Broken Link Building Service: How It Works, Price & Process (2026)

By Subham Chowdhury, SEO and link building specialist (in SEO since 2014) | Updated October 2026

A broken link building service finds dead links on relevant websites in your niche and asks the site owners to replace them with a working page on your site. I charge $149 per link, and you see the list of broken links before I contact anyone. Below you'll find how the method works, whether it still works in 2026, what I check before outreach, and a real outreach email you can use or judge my work by.

Broken link building is a way to earn backlinks by fixing someone else's problem.

Websites change all the time. Pages get deleted, companies close, and URLs move. When that happens, every article that linked to the old page now sends its readers to a 404 error. The site owner usually doesn't know.

You find that dead link, point it out to the owner, and suggest a live page on your site that covers the same topic. They fix a broken experience for their readers. You get a relevant link inside an article that already exists and is already indexed.

Yes, but not the way it was often done.

Sending the same "your link is broken, please add mine" email to hundreds of sites no longer works. Site owners get too many outreach emails, and a template is easy to spot and ignore.

What still works is a smaller, careful campaign:

• Fewer prospects, each one checked for relevance and quality

• A replacement page that actually covers what the dead page offered

• A short, specific email that names the exact article and the exact broken link

Ten well-researched opportunities usually do more than a thousand generic emails. That is also why a proper broken link building service costs more per link than bulk link packages.

1. Tell me the page you want links to. It should be a useful page on your site, such as a guide, tool, template or resource that other sites would want to link to.

2. Get the price and timeline in writing. You pay through PayPal, and work starts only after payment.

3. I find broken links in your niche. I look for dead pages that relevant sites still link to, using Ahrefs, Semrush and manual checks.

4. You approve the list first. You see every broken link opportunity before I contact anyone, so you can remove sites you don't want.

5. I contact the site owners. Each email is written for that site, names the article and the dead link, and suggests your page as the replacement.

6. You get every live link. When a site owner updates the link, you get the live URL, the page it sits on and the anchor text.

Broken link building costs $149 per link with SEO by Subham. The price includes finding opportunities, checking each site, writing every outreach email, and follow-ups.

You pay only for live links. If a site owner doesn’t update the link, you get that $149 back.

Prices across the market vary a lot because the work is mostly research and outreach time, not software. Be careful with very cheap offers: they usually mean bulk emails or links that were never broken link placements at all.

Broken link building can also be added to a custom monthly plan. You can see all current prices on seobysubham.com.

Not every broken link is worth chasing. Before a site goes on your list, I check:

• Relevance: the article with the dead link is about your topic, so your page fits naturally.

• A live, indexed host page: the page with the broken link is still live and indexed. A dead link on a dead page is worthless.

• An editorial link: the broken link sits inside the article body, not in a comment, forum post or footer.

• A real site: I check spam score, ranking keywords, traffic sources, domain age and backlinks, the same checks I use for every outreach site.

• A matching reason: I look at what the dead page offered (a guide, study, tool or list of statistics) and only pitch your page if it covers the same need.

That last check matters most. If an article linked to a detailed study, a general blog post won't replace it, even if the topic sounds close.

Here is how a single opportunity looks, using a made-up site so no client details are shared.

A project management software company has a free guide on running remote team meetings. While researching, I find a well-known productivity blog with an article on remote work tips. One of its links points to a meeting checklist that another company deleted last year. The link now returns a 404 error.

The blog is relevant, real and still gets traffic. The dead checklist and the client's guide solve the same problem. So the blog goes on the list, the client approves it, and I write to the editor with the exact article, the exact broken link and the client's guide as a replacement.

This is the shape of the emails I send. Each one is written for the specific site, so the details always change.

Subject: Broken link in your remote work tips article

Hi Sarah,

I was reading your article on remote work tips and noticed the link to the meeting checklist in the third section now goes to a 404 page. It looks like the original page was taken down.

We have a free guide on running remote team meetings that covers the same steps, with a checklist your readers can copy: [link]

If it's useful, it could work as a replacement. Either way, I thought you'd want to know about the broken link.

Thanks, [Name]

Short, specific and helpful even if the editor says no. That is what gets replies.

Finding a broken link doesn't make your page worth linking to. When an editor opens your page, they should see straight away why it can replace the missing one.

A good replacement page:

• Covers everything the dead page covered, and ideally more

• Has current information, not outdated advice

• Is easy to read, with clear headings and useful visuals where they help

• Isn't a sales page, if the dead link pointed to an educational resource

If your site doesn't have a page that fits, the resource has to come first. I can write a new page for you. The price depends on the topic and length, and we agree on it before any work starts. This follows Google's own advice to create helpful, people-first content.

Many of my monthly clients are tech companies, and broken link building suits them well. Software markets move fast: tools shut down, free templates disappear, and old statistics pages get deleted. Each of those leaves dead links in articles that still get read.

SaaS and tech sites usually already have the right replacement content: comparison pages, templates, free tools, original data and practical guides. That makes their pages easy for an editor to say yes to.

Broken link building also works in reverse. Other sites may be linking to pages on your site that you deleted or moved. Those links now send visitors to a 404 page, and their value is wasted.

Check your own backlinks for broken target pages. Where you can, restore the old page or redirect it to the closest relevant live page. This is often the quickest way to win back links you already earned.

• Trusting link counts. A dead page with many backlinks may be linked mostly from spam or abandoned sites. Check the links first.

• Weak replacements. A short post can't replace a detailed resource.

• Pushing sales pages. If the original link pointed to a guide, offer a guide.

• Judging by metrics alone. A relevant link from a small, real niche site often helps more than a link from a big, unrelated one.

For a deeper walkthrough of the research side, Ahrefs' broken link building guide is a good reference.

How much does a broken link building service cost?

I charge $149 per link. That covers research, site checks, personalized outreach and follow-ups.

Is broken link building white hat?

Yes. You're helping a site owner fix a broken link with a relevant, working page, and the owner decides whether to use it. Nothing is paid for or automated.

Can I see the sites before you contact them?

Yes. You approve the full list of broken link opportunities before any outreach starts.

Do I need to create new content?

Only if your site has no page that matches what the dead pages offered. If it doesn’t, I can write one. The price depends on the content, and we agree on it before work starts.

Are broken link placements dofollow?

That depends on the site owner, because the broken link already exists. On the list you approve, I mark whether each link is dofollow or nofollow, so you choose with full information.

How long does broken link building take?

Research and vetting come first, then outreach and follow-ups, and editors reply on their own schedule. You get the timeline in writing before you order.

Send me your website and the page you want links to, and I'll tell you honestly whether broken link building is the right fit, or whether another link type would work better. Contact SEO by Subham

Want links from more than one method? See my full manual backlinks service with monthly plans that combine outreach, foundation and Web 2.0 links.