Broken link building is an SEO technique that involves finding broken links on other websites then convincing the site owners to link to your content instead. To work, the content that you pitch needs to be of high quality and on the same topic as the originally linked page.
This earned link building tactic helps get previously lost visits and link equity from broken references while providing a useful, relevant replacement for the site owner.
A properly executed broken link building strategy can earn quality backlinks and traffic while improving the overall user experience by fixing dead ends on websites.
The result is a win for both site owners and SEO practitioners.
Some of the key marketing leaders who helped popularize broken link building specifically include:
- Brian Dean – Founder of the popular Backlinko blog for SEO and link building tips. Brian has written extensively about broken link building and how to properly implement it.
- Cyrus Shepard – A widely followed SEO consultant who has published in-depth guides to broken link building outreach and tracking down link opportunities. Helped demonstrate broken link building at scale.
- Matthew Woodward – Well-known internet marketer with many tutorials on link building. He has specifically covered building a small scale broken link building process.
- Eric Ward – An early white hat link building proponent. Eric's link building training included targeted outreach, which applies directly to broken link building.
- Glen Allsopp – Creator of detailed.com. Glen created extensive tutorials on link reclamation using broken link building tailored to WordPress sites.
- Danny Sullivan – As Founding Editor of Search Engine Land, Danny has covered Google updates affecting broken link building viability over the years.
Through educational guides, case studies, and white hat link building advocacy, these experts drove more widespread adoption of broken link building as an accepted SEO tactic. Their recommendations and best practices helped many see value in fixing broken links.