External Link Checker
Find broken and risky outbound links
What Is the External Link Checker?
The External Link Checker lists every outbound link on a page, requests up to 60 destinations once each, and reports which ones are broken, redirect or error. It also splits the links by rel attribute (followed, nofollow, sponsored, ugc), flags http links on an https page and new-tab links without rel=noopener, and groups everything by domain.
Key Features
Outbound Links Rot
Pages you link to move, close or change hands. A post that cites twenty sources will usually have a few dead links within a couple of years, and readers notice before you do. Checking the page every so often keeps your references working and your credibility intact.
Attributes That Matter
Paid and affiliate links should carry rel="sponsored", and user-submitted links rel="ugc". The domain table shows how each site you link to is treated, which makes a paid link missing its attribute easy to spot.
Common Use Cases
- Finding dead references in older articles
- Reviewing a guest post before publishing
- Checking sponsored and affiliate links are marked
- Cleaning up http links after moving to https
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the External Link Checker free?
Yes. It's free with a ProxyHorizon account, and every account gets 25 runs a day shared across all our data tools. You can read about the tool without signing in, but running it needs an account because each run fetches live data.
Why are some links "couldn't verify"?
Some sites answer automated requests with 403 or 429, or time out, even though the page works in a browser. We don't call those broken. Open them yourself to be sure.
Should outbound links be nofollow?
Usually not. Use nofollow for links you can't vouch for, sponsored for paid placements and ugc for user content. Linking trusted sources normally is fine.
What is wrong with target=_blank on its own?
In older browsers the opened page gets a handle on the page that opened it and can redirect it. Adding rel="noopener" closes that gap. Modern browsers add it for you.
Do you store my results?
No. We log which tool you ran, what you entered and when, so we can apply the daily limit. Results aren't saved, so export them as CSV or JSON if you want to keep them.
Auditing sites or tracking SEO every day?
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