How to Remove Broken Links from Google

Broken links damage your website. You might have 404 pages, old product URLs, or outdated content still appearing in Google search results. This directs traffic away from your site, potentially costing sales and harming search rankings. The solution involves two steps: hiding the URL immediately and then permanently removing it. This guide provides instructions that work within hours to days, covering all scenarios, whether you own the website or not.

Do You Own the Website? Start Here.

The first question is: do you have access to the site’s Google Search Console (GSC)? If yes, you are the owner. This access provides the fastest and most effective removal tools. If not, the process is more difficult and takes longer.

You can verify ownership using one of these methods:

HTML file upload
DNS record
Google Analytics tracking code
Google Tag Manager container snippet

Your answer to the ownership question determines your strategy.

Website Ownership	Available Methods	Timeline	Effort Level
You own/control	GSC Removals Tool + Server fixes	Hours to days	Low-Medium
You don’t control	Contact owner or legal forms	Weeks to months	High

Your Removal Strategy: Temporary Hide vs. Permanent Kill

Method	Effect	Timeline	Note
Temporary Hide	Hides URL for ~6 months; clears cache snapshot	Hours to day	Requires follow-up with permanent fix
Permanent Kill	Page removed forever; signals Google as gone	Days to weeks	Use 410 (best), 404 (standard), or noindex (page stays but not indexed)

There are two primary options. Choose based on your goal.

1. Temporary Removal (Hide for 6 months)

This is for urgent situations. Use the Google Search Console Removals Tool to quickly hide URLs from search results.

Effect: Hides the URL from search for approximately 6 months. It also clears the cached snapshot and search snippet.
Timeline: Takes effect within hours to a day.
Warning: This is a temporary fix. The URL will reappear unless you implement a permanent solution before the period expires.

2. Permanent Removal (Kill it for good)

This ensures the page is gone forever. You signal to Google that this page is permanently deleted.

Method 1 (Best): Set up a 410 Gone server response. This sends a clear signal to Google that the page is intentionally and permanently deleted, leading to faster de-indexing.
Method 2 (Good): Use a standard 404 Not Found response. This also works, but Google might re-check the URL more often than a 410.
Method 3 (Situational): Add a noindex meta tag to the page’s HTML if it still needs to exist but should not appear in search.
Cleanup: Always remove the dead URLs from your XML sitemap.

How to Temporarily Hide Broken Links with Search Console

To use the quick fix, access your Google Search Console account and navigate to the “Removals” tool.

To Remove a Single URL:

Select the “Temporarily remove URL” tab.
Click “New Request.”
Paste the exact URL you want to hide. Ensure the protocol (https://) and spelling are correct. It is case-sensitive.
Choose “Remove this URL only.”
Submit the request and monitor its status in the Removals report.

To Remove an Entire Directory (Bulk Removal):

Use this when an entire section has been removed, such as /products/old-shoes/.

Select the “Temporarily remove URL” tab.
Click “New Request.”
Enter the URL prefix (e.g., https://example.com/products/old-shoes/).
Choose “Remove all URLs with this prefix.”
Important: This will remove everything under that prefix. Double-check that you are not blocking pages you want to keep.
Submit the request.

How to Implement Permanent Server-Side Fixes

A temporary hide is not enough. You must follow up with a permanent solution.

1. Set Up 410 Gone Responses (The Strongest Signal)

A 410 tells Google that the page is gone and will not return, instructing it to stop checking. This typically leads to faster de-indexing than a 404.

For Apache servers (using .htaccess): Add this line for each URL:

Redirect gone /path/to/your/old-page.html

For patterns or complex rules, use mod_rewrite:

RewriteEngine On

RewriteRule ^old-page$ – [G,L]

RewriteRule ^dir/.*$ – [G,L]

The [G] flag signals a 410 Gone status.

For Nginx servers (in server block):
- For a single URL:

location = /path/to/page { return 410; }

For a directory:

location /dir/ { return 410; }

For multiple specific URLs using a map:

map $request_uri $is_retired {

default 0;

/url1 1;

/url2 1;

}

server {

…

if ($is_retired = 1) { return 410; }

}

For IIS servers (in web.config using the URL Rewrite module):

<system.webServer>

<rules>

</rule>

</rule>

</rules>

</rewrite>

</system.webServer>

</configuration>

The <action type=”CustomResponse” statusCode=”410″ … configuration sends a direct 410 status.

