Broken link building: turning dead links into backlinks

Broken link building means hunting for dead links on relevant websites and asking the editor to link to your content instead. The TL;DR: you find a dead link (a 404), you have or create content covering the same ground, and you send a short email. It works, but be honest with yourself: it is labour-intensive and the hit rate is low. For a B2B company it is a niche tactic, not a growth engine. Below you will read when it is genuinely worth it and how to approach it without wasting time.

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What exactly is broken link building?

Links break. Pages get deleted, sites restructure their URL structure, someone mistypes an address, or an entire domain disappears. Every broken link is a poor experience for the visitor and lost link value for the site pointing at it. That is where your opportunity sits.

With broken link building you track down such a dead link, check what the original page was about, and offer your own article as the replacement. You help the owner solve a problem and you earn a backlink for it. It is one of the fairer link building tactics, because you are not asking for something for nothing: you deliver real value back.

It is part of off-page SEO and fits into a broader approach to building backlinks. If you want to understand how this fits into your full SEO strategy, broken link building is an addition, never the whole plan.

How do you find broken links you can claim?

There are two sides to the story: broken links on your own site and broken links elsewhere that you can take over.

Start with yourself. Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, Screaming Frog or Ubersuggest scan your site for 404 errors, both inbound links to deleted pages and outbound links to dead URLs. Backlinko lays out the steps to find and fix broken links clearly. That is not broken link building in the strict sense, but it is hygiene you want in order anyway.

The real work starts with other people’s links. The most reliable methods:

• Analyse competitors. Drop a competitor’s URL into a tool like the Ahrefs Broken Link Checker and filter on “404 not found”. You will see which dead pages still attract backlinks. If you have relevant content (or can create it quickly), you offer it.
• Comb through resource pages. Blog posts, link round-ups and directories full of tools, guides or statistics often contain plenty of outbound links. The older the page, the higher the odds that one of them is broken.
• Track down expired domains. When a domain expires, the links pointing to it do not disappear, they break. With a tool like ExpiredDomains.net you search on keywords and filter on a strong link profile. Sites still pointing at that dead domain are your target list.
• Wikipedia citations. Wikipedia suffers from “link rot”: source references that are dead (flagged as “dead link”). Search via site:wikipedia.org [your topic] "dead link". Note: Wikipedia links are nofollow and pass no direct authority. The value lies in visibility and the chance that others pick up your source. cognitiveSEO describes Wikipedia link rot as a source for broken link building, but stresses that it only works if you genuinely deliver quality replacement content that meets the standards, not if you spam.

Not every broken link is worth your time. A dead link on a weak or spammy domain you simply leave alone.

How do you check whether a link is worth it?

This is where honest advice parts ways with link building folklore. Before you write a single email, assess the referring page. Is this an authoritative, relevant domain that still attracts traffic and offers value in your niche? Does your content fit there logically? If not, move on to the next one.

Use a tool to check the page’s authority and link profile. And try to understand why the original content earned the link. Did it have a strong statistic, a unique guide, original data? Once you know what earned the link, you can create something that fills the same need or beats it. That makes your replacement logical and gives the editor a real reason to change the link.

Our rule of thumb: quality over volume. Five links from strong, relevant B2B sites do more for your revenue than fifty links from random blogs. It is the same principle we apply to outsourcing link building: measure on relevant referral traffic and customers, not on a counter going up.

What do you do if you do not have suitable content yet?

Sometimes the opportunity exists but your content does not, yet. In that case, first look at the dead page via the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org). What was it about and what made it valuable? Did it rely on original data, on a complete guide, on clear explanation?

Next, create something that improves on the original: more current, deeper, or simply more readable. Do not copy, surpass. One variation that often works better for B2B is guest content: instead of having the link point to your own blog, you write an article on a respected third-party site covering the same topic. That feels less promotional to the editor and is therefore more credible. Read about the overlap with digital PR and link building if you want to go in that direction.

Be realistic about the time. Creating replacement content is work. Reserve that effort for the opportunities with the highest authority and the most referring links to the dead page.

How do you write an outreach email that actually works?

Outreach is where most broken link building attempts fall apart. Your research can be perfect, but if your email reads like spam, you are done.

A few principles that make the difference:

• Find the right person. Not a general info address, but the editor, webmaster or content manager. LinkedIn and the “About us” page help.
• Short and concrete. No wrapped-up sales pitch. Mention that you read the article, noticed a broken link, and think your content would be a good replacement.
• Tone, not pitch. Be helpful and clear about what you are offering. Name the value of the original and explain why your piece fits at least as well.
• One polite follow-up. No response? Wait a few days and send a short reminder. After that, let it go.

The goal is not one backlink, but a relationship that can pay off again later. Keep it human. Even a well-argued email often gets no reply, and that comes with the tactic.

Frequently asked questions about broken link building

Does broken link building still work in 2026?

Yes, but as a niche tactic. The mechanism (replacing a dead link with working content) remains logical for search engines and editors. Just do not expect volume: it is manual work with a low hit rate.

How many backlinks does broken link building deliver?

Honestly: few per hour you put in. Many emails go unanswered. That is why you aim for a handful of strong, relevant domains instead of mass. For B2B, that is exactly what counts anyway.

Which tools do I need?

A backlink tool to find 404s at competitors (Ahrefs, Semrush or Ubersuggest), Screaming Frog for your own site, the Wayback Machine to view dead pages, and possibly ExpiredDomains.net for expired domains.

Is this better than other link building tactics?

Not better or worse, different. It is cheaper in budget but expensive in time. Combine it with a broader approach; for that, take a look at our SEO strategy and when you are better off outsourcing.

Is broken link building right for your B2B company?

Broken link building is a fair, white-hat tactic, but it is no silver bullet. For a B2B company with a small team, the question is not “can we collect backlinks?” but “do those links deliver relevant traffic and customers?”. Often your time is better spent on content that demonstrably converts and on a few targeted links, than on an outreach machine running on volume.

We steer on revenue, not on vanity numbers. We will tell you honestly when a tactic is too much work for too little result in your situation. Want to know which link building approach delivers most in your market? Book your free intake