To find broken links across a website, crawl it with a link checker, review failed destinations alongside the pages and link text that point to them, confirm suspicious failures, fix the links at their source, and crawl again. A crawler is the main tool for a deliberate sitewide check; Google Search Console can help investigate Google’s view of specific URLs, but its Links report is not a complete link inventory.
Choose the right kind of check
Start by deciding what you need to verify. A spot check of one page, a sitewide crawl, and an investigation into a URL Google has flagged are different jobs.
| Method | Best for | What it cannot establish |
|---|---|---|
| Website crawler such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Finding internal and outbound link failures and tracing them to source pages. | It can report only URLs it discovers and can access; coverage depends on crawl settings and site accessibility. |
| Search Console URL Inspection | Checking Google’s indexed information about a URL on a verified property or running a live URL test. | It diagnoses a URL, not every link across a site. Indexed results and live-test results answer different questions. |
| Search Console Page indexing report | Reviewing indexing problems Google has reported and validating an applicable fix. | It reflects Google’s crawling and indexing observations; it does not inventory all broken outgoing links. |
| Search Console Links report | Reviewing examples of links Google associates with a property. | Google says the report is a sample, not a comprehensive list. Entries can also describe links that have since changed. |
For a sitewide audit, use a crawler that gives you the failed destination and the page linking to it. Choose based on site size, whether you need internal links, outbound links, or both, whether JavaScript rendering matters, and whether you need source-page and anchor-text details or exportable results.
Crawl the site and locate failed links
Run a crawl in Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Open SEO Spider, enter your website’s URL, and start the crawl.
- When it finishes, review the response-code results for failed destinations. Use the crawler’s broken-link workflow to identify the pages that link to each failure; Screaming Frog’s tutorial on finding broken links explains how to locate the response codes and referring pages.
- For each issue, record the source page, destination URL, link text, and reported status. This makes it possible to distinguish a bad destination from a temporary or access-specific response.
- Export or otherwise keep the findings you need for repairs, then revisit each failure before changing a live link.
Screaming Frog’s product page states that its free SEO Spider can crawl 500 URLs; the paid license removes that limit and unlocks advanced features. Check the current product details before choosing a plan, because limits and features can change.
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Understand what the crawl covered
A crawl is not proof that every link on the site was checked. It can miss pages that are unlinked, blocked, behind authentication, or otherwise inaccessible to the crawler. Google Search Central says: “Generally, Google can only crawl your link if it’s an <a> HTML element with an <code>href</code> attribute.” Script-driven links or content that appears only after rendering may require a rendered-page inspection or crawler configuration that can access it.
Confirm errors before repairing them
A failed request is a signal to investigate, not automatic proof that a destination has permanently disappeared. Prioritize confirmed not-found responses such as 404s and server errors, but check the destination in a browser or use URL Inspection when Google’s fetch or indexing status is relevant. A server can be temporarily unavailable, require authentication, block a particular checker, or respond differently to a crawler than to a visitor.
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- Likely missing page: Confirm the URL and whether the intended content has moved or been removed.
- Possible temporary failure: Retry later and check the page in a browser before making a permanent change.
- Possible access or bot restriction: Compare the crawler’s result with a normal browser visit; do not assume the URL is dead based only on the crawler response.
- Google-specific question: In Search Console, distinguish the indexed information from the live URL test; they are not interchangeable.
Fix the source link, then verify it
Use the source-page and destination details to make the smallest accurate repair:
- Mistyped or outdated URL: Correct the link on the page that contains it.
- Destination has moved: Link directly to the replacement when it is genuinely equivalent. A redirect from the old address is appropriate only when it leads to that equivalent destination.
- Content is gone with no suitable replacement: Remove the link or replace it with a relevant resource. Do not redirect visitors to an unrelated page.
After editing, crawl again and confirm that the source page now points to a valid destination. For a related Search Console indexing issue, inspect the URL again and use the report’s validation workflow when applicable. A successful link request does not by itself mean Google will index the page.
Or skip the browser setup
If you also need clean screenshots of pages while documenting an audit, ScreenshotNeo provides a website screenshot API and MCP server. One GET request can return a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF; it does not replace a crawler or identify broken links.
Example cURL request (replace the target URL as needed; see the ScreenshotNeo API documentation):
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpScreenshotNeo accepts cookie and consent banners like a visitor and removes 60+ known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each step can be turned off. Bot checks/CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and responses report the page verdict and billing status in headers. Its MCP server includes tools for AI agents to take screenshots. The free plan includes 1,000 shots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.
Sign up free for ScreenshotNeo to get 1,000 screenshots a month with no card.
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The crawler found no errors, but a page still has a broken link
Check whether the page was discovered and accessible during the crawl. Unlinked areas, blocked paths, authentication, and links inserted by scripts can limit coverage. Inspect the rendered page or adjust crawl access and rendering settings, then run the crawl again.
A crawler reports a failure but the link works for you
Retry the request and inspect the destination in a browser. The server may have been temporarily unavailable or may treat crawlers differently, or the page may require access the crawler did not have. Confirm the failure before removing or redirecting a production link.
Search Console does not show the broken link
Search Console reports Google’s URL and link observations, not a complete inventory of every outgoing link. Use a site crawler for deliberate sitewide discovery and URL Inspection for Google’s view of a particular URL on a verified property.
The repaired URL works, but Google has not indexed it
Link health and indexing are separate outcomes. A successful request confirms that the destination can respond; it does not guarantee indexing. Review the relevant Search Console indexing information and use validation where available.
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