About This Gig
Broken link building is one of the few outreach methods where the site owner actually gains something from hearing from us. Somewhere on their page is a link pointing to a dead resource: a 404, an expired domain, or a tool that shut down years ago. We find those pages in your niche, offer a working replacement that lives on your site, and ask the editor to swap the link. Done properly, it earns contextual links inside content that already ranks and already gets read.
This broken link building service is built for site owners, SEO agencies and in-house marketers who want editorial links without paying for sponsored posts. It works best when you have, or are willing to create, a page that genuinely covers the topic the dead resource used to cover.
How Our Broken Link Building Process Works
Every campaign follows the same core steps. The difference between packages is depth and volume, not shortcuts.
- Topic and competitor mapping. We start with your target page and the topics around it, then look at which pages in your niche used to attract links and no longer exist. Defunct guides, retired studies and abandoned tools are often the richest seams.
- Dead link discovery. Our team crawls resource lists, blog roundups and evergreen guides on relevant sites, pulling every outbound link that returns a 404, a server error or a redirect to an unrelated page. Each hit is rechecked by hand, because crawlers flag plenty of false positives.
- Site vetting. A dead link alone is not a reason to pitch. We check whether the linking site has real organic traffic across the last six months, not a single snapshot, whether the page is indexed, its outbound link ratio, and whether the site sells posts to anyone with a card. If a domain looks like a link farm, it is dropped no matter how good its metrics look.
- Replacement content. If your existing page is a close match for what the dead resource offered, we use it. If not, we write a content brief or the replacement page itself, depending on your package, so the swap makes sense to the editor.
- Personal outreach. Emails are written by a person, reference the exact page and the exact broken link, and keep the ask simple. We send polite follow-ups and stop there. No pressure, no bulk blasts.
- Verification. Once a link goes live, we confirm it is indexable, check the anchor and the surrounding text, and add it to your report.
Who Gets the Most From Dead Link Outreach
Some niches have far more broken links than others. Software, health information, finance, education, travel and home improvement tend to be full of outdated resource pages, so broken link prospecting in those areas usually turns up plenty of options. Local service businesses and very narrow B2B niches can still work, though the pool is smaller and we may widen the net to adjacent subjects.
The method also suits agencies that need placements they can explain to clients. A link that replaced a dead resource has an obvious editorial reason to exist, which makes it easy to defend in a monthly report. If you resell our work, our white label link building option keeps your branding on everything.
Choosing Between Basic, Standard and Premium
Basic secures 2 links from sites at DR 30 or above. We prospect around 300 broken links, send roughly 150 personalised emails with one follow-up each, and supply a replacement content brief if your page needs adjusting. It is a sensible way to test the method on a single target page.
Standard raises the target to 5 links at DR 40+, with about 800 broken links prospected and 400 outreach emails, each with two follow-ups. We also write one replacement page of around 1,200 words, which often makes the difference between a polite no and a yes.
Premium is for a serious campaign: 10 links at DR 50+, a prospect pool of roughly 2,000 broken links, about 900 emails with three follow-ups, and two replacement pages of around 1,500 words each. We also audit your own site for pages that have died but still have backlinks pointing at them, so you can recover that equity with redirects.
Need a steady flow of links rather than a one-off push? Our monthly link building plans are set up for exactly that.
What We Need From You
- The target URL, or URLs, you want links pointing to.
- Anchor text ideas. We keep anchors natural, and editors often choose their own wording, so treat this as guidance rather than a fixed instruction.
- Niche notes: competitors to avoid, topics that are off limits, regions you serve.
- Permission to publish replacement content on your site if your package includes it, or a contact who can upload it.
Standards We Will Not Bend
We do not use private blog networks, hacked sites, link farms or sites that exist only to sell placements. No auto-generated content goes into replacement pages, and nothing is spun. We do not pay editors to swap links either, because a paid swap is not really broken link building any more. It is a sponsored post with extra steps. You can read how we judge sites on our quality standards page.
