LinkQuality Benchmark

What's this site all about?

The LinkQuality Benchmark rates the link failure on web sites from all over the Internet. It's updated every week from information gathered during automated link testing operations at LinkAlarm.

Webmasters, site managers and developers who use LinkAlarm categorize their sites for anonymous comparison with the LinkQuality Benchmark. The average link failure rate is determined using tests on over 5000 sites (more than 500,000 pages).

What is link failure?

Web site information is held together by hyperlinks. These links point to the files necessary for displaying images, getting to other pages and other sites. When web links fail you'll see broken images and strange error messages as you use the site. Increasing link failure over time is known as link rot.

Why do links fail?

Links fail for many reasons. The most common is the 404 - File Not Found. It occurs when the file being linked to is moved or deleted. Developers of web sites often link to files on other web sites, but they're not informed when those sites change. Link problems also creep in during site development, and often occur with e-commerce systems.

Why measure link failure?

If you're maintaining a high quality site it's important to monitor your links. As links are going dead all the time, checking them is an ongoing process that needs regular attention.

On large sites, the manager needs to determine the level of link failure that is acceptable and have alarms in place when that level is reached.

Can I prevent link failure on my sites?

Unfortunately, no. These days, the web is changing rapidly. Any links that point to resources you don't control are at risk from link failure.

Consider using an automatic service like LinkAlarm to check every link on your sites regularly. When dead links are found, you're notified by email and a web report detailing all new problems.