Test it: Use your browser’s developer tools (Network tab) or an online HTTP status checker to confirm the URL returns a 410 status. (Refer to section “Verify an HTTP 410/404 Status” for detailed steps).

2. Use 404 Not Found (The Standard Alternative)

If a 410 cannot be implemented, a 404 works. Ensure your server returns a true 404 status code, not a “soft 404” (a page that says “not found” but returns a 200 OK status). A good 404 page should also provide navigation.

3. Add Noindex Meta Tags (For Pages That Still Exist)

Use this if a page must remain live but should not appear in Google Search.

Insert this tag into the <head> section of the page’s HTML:

Crucial: Do not block this page in your robots.txt file. If Google cannot crawl the page, it will never see the noindex tag, and the page will remain in the index.

Cleaning Up E-commerce Product Pages in Bulk

Discontinued products are a common issue for e-commerce sites. Here’s how to manage them at scale.

Export the URLs: Get a list of all discontinued product URLs from your e-commerce platform.
Configure 410s: Use server rules to apply a 410 Gone response to the entire list or directory pattern (e.g., all URLs under /products/discontinued/).
Remove from Sitemaps: Delete these URLs from your XML sitemap. Do not list pages that are dead.
Hide Them Fast: Use the GSC Removals Tool with a prefix removal (like /products/discontinued/) to hide the entire category from search results immediately while Google processes the permanent 410s.
(Optional) Redirect: If an entire category is being replaced, consider a 301 redirect from the old category page to the new one. However, if the goal is pure removal, avoid 301s, as they often preserve the old URL’s indexing.

For non-HTML files like images and PDFs, delete them from the server and use the GSC Removals Tool to remove them from Google Images or search results.

How to Clear Outdated Snippets from Search Results

If your page is correct but Google shows an old snippet in search results, use the cache-clearing tool. This does not remove the URL from search; it just forces Google to refresh its snapshot.

The Cache Clearing Process:

In the GSC Removals tool, go to the “Clear cached URL” tab.
Click “New Request.”
Enter the exact URL with the outdated snippet.
Submit the request.
Google will clear the old cache and update the snippet the next time it crawls the page.

Verify an HTTP 410/404 Status

Confirming that a URL returns a true ‘410 Gone’ or ‘404 Not Found’ HTTP status code is important, especially to avoid ‘soft 404s’ (a page indicating “not found” but returning a 200 OK status).

Methods to Test HTTP Status:

Browser Developer Tools (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Edge):
- Open Developer Tools (usually by pressing F12 or right-clicking and selecting “Inspect”).
- Go to the “Network” tab.
- Enter or reload the URL in your browser.
- Observe the list of network requests. The main document request should show its HTTP status code (e.g., 410 Gone or 404 Not Found) in the “Status” column.
- Check the “Headers” or “Response” tab for the specific request to confirm.
Command Line Tool curl:
- To get only the headers and status, following redirects:

curl -I -L https://example.com/path-to-check

To get a verbose output including status and headers:

curl -v https://example.com/path-to-check

To see only the HTTP status code (and download size):

curl -s -o /dev/null -w “%{http_code} %{size_download}\n” https://example.com/path-to-check

Online HTTP Status Checkers:
- Tools like REDbot, WebSniffer, httpstatus.io, and HTTPStatus.org allow you to enter a URL and view its HTTP status code and response headers. Some can also simulate different user agents.
Google Search Console (URL Inspection Tool):
- Enter the URL into the URL Inspection tool in GSC.
- Google will show you how Googlebot sees the page, including the HTTP status code it received. This can also flag ‘soft 404s’.

Detecting Soft 404s:

A soft 404 occurs when a page returns a 200 OK status code but displays content that indicates the page doesn’t exist (e.g., “Page Not Found”, “Product Unavailable”).

Indicators: A 200 OK status coupled with a visible “not found” message on the page.
Confirmation: Use browser developer tools or curl to view the full response body. If the status is 200 OK but the content implies a 404, it’s a soft 404. Google Search Console’s URL Inspection tool can flag these situations.

What to Do with URLs You Don’t Control

This is more challenging. If the broken link is on another website, your options are limited, slower, and require more effort.

1. Contact the Website Owner

This is the first step. Find contact information on the site or via a WHOIS lookup.