We also refuse to pitch a replacement that is weaker than what the editor had before. If your page is thin, we will tell you, and suggest improvements before outreach starts.
What Arrives at Delivery
You get a report listing each live link: the linking page, its domain rating at the time of placement, the anchor text, the broken URL it replaced and the date it went live. You also receive the replacement content files or briefs, plus a summary of outreach so you can see how many sites were contacted. If a link is removed within 6 months, we replace it free.
Realistic Expectations
Outreach depends on real editors replying, which is why delivery runs from two to four weeks rather than a few days. Some editors simply delete the broken link instead of replacing it. We plan for that by prospecting well beyond the link count in your package.
Links from broken link building support rankings over weeks and months. They work alongside your content, technical health and other links, and no honest provider can promise a specific position in Google. What we can promise is placements earned on real pages, for reasons an editor agreed with.
Compare Packages
| Feature | Basic · $129 | Standard · $299 | Premium · $549 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Links secured | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Minimum domain rating | DR 30+ | DR 40+ | DR 50+ |
| Broken links prospected | 300 | 800 | 2,000 |
| Replacement content | Brief only | 1 page, 1,200 words | 2 pages, 1,500 words |
| Personalised outreach emails | 150 | 400 | 900 |
| Follow-ups per prospect | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Live link report | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dead page recovery audit (your site) | – | – | ✓ |
| Delivery time | 14 days | 21 days | 30 days |
| Price | $129 | $299 | $549 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is broken link building?
It is an outreach method where we find pages in your niche that link to resources which no longer work, such as deleted articles, expired domains or retired tools. We contact the editor, point out the dead link, and suggest your page as a working replacement. Because we are fixing a problem on their site, editors are far more receptive than they are to a cold request for a link.
Do I need to create new content for this to work?
Not always. If you already have a page that covers what the dead resource offered, we pitch that page as it is. When there is no good match, Basic includes a brief so your team can write or adjust the page, while Standard and Premium include replacement pages written by our writers. A strong, relevant page is what gets editors to say yes, so we will be honest if yours needs work.
What kind of sites will my links come from?
Real sites in or close to your niche, with steady organic traffic over recent months, indexed pages and sensible outbound link ratios. The minimum domain rating depends on your package: DR 30+ for Basic, DR 40+ for Standard and DR 50+ for Premium. We exclude sites that openly sell posts to anyone, private blog networks and link farms, even when their metrics look attractive.
Can I choose the anchor text?
You can suggest anchors, and we include them in our pitch where they fit naturally. The final wording is the editor's decision, though, since they are editing their own page. Most broken link replacements end up with branded, topical or descriptive anchors, which is healthy for your link profile. We avoid pushing exact-match money anchors because they look forced and tend to get rejected.
Why does delivery take two to four weeks?
Every link depends on a real editor reading our email, checking your page and updating theirs. Some reply within a day, others take a few weeks, and follow-ups need breathing room so they do not become a nuisance. The longer Premium window reflects the larger prospect pool and outreach volume needed to secure 10 links without lowering the quality bar.
What happens if a link disappears later?
We check every link when it goes live and record it in your report. If a link is removed within 6 months, we replace it free. Tell us which link has gone and we will confirm it and secure a replacement of a similar standard. Pages do occasionally get redesigned or deleted, so this cover gives you protection for that first half year.
Do you pay site owners to replace the links?
No. Paying for the swap turns it into a sponsored placement, and the point of this service is to earn editorial links on merit. Our outreach offers the editor something useful, a working resource that fixes a dead link on their page, and that is what wins the link. If a site asks for payment, we thank them and move on to the next prospect.
Is this suitable for a brand new website?
It can be, as long as you have at least one genuinely useful page to offer. Editors judge the replacement rather than your domain's age. That said, brand new sites usually benefit from starting with Basic or Standard, checking how the placements perform, and building up from there. We will look at your target page before starting and tell you honestly if we expect editors to hesitate.