How to use an internal linking checker to find broken links and orphan pages

What an internal link checker does and why it matters

An internal linking checker crawls your entire website, maps every link relationship, and flags two critical issues: broken internal links (pointing to pages that no longer exist) and orphan pages (pages with zero inbound internal links). Broken links send visitors to 404 errors and waste crawl budget — Google's allocated resources for discovering and indexing your pages. Orphans — valid content with no navigation pathway from the rest of your site — get discovered and ranked slower, receiving zero internal authority transfer from other pages.

Most checkers stop at identifying these problems. Reading the output correctly and prioritizing which issues actually cost you traffic is where the real value lies. <a href="https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable">Google Search Central states</a>, "every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site." This principle explains why orphans matter: pages receiving zero internal links remain invisible to your site's authority network, even when external backlinks or Google's crawlers find them independently. <a href="https://backlinko.com/orphan-pages">A Backlinko analysis found</a> that important pages should stay within 3 clicks of the homepage to avoid orphaning; pages buried deeper accumulate traffic loss as authority dilutes across unlinked content.

Three ways to check internal links

1. Browser-based checkers: instant setup, visual reports

No installation required. Sitechecker, SEOmator, and SEO Tester Online run directly from a browser. Enter your domain and crawl-depth preference; receive a report within minutes. These tools are ideal for site owners who want quick results without software setup.

How to use a browser checker:

• Enter your domain URL in the search field.
• Set crawl depth (typically 3–5 levels for initial audits).
• Click "Start Crawl" and wait for the tool to map your site.
• Review the "Broken Links" and "Orphan Pages" reports.
• Export results as CSV or PDF for later reference.

Advantages:

• Zero setup; works immediately in any browser.
• Visual interface makes findings immediately clear.
• Ideal for quick audits of smaller sites (under 500 pages).
• No account or credit card required.

Limitations:

• Free versions cap crawl depth or page count (100–500 pages typically); larger sites need paid plans.
• Exporting and sorting features lag behind desktop crawlers.
• Mobile site crawling often requires paid upgrades.

2. Desktop crawlers: thorough audits with detailed exports

Screaming Frog SEO Spider, the industry standard, downloads to your machine and indexes your site up to 500 pages (free) or unlimited (paid license). Reports sort by response code, link structure, anchor text, and crawl depth. This tool is favored by SEO professionals who need granular control over crawl parameters and detailed filtering options.

Using Screaming Frog:

1. Download Screaming Frog from their website and install on your machine.
2. Launch the application and enter your domain URL in the search field.
3. Click "Start" to begin crawling; the tool will map your internal link structure.
4. Navigate to the "Internal" tab to view all links your site contains.
5. Select "Response Codes" to isolate broken links (404 errors, 500 server errors, 301 redirect chains).
6. Filter by HTTP status code, source page, or anchor text for customized analysis.
7. Export the complete dataset to CSV for spreadsheet analysis and link-placement decisions.

Advantages:

• 500 free pages; unlimited with paid license.
• Advanced filtering by HTTP status, anchor text, link type, canonicalization, and crawl depth.
• CSV exports enable custom prioritization workflows in Excel or Google Sheets.
• Options for crawling JavaScript-heavy sites and single-page applications.
• Detailed reports on redirect chains, nofollow links, and canonical tags.

Limitations:

• Requires local software installation (Windows, macOS, Linux).
• Manual interpretation of results; no built-in traffic-impact ranking algorithm.
• Learning curve steeper than browser-based tools.

3. Google Search Console Links report: ground truth from Google

Google Search Console's Links report displays the internal links Google actually crawled—not a simulation, but Google's real view of your link structure. This is the authoritative source for understanding which pages Google prioritizes internally.

Access Google's link data:

1. Open Google Search Console for your property.
2. Navigate to Links > Internal Links in the left sidebar.
3. View which pages link most frequently (top sources of internal authority).
4. Examine which pages receive the most internal links (top destination pages).
5. Download the complete link inventory as a spreadsheet for analysis.

Understanding the data:

• Top linking pages are your authority hubs; they distribute link equity most widely.
• Top linked pages are your SEO priorities; Google sees them as central to your site structure.
• Internal links shown are those Google actually crawled and indexed, not links you created.

Advantages:

• Reflects actual Google crawl behavior, not theoretical models.
• Free; integrated with your Google Search Console account.
• Reveals which pages Google considers most linked internally.
• Shows real data for the pages Google cares about most.

Limitations:

• Shows current links only; does not flag broken links or calculate orphan counts.
• Requires prior Google Search Console setup (verification takes 1–2 days).
• Data lag: updates may be delayed by 2–4 weeks.

Prioritizing your results: finding high-impact problems

Website link issues vastly outnumber available time to fix them. Knowing which problems cost you the most search traffic is essential. <a href="https://www.semrush.com/blog/orphan-pages/">A Semrush Site Audit analysis found 3,498 orphaned pages</a> on a single website; fixing all of them is impossible. Instead, prioritize by traffic impact.

Finding high-impact broken internal links

Screaming Frog and browser crawlers flag broken links with three data points: source page (which page contains the link), target URL (where the link points), and HTTP status code (404, 500, or 301 chain).

Reading the report:

1. Arrange results by source page. A homepage with 5 broken links wastes more authority than a single blog post with 1; prioritize high-traffic pages first.
2. Cross-reference traffic to each source via Google Search Console (Performance tab, filter by page, view impressions) or Google Analytics. High-traffic pages with broken links leak more authority and should be fixed first.
3. Deprioritize broken links on obscure pages with minimal impressions; they leak negligible authority.

Example prioritization:

• Homepage with multiple broken links and high monthly impressions: high priority (major traffic drain).
• Blog post with a broken link and moderate monthly impressions: lower priority (minimal impact).
• Archived page with broken links and very few monthly impressions: skip (not worth the time).