Email the owner and politely ask them to remove the page (so it sends a 404/410) or add a noindex tag.
Be specific: provide the exact URLs and a clear reason.
If you do not receive a response in a few weeks, send one follow-up. Afterwards, proceed to other options.

2. File a DMCA Takedown for Copyright Infringement

If someone has used your copyrighted content without permission, you can request Google to delist it.

Process: Use Google’s Legal Removal Request (copyright) form via Google Support.
Required Information (per 17 U.S.C. § 512(c) (A)):
1. Physical or electronic signature (or typed/checked signature).
2. Identification of the copyrighted work(s) being infringed.
3. URL(s) of the infringing material (one per line).
4. Your contact information (name, address, phone, email).
5. A statement of good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized.
6. A statement under penalty of perjury asserting the accuracy of the information and that you are the copyright owner or an authorized agent.
Steps:
1. Access Google’s copyright troubleshooter, select “Web Search”, then “Removing content from Google”, and finally the copyright option.
2. Provide your identity and contact details, describe your original work (with a live URL if available to prove ownership), list the infringing URLs, and sign the declaration.
3. Submit the request. Google typically reviews these within 2-5 business days. If valid, the results are delisted from Search, and Google notifies the site owner. The site owner may then file a counter-notice.
Notes: This is a legal process; only use it for legitimate copyright claims. False claims can lead to liability.

3. Request Removal of Personal Information

If a site exposes sensitive personal information (PII) such as bank details, home address, or other private data, you can use Google’s personal information removal forms.

Process: Use Google’s “Request removal of content containing personal information from Google Search” forms or the Results About You tool.
Types of Removals: This covers personal info (addresses, phone numbers, government IDs, bank accounts, signatures, login credentials), non-consensual explicit imagery, content involving minors, and sites that demand payment for removal.
What to Submit: The exact PII as it appears, URLs of search results/source pages, search terms triggering the result, screenshots, your relationship/authority (if representing someone), and contact details. Provide context and proof.
Process and Timeline: Google acknowledges receipt and reviews the request (days to weeks). If approved, Google removes the content from Search results (not from the source website). Denials may be appealed.
Additional: For some cases, users can request removal directly from Search entries using the three-dot menu (“Remove this result”).

Monitor and Confirm the Deletion

Do not assume your request worked. You must verify it.

Track Status in GSC:

The Removals report in Google Search Console shows the status of your requests: Processing, Temporarily removed, or Expired.
Set a calendar reminder for 5 months after a temporary removal. This allows you one month to ensure your permanent fix is in place before the URL reappears.

Verify Deindexing:

Once a permanent fix is in place and Google has had time to recrawl, search for the URL using the site: operator:
site:example.com/your-broken-link
If nothing appears, it is de-indexed.
Test all variations: www vs. non-www, http vs. https, etc.

Strengthen Your Site Beyond Just Removing Links

Fixing broken outbound links is one part of website health. Internal link structure and backlink profile are also important. Broken internal links create a poor user experience and hinder search engine crawling.

While cleaning up dead pages, review your incoming links. Toxic external links can harm your domain authority. A backlink audit service analyzes your link profile to help disavow harmful links, protecting your rankings while improving your site’s overall health.

After removing broken links, consider these optimizations:

Update your internal links to avoid pointing to deleted pages.
Set a schedule for regular link monitoring.
If a broken URL had valuable backlinks, redirect it to a relevant, active page to preserve its authority.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I delete broken links? To delete broken links on a site you own, configure your server to return a 410 Gone or 404 Not Found status for the URL. Then, use the Google Search Console Removals Tool to temporarily hide it from search results while Google processes the permanent removal.

2. How do I get links removed from Google? If you own the site, use the GSC Removals Tool for temporary hiding and a server-side 410/404 response for permanent removal. If you do not own the site, you must contact the owner or file a legal request with Google (e.g., DMCA for copyright, PII for personal data).

3. How do I remove old website links from Google? For an old link on your own site, implement a 410 Gone response and remove it from your sitemap. For an old link on someone else’s site that points to you, you cannot control it directly. If the link points to a page that is now a 404 on your site, Google will eventually de-index it.

4. How do I remove unwanted sites from Google? You cannot remove an entire website you do not own from Google. You can only request the removal of specific URLs that contain copyrighted material, personal information, or other content that violates Google’s policies. The site owner is the only one who can remove a site entirely.

How to Remove Broken Links From Google Fast