Grouped link destinations
Review each discovered destination once, with its total usage and source-page count, instead of treating every repeated link as a separate mystery.
- Destination-level inventory
- Total usage count
- Distinct source-page count
Broken Link Checker for Internal and External Links
Crawl your website, group repeated link destinations, filter broken internal and external links, and trace every failed target back to the source pages that contain it.
TL;DR
Too Long; Didn't Read
Show summary Hide summary
TL;DR
Too Long; Didn't Read
What Is a Broken Link Checker?
Screpy Broken Link Checker is a crawl-based link audit for finding failed internal and external destinations, grouping repeated uses, and tracing each target back to the crawled source pages that contain it. Use the evidence to repair the source relationship, then verify the result in a comparable crawl.
Build the link inventory
- Screpy Destination groups keeps repeated uses of the same target together instead of producing an unstructured list of observations.
- Screpy Usage count shows how often each destination appears across the crawled website.
- Screpy Source-page count shows how broadly a destination is distributed before you open the individual sources.
- Screpy Internal and external filters separate links you control from third-party references.
Trace the root cause
- Screpy Broken filter isolates destinations that failed during the crawl.
- Screpy Source Pages lists every crawled page that references the selected destination.
- Screpy Link search accepts destinations, source pages, anchor text, and rel values for focused investigation.
- Screpy Issue counts expose broken, nofollow, and empty-anchor observations beside each destination and source.
Repair and verify
- Restore, correct, replace, remove, or redirect a failed destination according to the page and visitor intent.
- Update controllable internal links to the successful intended final URL instead of relying on avoidable hops.
- Export the filtered evidence when remediation needs an owner, spreadsheet, or client review.
- Recrawl comparable scope and confirm both the destination and its source-page relationships changed as expected.
See the destination, its reach, and the pages that need repair.
A useful broken-link report connects the failed target with every crawled source that references it. Screpy keeps destination groups, usage, source pages, and link issues together for investigation.
Internal and external filters
Separate links your team controls from third-party references so the repair path matches the owner of the destination.
- Internal link inventory
- External link inventory
- Broken destination filter
Source-page evidence
Open the pages that contain a failed destination and see whether the issue is isolated or repeated by navigation, a footer, a card, or another shared template.
- Every crawled source page
- Usage per source page
- Template-level diagnosis
Search across link context
Search by destination, source page, anchor text, or rel value when a large link inventory needs a focused investigation.
- Destination and source search
- Anchor-text search
- Rel-attribute search
Link issue counts
See broken, nofollow, and empty-anchor observations beside grouped destinations and their source pages.
- Broken usage count
- Nofollow usage count
- Empty-anchor usage count
Identify controllable internal links that should point directly to the intended final URL instead of relying on avoidable redirects.
- Preferred final destination
- Fewer unnecessary hops
- Cleaner crawl paths
Filtered exports
Move the selected destination, usage, and source-page evidence into a spreadsheet for assignment, review, or client reporting.
- CSV and spreadsheet workflow
- Current filter context
- Shareable remediation list
Comparable recrawls
Run a new crawl with comparable scope after publishing fixes, then confirm the broken destination and its source relationships changed as expected.
- Repeat the crawl scope
- Recheck destination groups
- Verify source-page cleanup
See one destination with all of its website usage.
Screpy groups repeated uses of the same target so a broken destination can be reviewed with its total usage and distinct source-page count instead of as hundreds of disconnected rows.
- Group links by destination URL
- Compare total uses with distinct source pages
- Filter broken, internal, and external destinations
Trace the failed target back to every crawled source.
Open Source Pages for a destination, review usage and issue counts, and find whether the repair belongs to one article, a family of pages, or a shared navigation component.
- List every crawled page that contains the target
- See usage per source page
- Recognize repeated template-level failures
Separate ownership before choosing the repair.
Internal destinations, third-party references, nofollow relationships, and empty anchors require different decisions. Search and filters keep those cases separate during investigation.
- Search destination, source, anchor, or rel values
- Review broken, nofollow, and empty-anchor counts
- Match the repair to internal or external ownership
Prove the source relationship was actually fixed.
Publish the correction, repeat a comparable crawl, and confirm the original source pages now point to a successful intended destination. A working replacement page alone does not verify the old link was removed.
- Repeat comparable crawl scope and settings
- Recheck the destination group and source pages
- Confirm controllable links point directly to the intended URL
Turn a failed destination into a verified repair.
Do not stop at a 404 count. Confirm crawl coverage, separate ownership, find the source relationship, repair the root cause, and prove the change in a comparable crawl.
- 01
Crawl the website with representative coverage
Use a starting URL, depth, page capacity, and rendering mode that can reach the templates and content areas you intend to evaluate. A partial crawl can only produce a partial link inventory.
- 02
Filter broken destinations by ownership
Start with the Broken view, then separate internal destinations from external references. Internal URLs are normally under your control; external failures may require replacement, removal, or manual verification.
- 03
Trace the destination back to its source pages
Open Source Pages, compare usage counts, and inspect representative pages. A failure repeated across hundreds of URLs often belongs to one shared component rather than hundreds of independent edits.
- 04
Choose the repair and verify it with a new crawl
Restore, correct, replace, remove, or redirect the destination according to user intent. Then recrawl the same scope and confirm controllable source links now point to a successful intended URL.
