Repair the buyer path, not only the crawler count
Repair the originating link as well as the broken destination when an important URL changes. A redirect may rescue a visit while leaving a confusing or outdated link throughout the website.
A broken internal link can interrupt a real inquiry journey or point only to an obsolete reference. Prioritize the destination’s purpose and the number of important source pages affected. A raw count treats those cases equally even though their operational consequences differ.
A worked example
A hypothetical site has 40 footer links to a retired privacy URL and one broken Request a Quote button on its main service page. Both need review, but the quote-path failure deserves immediate testing. Replacing the quote destination with the homepage would remove the error while still failing the visitor’s intended task.
How to apply it
- Export source URL, anchor, broken destination and response status.
- Choose the correct current destination or restore content where the original intent remains valid.
- Retest the rendered link, mobile interaction and final inquiry route after release.
What the result can establish
Acceptance is a working, relevant destination without a new redirect loop. Track remaining affected pages and verified inquiry-path tests. Later inquiry changes need separate evidence; a repaired link count is not a count of recovered leads.
Reference: W3C WAI: validating forms.
Supporting documentation
W3C WAI: validating formsGoogle: requesting recrawlingGoogle: technical requirements