Is fixing broken links worth the effort?

[denverdonate]

I have a website where the entire URL structure changed over hundreds of pages so every incoming backlink is now broken. Is it worth taking the time to find backlinks pointing to my site and 301 redirecting them to new pages? I don't mean from a user standpoint just search results. Will each of those backlinks still bring link-juice to new pages if I take the time to 301 or does Google forget those old backlinks and I have to start new? All of my pages lost ranking because of all of my website structure changing....which sucks.

 

[Omgirl]

Fixing broken links

Yes fixing broken backlinks are worth the effort because google penalizes broken links, since they detract from an optimum user experience.

 

[Rob Whisonant]

I would fix them. Especially if you are getting any traffic from them. When doing a site redesign always have a plan to fix the backlinks to the site being changed.

 

[Aby]

I would suggest you fix the backlinks because it is worth the efforts. The 301 redirecting would bring link juice to your website.
And if you keep the broken links as they are, it would create trouble for Google spiders to locate your content and Google may penalize your domain for doing that.
So go ahead and fix the broken links.

 

[kikdirty]

I suggest you to test the various free tools in order to identify these broken links very easily, they are very important at seo level, it is usually very simple to deal with pages with this type of characters "_" this is like if the url is broken, just create a url with for example a character "-" instead "_". forums are the most vulnerable because users who register with a username _ just a simple fix and everything is solved

 

[willsonrobin]

Yes fixing broken backlinks are worth the effort. Keeping broken links will not help you in any way..So it's good from google and users POV that you fix brokenlinks on your website.

 

[Brill Mindz]

There may be faster ways to build links, and there may be better ways. One thing you dont want to do – ever – is veer away from white hat techniques. No buying, trading, or selling links. Dont bother with poor-quality online directories, and definitely dont post on another’s website with anything less than a high standard of quality. Remember, the goal for search engines is always about increasing value for web searchers.

 

[susanburling]

You should fix the broken links since it has many disadvantages:
1) The trustworthiness of a website goes down
2) negatively impact on user experience
3) negatively hit the ranking of the website on the search engines
4) A search engine won't favor a website that has broken links

 

[niamul21]

I have a website where the entire URL structure changed over hundreds of pages so every incoming backlink is now broken. Is it worth taking the time to find backlinks pointing to my site and 301 redirecting them to new pages? I don't mean from a user standpoint just search results. Will each of those backlinks still bring link-juice to new pages if I take the time to 301 or does Google forget those old backlinks and I have to start new? All of my pages lost ranking because of all of my website structure changing....which sucks.

Yes, fixing broken links affects your SEO. As a marketer, you should look for this.