ZOMDir > Blog

Wednesday 22 November 2017

How often should I check for broken links?

How often you should check broken links depends on the percentage of broken links which is acceptable for you. 

The lower the percentage broken links you allow, the more frequent you should check and repair broken links.

With the tool Maintenance Frequency at a Glance you are able to find out how often you should check for broken links.

This tool is based on research regarding the half time of broken links in a copy of the former Yahoo! directory.

Some findings are:

  • When 3% broken links is acceptable, you should check your site every 1 month.
  • When you check your site every 3 months, you might expect 8% broken links.
  • When you check your site every 6 months, you might expect 16% broken links.
  • When you check your site every year, you might expect 29% broken links.
  • When you check your site every 2 year, you might expect 50% broken links.
I think that you should check for broken links at least every 3 months although I often advice to check your site every month for broken links.

For relative small sites I advice Broken Links at a Glance. For larger sites I advice Xenu's Link Sleuth.

Happy broken link hunting,
Hans

--
ZOMDir.com is a dynamic directory and a wiki
Everyone is able to add a link in 10 seconds
To learn more view this Slideshare presentation