Locate and fix broken links, 404 errors, and redirect chains that hurt user experience and SEO performance.
Broken links, 404 errors, and redirect chains damage both user experience and SEO performance. NitroShock's Site Audit automatically scans your WordPress site to locate these issues, providing actionable data to fix them before they impact your rankings or frustrate visitors.
When search engines crawl your site and encounter broken links or excessive redirects, they waste crawl budget on dead ends instead of indexing valuable content. Users who click broken links quickly lose trust in your site. This documentation covers how to use NitroShock's Site Audit to identify these issues and implement effective fixes.
NitroShock's Site Audit checks every internal and external link on your pages, identifying broken connections that lead nowhere. The audit categorizes link issues by severity, helping you prioritize which problems to address first.
To run a comprehensive link audit:
/project/{id}/The audit results display broken links in the SEO category, typically marked as Critical or Warning priority depending on the link type and location. Each broken link entry shows:
Internal broken links (links between your own pages) appear differently from external broken links (links to other domains). Internal breaks are usually more urgent since they're completely within your control and often indicate deleted pages or incorrect URL updates after site migrations.
Link types NitroShock checks:
The audit displays the total count of broken links at the top of the results page, along with a percentage indicating what portion of your total links are broken. Industry standards suggest keeping broken links below 1% of total links.
Tip: Run site audits after major content updates, theme changes, or migrations to catch broken links before users or search engines discover them.
Historical audit tracking lets you compare current broken link counts against previous audits. This helps measure whether your fixes are working and whether new issues are emerging.
From the Site Audit tab, access previous audit results using the date selector. The comparison view highlights:
Set up recurring audits on a weekly or monthly schedule to catch broken links early. While each audit uses credits, catching issues quickly prevents compounding SEO damage that costs far more to repair.
404 errors occur when users or search engines request pages that don't exist on your server. Unlike broken links (which point to missing content), 404 errors represent requests coming into your site for URLs that may have existed previously or were linked incorrectly from external sources.
NitroShock's Site Audit identifies pages returning 404 status codes during crawls. These appear in the audit results under the SEO category with Critical priority, since they directly impact user experience and search engine perception.
Common causes of 404 errors:
The audit results show which of your site's internal links point to 404 pages, but you'll also want to check server logs or Google Search Console to identify 404 requests coming from external sources. These external requests indicate:
Review your 404 errors for patterns that reveal systemic issues. If multiple 404s share similar URL structures, you may have a template problem or a batch of content removed without proper redirects.
For example, if you see multiple 404s like:
/blog/2022/article-name//blog/2022/another-post//blog/2022/third-post/This pattern suggests a structural change to your blog URL format that wasn't properly redirected. A single redirect rule can often fix dozens of similar 404 errors.
Not every 404 requires fixing. Some 404s are expected and appropriate:
Focus your fixes on legitimate 404s where actual users or quality external links are hitting dead pages. Check the referring URLs in your audit results to determine which 404s deserve attention.
For WordPress sites, NitroShock helps identify 404s on actual WordPress pages versus requests for non-existent system files or probing attempts.
Redirect chains occur when a URL redirects to another URL, which redirects to yet another URL before finally reaching the destination. Each redirect adds loading time and wastes search engine crawl budget.
NitroShock's Site Audit flags redirect chains in the Performance category, typically as Warning priority issues. The audit traces the full redirect path, showing each hop in the chain.
Example redirect chain:
example.com/old-page
→ example.com/newer-page (301 redirect)
→ example.com/current-page (301 redirect)
→ example.com/final-page (destination)This three-hop chain should collapse into a single redirect from /old-page directly to /final-page.
Each redirect requires a separate HTTP request and response. Beyond the performance impact, redirect chains create several problems:
Search engines generally recommend keeping redirects to a single hop. Google has stated they'll follow redirect chains but prefer direct redirects.
Migration chains: Multiple site migrations without cleaning up old redirects create layers:
old-domain.com/page
→ temporary-domain.com/page
→ new-domain.com/pageProtocol and www chains: Inconsistent protocol and subdomain handling:
http://example.com
→ https://example.com
→ https://www.example.comPermalink chains: WordPress permalink structure changes without redirect cleanup:
example.com/?p=123
→ example.com/2020/01/post-name
→ example.com/blog/post-nameNitroShock identifies these patterns in audit results, listing each URL in the chain with response codes and redirect types (301, 302, 307, 308).
