Broken link building is one of those SEO tactics that sounds almost too polite to be real.
You find a broken link on someone’s website, let them know about it, and suggest a relevant replacement. They fix their page. You earn a link. Everyone wins.
But it’s not quick, it’s not scalable in the way some guides imply, and it absolutely requires patience. If you go into broken link building expecting to build dozens of links every month, you will be disappointed. If you approach it realistically, it can be a solid addition to a broader link building strategy.
At Batlinks, we love broken link building. Not because it’s easy — trust us, it’s not — but because it is legitimate white-hat SEO that genuinely adds value to both parties.
Our process for broken link building
Here’s the short story of how we go about our link-building campaigns. Keep in mind that this is just a rough sketch of what we do with each campaign, as we try to tailor our campaigns to the needs of each client.
Step #1 – Find broken links
We use Ahrefs site explorer to identify relevant broken links.
Here’s a broken link report from a sample website.
We filter broken link opportunities by their dofollow/nofollow tag, referring domains, and URL rating, meaning we weed out any prospects that would be a waste of time right from the beginning.
We also try to find backlinks that are relevant to you. We do this by searching only for articles on topics that will interest your potential clients and drive targeted traffic to your site.
Step #2 – Vetting the backlinks
Some SEO specialists will build many low-quality backlinks. On the surface, the campaign seems to be a success, but those links rarely help in a meaningful way because a search engine is built to reward relevance and trust, not just volume.
As we’ve said time and again, one good link is worth more than 20 bad ones. So we make sure that we only ever reach out to pages that will really add value to our customer’s websites.
We apply filters to our link-checking process. These filters ensure that our target websites and audiences meet the right criteria for our customers. They include the following
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High Domain Authority
We generally aim to build links from authoritative websites that have a DR30 or more, because in most cases lower-rated websites won’t pass on meaningful authority or visibility to our clients soon enough.
However, we don’t treat DR as the only deciding factor: relevance, editorial quality, and contextual fit always come first.
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Language
Gaining a link from a website that is outside the scope of your target language is going to bring the wrong audience to your pages.
For example, a Thai-speaking audience won’t be genuinely interested in an article written in English. Your page won’t benefit from this audience, and Google knows that.
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Region
This is especially important when building links for eCommerce sites that handle shipping. We build links to pages that feature in the target audience demographic region of the website owners.
That way, we earn high quality backlinks that can generate real organic traffic and strengthen brand visibility.
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Volume
Gaining a broken link from a page with very little search intent or search volume doesn’t move the needle. We apply filters to ensure that when we build a link, enough people are searching for a term on a monthly basis.
This adds lasting value to your clients.
By applying these filters and others, we can sift out the good backlink from those simply not worth pursuing.
It’s worth mentioning that this part of the process is not automated. We do this manually.
Yes, it might be painstaking at times, but we believe that an actual human being is needed to differentiate a good link from a bad one. There are too many fake websites out there, and the human eye will often pick up what AI misses.
Step #3 – Creating a replacement article
It’s tempting to simply recreate the article and ask webmasters to link to it.
But this copy-and-paste method isn’t a good idea. That’s because people link to articles for various reasons.
There might be an infographic on a page that they really like. They could be referencing a statement or another bit of data.
We make sure that we understand exactly why someone linked to an article before we create a replacement piece.
We then do keyword research and after that, our wordsmiths start with the writing process.
And lastly, our editors go through the article with a fine-tooth comb. They ensure that the quality of the article is such that nobody can refuse to link to the content.
Step #4 – Starting an Outreach Campaign
Before reaching out to potential websites, we make sure to personalize each of our outreach emails.
Each link prospect receives an email saying, “hey, we’re talking to you.” They’re way more likely to open our emails and respond positively when we do this.
Our secret to success is the time we take to prepare for our campaigns, ensuring that the pages are relevant and that the prospects meet all the criteria.
Ideally, we try to reach out to about 1000 potential websites with our outreach campaigns. This should give us enough room to separate links worth pursuing from those that don’t make sense financially.
Why Broken Link Building Is Still One of the Smartest Link Building Strategies
Broken link building is one of the few link building strategies that actually makes sense in the real world. You’re not begging for a favour, you’re helping a site owner fix something that’s genuinely broken, and earning a relevant backlink in return.
When it’s done properly, it leads to high quality links from authoritative websites, stronger search visibility, and long-term SEO growth that doesn’t disappear the moment Google updates its algorithm.
The catch? It’s time-consuming, detail-heavy, and easy to waste weeks on dead ends if you don’t know what to look for.
That’s why most businesses choose a broken link building service: you get the tools, the vetting, high quality content creation, and the outreach handled by a team that does this every day.
The result is fewer headaches, better link placements, and a cleaner backlink profile you can actually feel confident about.
How much does our broken link building service cost?
Our once-off package costs $1,250 for 5 quality links.
That’s $250 per link with a minimum of 5 links ordered.
What does that include?
We will create and oversee the 4 step process outlined in this article with full transparency to our clients.
We also write the articles that we’ll pitch to link prospects during the campaign. These articles are optimized to rank well on Google’s search results and are of the highest quality.
If you’d like to find out more about a broken link-building campaign or other link building services, contact us here and we’ll get in touch within 24 hours.
FAQ — Broken Link Building
What is broken link building?
Broken link building is an SEO strategy where we find broken (dead) links on relevant websites and suggest your content as a replacement. If the site owner updates the link, you earn a contextual backlink.
Does broken link building still work?
Yes. The broken link building method still works, but it’s not a “quick win.” It’s a quality-first approach that tends to earn cleaner links when the replacement page is genuinely relevant. When done properly, it can help improve search rankings and strengthen domain authority, especially when links come from high authority sites.
Who is broken link building best for?
The broken link building strategy works best for businesses that already have (or can create) strong content assets—like guides, service pages, statistics pages, or tools, and want long-term authority growth rather than overnight results.
What’s included in your broken link building service?
We handle the full process: opportunity research, prospect vetting, outreach, follow-ups, and link tracking. You’ll get clear reporting so you can see exactly what was earned.
How long does it take to see results?
Most campaigns take a few weeks to gain traction. Links typically land over 30–90 days, depending on your niche, the quality of your content, and how many qualified opportunities exist.
Is broken link building easy to scale?
Not completely. It’s manual by nature; finding real opportunities, qualifying them, and doing personalized outreach takes time. That’s exactly why most teams struggle to do it consistently in-house.
Do webmasters actually care about broken links?
Some do, and that’s enough. Many site owners want to fix broken links because it improves user experience and keeps their pages accurate, but response rates vary by industry and site quality.
How many links should I expect?
There’s no guaranteed number, because it depends on niche difficulty and available opportunities. The goal is quality over quantity—just a few strong, relevant links can outperform dozens of low-value placements.
What do you need from me to get started?
Typically, we need your target pages (or priority URLs), a quick understanding of your niche and ideal customers, and any brand guidelines for outreach tone. We handle the execution.
Is broken link building safe for SEO?
Yes, when done properly. Broken link building is a white-hat tactic because the outreach is based on fixing real issues and offering a relevant replacement, not paying for links or using spam networks. At Batlinks, we prioritize quality, relevance, and long-term SEO performance. We only use broken link building techniques that align with Google’s guidelines, and we manually vet every opportunity to protect your brand and rankings.