Broken Links: Why Crucial in SEO?

Diminished ranking not due to HCU and series of Google updates but broken links. Lesson learned.

I chimed in with the others in Reddit… Yes, HCU has caused my blog’s rank to decline.

Or is it?

DEFINITELY NOT!

That’s what I realized when I saw the results of the Broken Link plugin of WordPress. My blog has 167 broken links!

A Costly Blunder

All through the months that transpired since September of 2023, I have been thinking that the Helpful Content Update or HCU had impacted heavily on my blog. I was convinced it’s the reason my blog lost more than 90 percent of the page views it used to have.

But after going through the broken links after reinstalling the broken link plugin a few weeks back, I saw the web traffic killer that plagued my blog for four months.

That’s because in my attempt to make my blog load faster, I inadvertently removed the Broken Link Checker plugin which is a crucial part of my blog’s tools last September 2023. That’s the time my web traffic started to decline.

What Broken Link Checker Does

What does the Broken Link Checker do that makes it a significant part of my blog’s arsenal of plugins to help it comply with best SEO practices?

The plugin does the following things:

• scans the site and checks both internal and external links if they’re working as intended. Posts, pages, comments, and even custom fields are scanned to ensure that no broken link escapes the attention of the web developer.
• detects missing images.
• detects redirects.
• sends reports for corrective action.

The HCU may have impacted my blog just like everyone else but I am convinced that one of the major reasons for the decline in web traffic is my inability to audit my site for broken links. Broken links can negatively impact my SEO ranking.

If Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

My blog suffered. Just because of my blunder in removing something which is of value from my blog. My attempt to enhance the performance of my blog by removing the “bloat” had, unfortunately, the reverse effect.

It’s a pity I did not act on this problem right away last year. Or I have not been so keen about the decline, thinking it’s only part of the usual ups and downs in web traffic.

My saving grace is that I always take things in stride. I finally figured out what I need to do. And I did it.

In about half a day today, I finally removed all the broken links, 167 of them with diligence and urgency. It must be done.

Despite the tedious process of removing all those problematic links, believing that my blog will recover in 2024, I have a new resolve to make things better. By being more keen and being careful in my decisions in doing things.

A lesson learned: Don’t fix it when it ain’t broke.

It’s a relief. I can focus on producing new content again.

Have you had a similar experience?