The Site Audit differentiates between redirect types:
Chains mixing temporary and permanent redirects create confusion for search engines. The audit flags these mixed chains as higher priority issues since they send inconsistent signals about your content's location.
Once you've identified broken links, 404 errors, and redirect chains, implement fixes systematically starting with the highest-impact issues.
Internal broken links are the easiest to fix since you control both the source and destination:
For WordPress sites, broken links often appear in:
After fixing links, run another Site Audit to confirm the issues are resolved. The next audit will show these problems cleared from the SEO category.
For 404 errors on previously existing pages, implement 301 redirects to guide users and search engines to current content:
WordPress redirect options:
.htaccess (Apache) or server config (Nginx)When creating redirects, match intent:
For 404s that never should have existed (typos, probes), no redirect is needed. Let them return 404 naturally.
Warning: Avoid redirecting everything to your homepage. This "soft 404" approach frustrates users and confuses search engines. Only redirect when there's a logical destination.
To fix redirect chains, update the initial redirect to point directly to the final destination:
For WordPress sites, the Redirection plugin shows your current redirect rules. Sort by "redirects" column to find chains where URLs redirect to other redirected URLs.
After updating redirects, run a new Site Audit to verify the chains are collapsed. The audit will show single-hop redirects instead of multi-hop chains.
When you identify patterns in your broken links or 404s, implement bulk solutions:
URL structure changes: Use regex redirects to match patterns:
/blog/2022/(.*) → /blog/$1Protocol or domain changes: Implement site-wide redirect rules at the server level rather than individual redirects.
Category or tag restructuring: WordPress plugins can help bulk-update internal links after taxonomy changes.
Document your redirect rules as you create them. Note why each redirect exists and when it was implemented. This documentation helps during future site updates or troubleshooting.
After implementing fixes, monitor results over multiple audit cycles:
Track the trend in your Site Audit historical results. Total broken links and 404 errors should decrease steadily. If new issues appear at the same rate you fix them, investigate why links continue breaking (plugin conflicts, theme issues, editor training needs).
Set up automated reports from the Reports tab to receive regular site health summaries. Configure these reports to include Site Audit results, ensuring broken links and redirects get regular attention before they accumulate.
How often should I check for broken links?
Run a full site audit monthly for typical sites, weekly for sites with frequent content updates or large teams. After major changes like theme updates, migrations, or bulk content deletions, run an immediate audit to catch issues before they impact users. Each audit uses credits based on the number of pages crawled, so balance thoroughness with budget.
Should I fix broken external links?
Fix or remove broken external links to maintain content quality and user trust. Unlike internal links, you can't control external destinations. If a valuable resource disappeared, try finding an equivalent current source. If no good replacement exists, remove the link or add context noting the resource is no longer available. Broken external links don't directly hurt SEO the way internal breaks do, but they damage user experience.
What's the difference between 301 and 302 redirects?
301 redirects are permanent, telling search engines to transfer all link equity to the new URL and update their index. 302 redirects are temporary, indicating the original URL will return. Search engines keep monitoring the original location with 302s. Always use 301 for permanently moved or deleted content. Only use 302 for genuine temporary relocations like A/B tests or seasonal campaigns.
Can redirect chains hurt my rankings?
Redirect chains primarily waste crawl budget and slow page loading, which indirectly affects rankings. While Google claims to follow redirect chains, each hop consumes resources better spent crawling actual content. Long chains on important pages reduce how often those pages get crawled and reindexed. Fix chains on your highest-priority pages first to ensure search engines efficiently access your most valuable content.
How do I find 404 errors from external sources?
NitroShock's Site Audit identifies 404s encountered during crawls, showing internal links pointing to broken pages. To find 404s from external sources, check Google Search Console under Coverage → Excluded → Not Found (404). Server logs also record all 404 requests with referring URLs. Combine data from Site Audit (internal issues) and Search Console (external requests) for complete 404 visibility.
After addressing broken links and redirects, expand your site health monitoring:
Regular site audits combined with prompt fixes maintain technical health that supports your broader SEO strategy.