"Forward"-links and a Broken Link Checker

Are broken links on your website making you look unprofessional? While everyone obsesses over getting backlinks, most businesses ignore the linking strategy that's completely under their control - and it's costing them trust and conversions.

Why Watch This Video?

If you want visitors to explore more of your content, trust your recommendations, and see you as a helpful resource (not just someone trying to sell them something), this video reveals linking strategies that transform browsers into buyers and one-time visitors into repeat customers.

What You'll Learn

Master Strategic Link Placement:

Link at the exact moment of interest (not buried in navigation)
Create seamless pathways through your content
Guide visitors naturally to what they need next

Build Trust Through External Linking:

Why linking to competitors actually helps your business
How external links demonstrate expertise and transparency
Turn researchers into customers with comprehensive resources

Maintain Professional Standards:

Find and fix broken links that damage credibility
Use Dr. Link Check to automatically audit your entire website
Prevent the embarrassment of sending visitors to dead pages

The Forgotten Side of Linking

Backlinks vs Forward Links:

Backlinks: Other people's websites linking to yours (everyone talks about these)
Forward links: You linking to pages on your own site or external websites (often neglected)

Both types of links provide value to visitors and search engines by creating a connected web of useful information.

Strategic Link Placement

In-Context Linking Benefits:

Immediate relevance: Links appear exactly where visitors are reading about that topic
No hunting required: Visitors don't need to navigate away to find what interests them
Better user experience: Seamless flow from interest to information

Practical Examples:

"Everything I do is released as open source" → Links to source code repository
"Very transparent and honest pricing" → Links directly to pricing page
"I write guides about building websites" → Links to guides section

Philosophy: Link at the moment of interest rather than forcing visitors to hunt through navigation menus.

External Linking Strategy

Why Link Externally:

Provides comprehensive value to visitors seeking to learn about a topic
Builds trust through transparency and openness
Long-term relationship building rather than just immediate sales focus
Attracts quality traffic from people researching your field

Example: When mentioning "Eleventy website", link both to your Eleventy service page AND to eleventy.dev. Some visitors want to hire you, others want to learn - serve both audiences.

The Problem: Broken Links

What Causes Links to Break:

Expired domains: Businesses close or websites go offline
Changed file names: Someone renames their pages without redirects
Restructured websites: Companies reorganise their site structure
Time: Links naturally degrade over time

Why Broken Links Matter:

Internal broken links: Suggest your website isn't maintained properly
External broken links: Create poor user experience
Lost opportunities: Visitors can't find the information you promised

Solution: Dr. Link Check

How Dr. Link Check Works:

Enter your domain: Simply type your website URL
Automatic crawling: Follows all links throughout your entire website
Comprehensive checking: Tests both internal and external links
Clear reporting: Shows exactly which links are broken and where they appear

Using the Results:

Review broken links: Click through to see which links are failing
Fix internal links: Update or redirect broken internal links immediately
Update external links: Find replacement sources or remove outdated external links
Regular maintenance: Run checks periodically to catch new issues

Real Example Results:

When checking a restaurant website, Dr. Link Check found 12 broken links, mostly from news websites (which are particularly bad at maintaining old URLs). The tool shows exactly which page contains each broken link, making fixes straightforward.

Best Practices

Link Maintenance Priority:

Internal links - Fix immediately (affects site credibility)
External links - Important but less critical than internal ones

Regular Maintenance:

Run link checks monthly to catch issues early
Focus on high-traffic pages for maximum impact
Replace rather than remove when possible to maintain value

Who This Helps

Small Business Owners whose website visitors bounce after reading one page

Service Providers who want to be seen as industry experts, not just salespeople

Content Creators looking to increase engagement and time spent on their website

Any Business embarrassed by broken links that make them look outdated and unprofessional

The Long Game

Effective linking strategy serves multiple audiences:

Direct customers who know they want your service
Researchers who are learning about your field
Future customers who might employ you after initially learning from your content

By providing comprehensive, well-maintained links, you become a trusted resource that attracts quality traffic and builds long-term business relationships.

If you'd like help developing a strategic linking strategy for your website that builds trust and drives conversions, contact me.