Why a Working Link Is Flagged as Broken (404)

Summary

A link can be flagged as broken in Link Manager even when it works fine for real visitors. This usually happens because of a cached result or because the target site is blocking SureRank’s automated check, and not because the link is actually dead.

Why This Happens

• Server-side checks, not a browser. Link Manager checks each link with a server-side request using a custom, identifiable user agent. It does not follow redirects, so a link that redirects (301 or 302) is reported using its redirect status code instead of the final destination’s status.
• Bot protection can trigger false positives. If the target site blocks unfamiliar bots (through a firewall or Cloudflare bot protection), it may return a 403 or 503 error. Link Manager records this as “broken,” even though the link opens normally in a browser.
• Results are cached. A broken result (status 400 or higher) is cached for 30 minutes. A working result, including redirects, is cached for 1 hour. An unreachable or timed-out result is cached for 5 minutes. If you just fixed a link, the old “broken” status can stick around for up to 30 minutes before the next check runs.
• WP-Cron must be running. Scans depend on WP-Cron, including the manual Scan Now button, which schedules a check rather than running it immediately. If cron is disabled on your site, scans cannot run, and you will see a cron-related error in the dashboard.

What to Do

1. If you just fixed the link, wait up to 30 minutes for the cached “broken” status to clear, then check again.
2. Click Scan Now in the Link Manager dashboard to force a fresh check of all links.
3. If the flagged link points to an external site, check whether that site uses bot protection, such as Cloudflare or another firewall. This can produce a false “broken” reading even though the link works fine in your own browser.
4. Confirm WP-Cron is running on your site. If it has been disabled, you will need a real server cron job for scans to complete.

If the Link Is Still Flagged

If the steps above do not resolve it, contact our support team with the page URL and the specific link that is being flagged. Our team can run additional checks, such as testing the link directly from our servers, to confirm whether the target site is blocking the automated scan.