Broken links might be quietly destroying your search engine rankings. Google uses broken links as a quality signal because they create a bad user experience, and you almost certainly have more of them than you think. In this episode, Mark shares tools and strategies for finding and fixing broken links, plus discusses e-cigarette affiliate opportunities and answers a listener question about AdSense versus affiliate marketing.<\/p>\n
Mark is recording from his hotel in Kuala Lumpur, across from the Petronas Towers. This week's Rankings Institute takeaway comes from module three: broken links are a bigger deal than most site owners realize.<\/p>\n
Google's reasoning is straightforward. When they recommend your site to a searcher and that person clicks a broken link, the bad experience reflects on Google. Broken links are easy for Google to detect programmatically, making them a reliable quality signal in the Panda algorithm. Well-maintained sites that provide good user experiences do not have broken links.<\/p>\n
Mark recommends checking three sources. Google Webmaster Tools reports broken links found during crawls. The Broken Link Checker WordPress plugin monitors your site continuously. And an external tool like Integrity for Mac or Link Sleuth for PC provides a comprehensive scan independent of Google's crawl coverage.<\/p>\n
The episode also covers finding niche opportunities in everyday life, using e-cigarettes as an example, and answers a listener question about when to use AdSense versus affiliate marketing. Mark's framework: use affiliate marketing when your content promotes specific products that solve problems, and AdSense for purely informational content. Do not mix them on the same site.<\/p>\n
Mark recorded this in early 2014. The tools and landscape have evolved.<\/p>\n
Google Search Console replaced Webmaster Tools<\/strong> with improved crawl error reporting and page indexing diagnostics. Modern site audit tools like Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, and Sitebulb have become industry standard for comprehensive link auditing.<\/p>\n The Broken Link Checker plugin has performance concerns on large sites.<\/strong> While still popular, many site owners now prefer external tools to avoid database bloat.<\/p>\n E-cigarettes have become a heavily regulated niche<\/strong> with strict advertising restrictions on most platforms, making it a much more challenging affiliate market than it appeared in 2014.<\/p>\n If you found this episode helpful, you might also enjoy:<\/p>\n Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts<\/a> or subscribe at latenightim.com\/internet-marketing-podcast\/<\/a>. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.<\/p>\nResources Mentioned<\/h2>\n
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