all the information you need to fix the broken links.
Fixing broken links
Once you know which links no longer work, fixing them is straightforward. You don’t need any tools or specific technical knowledge for this. All you have to do is update the broken link with the correct URL or a different one.
Alternatively, you can remove the link if it’s no longer necessary or add a redirect to the broken link if the page has moved. Whichever the case may be, it will improve usability immediately and will help search engines crawl your site more efficiently.
How to find and fix toxic links on your website
Unlike broken links, toxic links don’t live on your website, and dealing with them can be a bit trickier.
The process is all about identification and mitigation, rather than direct fixes, since you don’t have direct control over them. It’s best to deal with them before they become too many and Google considers them a pattern.
Finding toxic links with Google Search Console
Google will typically disregard individual low-quality backlinks. Those don’t trigger any alarms. However, if you want to keep an eye on who links back to your website, Google Search Console can help with that.
Log in to Google Search Console.
Click on the Links section.
Look at the “Top linking sites” and “Top linking pages” sections.
Check all the pages that backlink to your website and identify the ones which seem irrelevant, spammy, or are from low-quality sites.
Focus on patterns. Clusters of spammy links are a problem.
This is a reliable way not only to see your backlink profile but also to find which pages or websites you don’t want linking to you. If you use Google Search Console, you’ll need to check each link yourself and assess its quality.
Finding toxic links using a backlink checker
Alternatively, you can use a backlink checker like the one by Ahrefs. Tools like that are often an excellent complement to Google Search Console as they can offer additional insight into your site’s backlinks.
They can typically highlight things like these:
Low-quality domains.
Sites with excessive outbound links.
Obvious spam indicators.
Use a backlink checker in combination with Google Search Console to compile a list of all the pages and websites you don’t want linking back to you.
Dealing with toxic links
Once you’ve identified potentially harmful links, you are set to take action against them. You have two options here.
Request removal: Try reaching out to the website owner and asking them to remove the link. There’s nothing wrong with doing this, and many site owners will respond positively to your request.
Disavow links: For all other links, you can tell Google to ignore them when assessing your site. How do you disavow links? Very simple.
Compile a .txt file of all the URLs you want Google to ignore. Simply copy and paste the URLs one per line.
To block an entire website, instead use this format: domain: site-you-want-to-ignore.com
Upload the file to the Google Disavow tool after selecting your website.
We always recommend trying to get the link removed by the site owner if possible. The Google Disavow tool can be a powerful ally; however, it should be used sparingly and with precision. Only rely on it when you have no other option, and even then, add URLs that you are absolutely certain you don’t want linking to your site.
Bonus tip: Link cleanup can improve website performance
Now, you might be thinking to yourself, how is cleaning up my site’s link portfolio going to help make it faster.
And you are right, it won’t necessarily impact your site’s loading speed, but it can increase performance indirectly.
Fewer broken links means fewer wasted requests to your server.
Cleaner navigation improves crawl efficiency.
A better structure makes it easier to optimize pages as a whole.
You won’t see a huge boost of speed when optimizing your links, but your server will definitely thank you for the lower load, and crawlers will learn about your site more easily.
Final thoughts
People often confuse broken links and toxic links, and we can understand why. They are both links you don’t want on your website. However, they affect it differently, and each needs a different solution.
Fixing broken links should be an item on your website maintenance checklist. In the meantime, monitor your backlinks and rankings for any suspicious activity, as toxic backlinks can have slow but noticeable effects.
The good news is you don’t need to obsess over these links. Keep an eye on them and clean up wherever necessary. It’s a good way to keep your website fast, trustworthy, and search engine-friendly.
FAQ
Are broken links bad for SEO?
Broken links don’t usually cause immediate ranking drops, but they can hurt SEO over time. They create a poor user experience, waste crawl budget, and make a website feel poorly maintained, which can indirectly affect search visibility.
Can broken links and toxic links be fixed the same way?
No. Broken links exist on your website and can be fixed directly by updating, removing, or redirecting them. Toxic links come from external websites and require mitigation, such as requesting removal or disavowing them through Google.
How often should I check my website for broken links?
For most websites, checking for broken links every few months is enough. If you frequently publish new content or update pages, it’s a good idea to review links more often as part of regular site maintenance.
Will toxic backlinks always result in a Google penalty?
Not necessarily. Google typically ignores individual low-quality backlinks. Problems usually arise when large numbers of spammy or manipulative links appear at scale and form a clear pattern.
Should I disavow backlinks as soon as I find them?
No. Disavowing links should be a last resort. Whenever possible, try requesting link removal first, and only disavow links you’re confident are harmful and cannot be removed otherwise.