Broken link building is a technique in which you find links on other websites pointing to pages that no longer exist, and offer your own content to the author as a replacement. It works because a broken link is a real problem for the site owner – it spoils the impression and worsens the reader's experience – so the outreach is not a favour asked for but help offered. The process has three steps. Find discontinued pages that are still linked to within the field, typically defunct surveys, guides and tools. Verify that your content is a full-fledged replacement, or create it for this purpose if needed. Write a short message to the site owner naming the specific page, the broken link, and the proposed replacement. The success rate is low in percentage terms, but the links obtained tend to come from relevant sources.
See also: Linkbait, Backlink profile, Redirect chains.