Alternative fix approach: When a broken link points to a deleted page, create a 301 redirect from the old URL to a related product or topic page. Google follows permanent redirects and preserves authority flow without source-page edits. This approach is faster than manually finding and editing every page with a broken link.

Finding and ranking orphan pages by traffic loss

Not all orphans are equal. An orphan with significant monthly search impressions (visible in Google Search Console) bleeds real traffic; one with minimal impressions is noise.

Ranking orphans by traffic impact:

1. Export the orphan list from your crawler (Screaming Frog, Sitechecker, or browser tool).
2. Cross-reference each orphan with Google Search Console Performance, filtering by page URL to retrieve exact monthly impression counts.
3. Organize by impressions descending. Top-ranked orphans are losing the most search traffic and should get internal links first.

Real-world example:

• Orphan page A: High monthly impressions from Google Search but zero internal links. Fix immediately — it's losing traffic.
• Orphan page B: Moderate monthly impressions from Google Search but zero internal links. Fix second — it's losing some traffic but less critical.
• Orphan page C: No monthly impressions from Google Search and zero internal links. Skip for now — it's either new or already delisted by Google; revisit later.

Most tools rank orphans by depth or URL structure—metrics unrelated to traffic loss. Google Search Console impressions measure true impact: search visibility each page is missing. Backlinko research indicates important pages should stay within 3 clicks of the homepage to avoid orphaning; yet many sites bury orphans 5+ levels deep with zero navigation paths. When an orphan shows measurable impressions, it deserves an internal link. Zero-impression orphans are typically new or already delisted and can usually wait.

Fix order: Orphans ranked high by impressions are losing real traffic. Zero-impression orphans can wait or be deleted entirely.

Free tools comparison

This comparison shows no single tool covers everything. Practical workflow combines three layers: Google Search Console for understanding crawl visibility, Screaming Frog or browser crawler for technical health audits, and <a href="/blog/internal-linking">internal linking</a> strategy paired with recto's audit for orphan ranking by traffic impact.

How strategic internal linking drives results

<a href="https://backlinko.com/technical-seo-guide">Research from Backlinko found</a> that one event-hiring marketplace (audited by Felix Norton) added strategic internal links to high-priority pages and saw a 250% traffic increase within one week. This wasn't random linking; the team identified orphan pages losing search impressions, then wired them from high-authority pages with keyword-relevant anchor text. The result: orphans moved from invisible to visible in search results, capturing the traffic they were missing.

recto's testing on a live WordPress blog demonstrates the workflow. In testing on a live WordPress blog, recto crawled 151 pages, surfaced 34 orphans, and inserted a verified internal link into a published post. The inserted link appeared in the published HTML and survived if the site canceled service. This shows how internal linking fixes are permanent once wired correctly.

Implementing fixes: broken links and orphans

For broken internal links:

• Deleted targets with no replacement: remove the link to preserve crawl efficiency and avoid sending users to 404s.
• URL changes to a new location: update the source page to point to the new URL (or create a 301 redirect).
• Permanent 301 redirects already live: deprioritize manual fixes; Google will follow the redirect automatically.

For orphan pages:

• Identify a thematically related source page with existing internal authority (usually a pillar page or hub).
• Insert an internal link with anchor text matching the target page's topic or primary keyword.
• Consult Google Search Console Performance > Queries to identify search terms your orphan ranks for; match those terms in the anchor text.
• Delete or consolidate outdated or low-value orphans into stronger pages if they have no search potential.

Internal linking work is manual and slow—crawlers surface problems in seconds, but deciding which matter, what text to use, and where to place links requires SEO reasoning and domain knowledge.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check internal links on my website? Start with Google Search Console's free Links report to see what Google actually crawled. Run Screaming Frog (500 pages free) or a browser crawler (Sitechecker, SEOmator) for detailed audits of broken links and orphans. For orphan pages ranked by traffic loss, use recto's free audit.

Is there a free internal link checker? Yes. Screaming Frog offers 500 pages free. Browser crawlers like SEOmator and Sitechecker include free-tier audits. Google Search Console is completely free. recto's free orphan audit focuses on orphans ranked by monthly Google Search Console impressions (the highest-impact pages).

How do I find broken internal links on my WordPress site? Screaming Frog, Sitechecker, or browser crawlers flag broken links in a "Broken Links" or "Response Codes" report. Organize by source page, then cross-check traffic (Google Search Console or analytics) to identify which broken links waste the most authority. Alternatively, use free WordPress SEO plugins like Yoast SEO's crawl feature.

How are orphan pages different from broken links? Broken links point to pages that no longer exist or return errors (404, 500). Orphan pages are valid, indexable pages with zero internal links pointing to them. Broken links waste crawl budget and frustrate visitors; orphans get crawled slowly and receive no internal authority transfer from other pages on your site.

What should I do if I have hundreds of orphan pages? Organize them by Google Search Console impressions. Fix those at the top of the list first (highest impressions = most traffic loss). Zero-impression orphans can usually wait or be deleted. Targeting high-impact orphans first delivers faster, measurable ranking and traffic gains.

Can internal linking alone improve my SEO rankings? Internal linking is one of three critical ranking factors. Combined with quality content and external backlinks, strategic internal linking redistributes authority to high-priority pages, improves crawlability, and helps Google understand your site structure. The 250% traffic increase case study shows the power when combined with content that already has search demand.

An internal link checker is a starting point, not a finish line. Real value emerges when you read the output, spot traffic-leak patterns, and fix the expensive problems first. Check your site with recto's free orphan audit to see your orphan count and the monthly impressions each one is missing—then decide where to spend your internal linking time.