Learn · Strategy · Beginner
Learn why a one-off link check goes out of date, and how to set up a simple routine that records your decisions, re-checks the pages that matter most and keeps sitemap dates honest.
By Dean Cruddace · 60 minutes to do · Updated · Last reviewed
An outbound link is a link from your page to another website. A link audit is a check of those links on one day. The trouble is that the destinations keep changing after the audit, without anyone editing your pages.
This guide shows you how to turn a one-off check into a routine: a baseline list, a written record of each decision, a re-check schedule and honest sitemap dates. Google gives no frequency for checking links, so the schedule here is your own judgement, not a Google rule.
Pages you link to can change or disappear without anyone telling you. Google's own Links report documentation notes that links it has found over time may since have been removed, or a page may no longer exist (see the Links report help). Your own pages can change without your say too: Google defines hacked content as content placed on a site without permission, and lists hidden links among the examples (see the hacked content policy). A link that was fine at your last audit may not be fine now.
List your pages and sort them. A reasonable order is: anything in a template (footer, sidebar, navigation), because it appears on every page; pages that earn traffic or links; pages that cite sources for claims; then the archive. This order is a practical suggestion, not a Google rule.
You will know it worked when You have a short ranked list, with the highest-risk pages at the top.
For each of the top pages, write down every outbound link and its destination address. Open each destination in a normal browser and note what you actually see: the page you meant, a different page, a redirect to a home page, a parked or unrelated page, or an error. Remember that a link can "work" and still no longer show what you cited.
You will know it worked when Each outbound link on your top pages has a destination and a note of what it shows today.
For every link you keep, replace or remove, write one line: the page and destination, what you saw, what you decided and why, the date, and what would make you look again. Where a link is paid or user-posted, make sure it carries the right label; see how to qualify outbound links.
You will know it worked when A colleague could read your record in a year and understand each decision without asking you.
On your top pages, right-click, choose View page source and scan for outbound links you do not recognise. Google notes that hackers may add hidden links or hidden text using CSS or HTML. In Search Console, the Links report shows links found over time, including internal links, which can help you spot pages you did not expect.
You will know it worked when Every outbound link in the source is one you can account for, or you have flagged it for investigation.
Decide how often each group gets another look, and put it in a calendar. One possible pattern: re-check straight after a migration, redesign or security incident, then more often for templates and top pages, and less often for the rest. Choose intervals you will actually keep.
You will know it worked when Each group of pages has a named interval and a next date in your calendar.
Open your XML sitemap and look at the lastmod values. Google says it uses lastmod only if it is consistently and verifiably accurate, and that it should reflect the last significant update, such as a change to the main content, the structured data or the links on the page. Make sure the date changes when those things change, and not on every site build. See Google's sitemap guide.
You will know it worked when Dates differ between pages, and a page you have not touched keeps its old date.
On each scheduled date, open the destinations again, compare them with your baseline note, and update the record. Put anything that has changed first. Links you chose to accept stay in a separate list, so they do not disappear and do not inflate the count of new findings.
You will know it worked when Your record shows a new date for each re-checked link, with changes at the top.
Go deeper
Tell Dean how big the site is and how often it changes. You will get a reply from Dean, not a sales sequence.
