Of Link Rot or Link Death

When you click on a link on a website and find 404 not found it is usually the case of a page that has been removed as it no longer serves a purpose. This often happens when a website developer takes a page off the website without replacing the missing page with another meaningful one. But sometimes due to an error called link rot also called link death, we get this error message even when the link still exists. This can happen when a domain or webpage address is changed for some reason.

This problem can be disastrous for a site aiming for performance on SERPs due to a bad user experience. Bad user experience like link rot happens when the link architecture is frequently changed and this also happens due to some error in the hosting service. Another reason is URL change when a page is set up to include primary or important keywords. But it is better to not let this happen, thus plan your website well in advance keeping a perfect structure such that the need to change the URL structure does not arise at all. Re-organizing the site means there was improper architecture and the link rot will impact whatever natural organic linking gains the pages might have gathered over the period. Thus, this could lead to a bad user experience and also valuable content will be lost if a redirect is not in place. The webmaster who often bookmarks webpages is certainly going to lose track. Thus when a structural change has been carried always use a 303 redirect so that the gains the old URL has made during link building are passed on to the new URL. As precautionary measures always use redirect whenever a change in the domain name or URL naming takes place.

To prevent link rot keep URLs permanent as mentioned above design and develop the site carefully such that the architecture stays stable. one or two odd pages have to be moved to a new address and then redirect to the old URL. Webmasters can also resort to meta refresh or Javascript to direct old pages to new ones. Meta refresh is a meta tag that enables browsers to fetch different URLs the one that is desired.

Thus, subject new websites to rigorous testing especially the navigation before uploading using the hosting service. It is good to subject the site to a review using the services of unbiased team members. Assure that the website has clear navigation so the user can move easily from one page to another while seeking desired content. Now you can make out why internal pages or deeply embedded pages are called relational pages. Navigational buttons should clearly state what the pages stand for so that there is no confusion when a visitor comes to the page. Eliminating link rot or link death is vital for search engine optimization. Thus webmasters and leading SEO agencies should make sound link architecture while developing a website.

While constructing a property for online performance especially for ranking high on the SERPs on chosen keywords makes it stable. The concept and the plan should be laid down right from the whiteboard stage.

Uday writes often on Indian wildlife especially about the tigers. He works as a naturalist and is fond of travel. Uday also provides search engine optimization service and website contents in English.