Use Broken Link Checker when link integrity can change at scale.
The workflow is most valuable when one routing, content, or template change can affect many user journeys at once.
Migrations and URL changes
Find old paths left behind by a redesign, CMS migration, taxonomy change, or product URL update before they become permanent navigation debt.
- Old route discovery
- Migration-rule review
- Post-release recrawl
Navigation and shared templates
Use source-page and usage counts to identify one broken footer, menu, product card, or reusable component that affects many pages.
- Repeated destination groups
- Shared-component diagnosis
- One root-cause repair
Content and reference maintenance
Review outdated external references and internal content links so readers still reach a useful, current destination.
- External reference review
- Internal article cleanup
- Destination-intent check
Release and maintenance checks
Compare link findings after content releases, routing changes, deleted pages, or recurring site maintenance.
- Before-and-after crawl scope
- New failure detection
- Published-fix verification
Choose the link analysis that matches the scope.
Audit the full link graph, investigate links within a broader technical crawl, or check one live page without creating an account.
Crawl a website, group link destinations, filter broken internal and external links, and trace each target to its source pages.
Connect link findings with page, image, crawlability, metadata, indexability, and other technical SEO evidence.
Inspect one live URL and review the links discovered on that page without starting a full website crawl.
Related SEO guides
Learn the concepts behind this workflow and apply them with practical SEO guidance.
SEO
How Does an AI Technical SEO Audit Find Website Issues?
An AI technical SEO audit analyzes crawl and performance data to flag indexation, redirects, broken links, and schema issues, then prioritizes fixes by impact.
Read article SEO
How Does an SEO Crawler Find Technical Website Issues?
An SEO crawler follows links and checks URLs for broken links, redirect chains, duplicate pages, canonical errors, indexability issues to prioritize fixes.
Read article GEO
How Do You Find AI Visibility Gaps?
AI visibility gaps emerge when you compare brand mentions, citations, and competitor coverage across priority prompts, AI platforms, and topic clusters.
Read article GEO
How Do You Audit Brand Mentions for SEO and AI Search?
Audit brand mentions across search, reviews, and AI answers to assess citation context, sentiment, competitor share of voice, and practical SEO priorities.
Read articleBroken Link Checker FAQ
Understand destination failures, source pages, internal and external ownership, redirects, false positives, prioritization, repair choices, and recrawl verification.
What does a website broken link checker do?
A website broken link checker crawls pages, discovers link destinations, checks whether those destinations can be reached, and shows the source pages that contain failed links. Screpy groups repeated destinations so one shared problem can be investigated as one root cause.
What counts as a broken link?
A link is broken when the crawler cannot reach a usable destination. Common examples include 4xx client errors, 5xx server errors, network or TLS failures, and unsuccessful fetches. The response should be verified before changing a link because access controls and temporary failures can affect automated requests.
Does Screpy check both internal and external links?
Yes. The Links report separates internal and external destinations. Internal failures usually require a repair within your website, while an unavailable third-party reference may need to be verified, replaced, or removed.
Why are source pages important in a broken-link report?
The destination tells you what failed; the source page tells you where to fix the relationship. Screpy shows source pages and usage counts so you can distinguish one isolated content link from a destination repeated by a navigation element, footer, or shared component.
Is a 404 page the same as a broken link?
Not exactly. A 404 is a destination response. It becomes a broken-link problem when another crawled page links to that unavailable URL. A useful audit therefore needs both the failed destination and the pages that reference it.
Is every redirect a broken link?
No. Redirects can be intentional and necessary. For links you control, the cleaner result is usually to point directly to the intended final URL while keeping legitimate redirects for old public URLs that still receive traffic or backlinks.
Why can an external link work in my browser but appear broken to a crawler?
The destination may block automated requests, rate-limit the crawler, require a session, or have failed temporarily during the crawl. Open representative examples and confirm the visitor experience before replacing a third-party link.
Which broken links should I fix first?
Start with internal links in navigation, conversion paths, important landing pages, and shared templates. Then review high-usage destinations and external references that materially support the page. Prioritize user impact and source-page importance, not only the raw number of observations.
Why can one broken destination appear on hundreds of pages?
A global footer, navigation menu, reusable card, or CMS template can generate the same link on every page. Screpy groups destination usage and lists source pages so the shared component can be repaired once instead of editing every URL separately.
How should I fix a broken link?
Restore the destination when it should still exist, correct a mistyped URL, replace an outdated reference, remove a link that no longer helps, or redirect an old internal URL to its closest relevant replacement. Do not send every missing page to the homepage.
How do I verify that broken links were fixed?
Publish the repair, run a new crawl with comparable settings, and confirm the source pages now point directly to a successful intended destination. A working replacement page alone does not prove the original source link was updated.
What is the difference between Broken Link Checker and Website Audit?
Broken Link Checker focuses on link destinations, usage, issue counts, and source pages. Website Audit connects those findings with pages, images, crawlability, metadata, indexability, and the wider technical SEO investigation.
Will fixing broken links automatically improve rankings?
No tool can guarantee a ranking increase. Repairing broken internal paths can improve navigation, crawl access, and maintenance quality, while fixing external references can improve usefulness and trust. Search performance still depends on relevance, content quality, competition, authority, and many other signals.