Chrome Extension: Check My Links – The Ultimate Broken Link Checker Tool for SEO & Web Maintenance
In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, broken links are more than just annoying — they damage your SEO, ruin user experience, and make your website look outdated.
Could you check all the links on a webpage with just one click?
That’s exactly what the Check My Links Chrome extension does. Whether you're a web developer, SEO expert, or content creator, this tool is necessary for keeping your site clean and search-engine-friendly.
In this complete guide, we’ll walk you through:
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What Check My Links does
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How it works
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Why it’s important for SEO
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And how to fix broken links faster than ever!
✅ What is the Check My Links Chrome Extension?
Check My Links is a free Chrome extension that scans a webpage and instantly highlights valid and broken hyperlinks.
Think of it like a proofreading tool — but for URLS.
Within seconds, it identifies:
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Valid links (green)
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Redirects or warnings (yellow)
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Broken links (red)
This makes it incredibly easy to maintain your website’s link structure, keep your content updated, and improve your SEO score.
💡 Why Broken Links Hurt Your Website
Before we dive into how to use the extension, let’s understand why broken links matter.
🔹 1. Bad User Experience
A visitor clicks a link expecting helpful content, only to find a 404 error. That’s frustrating and unprofessional.
🔹 2. SEO Penalty
Search engines, especially Google, see broken links as poor site maintenance.
They can negatively affect your page rank.
🔹 3. Lost Conversions
If your internal links (to product pages or contact forms) are broken, you lose potential sales or leads.
That’s why using a broken link checker tool like Check My Links is so important.
🚀 How to Install the Check My Links Extension (Step-by-Step)
Here’s how to get started in less than a minute:
Step 1: Open Chrome Web Store
Visit: https://chrome.google.com/webstore
Step 2: Search for “Check My Links”
Look for the extension created by Paul Livingstone (it has 100k+ users).
Step 3: Click “Add to Chrome”
Confirm by selecting “Add Extension.” The icon (a small link chain) will appear in your toolbar.
Now you're ready to go!
🛠️ How to Use Check My Links in Chrome
Here’s a simple Check My Links tutorial:
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Open any webpage you want to analyse
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Click the Check My Links icon in the top right corner
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It instantly scans all the links on the page
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Results show:
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✅ Green = Valid link
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⚠️ Yellow = Redirect or warning
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❌ Red = Broken link
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You’ll see the total number of links, how many failed, and quick insights.
You can copy the list of broken links for later fixes.
It’s fast, visual, and ridiculously easy.
🎯 Who Should Use Check My Links?
🔧 Web Developers
Spot broken CSS or JS references, or outdated documentation links.
📈 SEO Specialists
Use it during technical audits or competitor analysis. Great for on-page SEO health checks.
📝 Content Writers / Bloggers
Ensure your articles don’t point to dead sources. Keeps credibility intact.
🛒 E-commerce Managers
Check for broken internal product links, payment pages, or FAQ redirects.
🧠 Pro Tips: Getting the Most from Check My Links
✔ Tip 1: Use on Published Pages
It works best on live URLS. Don’t rely on it for drafts or staging URLS without access.
✔ Tip 2: Combine with Google Search Console
Use GSC to identify 404 pages sitewide, then use Check My Links to pinpoint their location.
✔ Tip 3: Use on Competitor Pages
Find dead outbound links in competitors’ content and pitch your own site as a replacement — a sneaky backlink strategy!
💪 Benefits of Using Check My Links
Let’s summarise the main reasons why this tool is so helpful:
✅ Saves Time
Manual checking is exhausting. This tool does it in 3 seconds.
✅ Improves SEO
Clean link structures make search engines happy.
✅ Easy to Use
No need to be a developer. One click = full report.
✅ Free Forever
Unlike premium SEO suites, this tool is 100% free.
✅ Instant Visual Feedback
The red/green highlighting is perfect for fast fixes.
❌ Limitations of Check My Links
While it’s excellent, no tool is perfect:
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Doesn’t crawl entire websites — only one page at a time
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Sometimes flags temporary server errors incorrectly
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Doesn’t work on all JS-heavy websites (like SPAS or dynamic content)
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Won’t fix links — you still have to update them manually
But for a free and lightweight Chrome link validator, these are small tradeoffs.
🧩 Best Alternatives (If You Want More Features)
If you want broader scans or full site audits, try:
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Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Great for deep SEO analysis
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Ahrefs Site Audit – Tracks broken links across large websites
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Dead Link Checker – Online tool for batch scanning URLS
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W3C Link Checker – Good for accessibility and code validation
Still, for quick checks and everyday use, Check My Links is unbeatable.
📌 Final Thoughts: A Simple Tool That Solves a Big Problem
The Check My Links Chrome Extension is one of those rare tools that does one thing — and does it exceptionally well.
In a single click, it shows you:
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Which links are working
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Which ones are broken
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And how to fix them — fast
In today’s world of SEO, content marketing, and web maintenance, this extension is a game-changer.
If you care about your site’s health, your visitors’ experience, or your search engine rankings, download it now and use it regularly.
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