Have you ever clicked on a link, only to be met with a loading screen that never seems to end? That’s the user experience of an external no response error. It’s what happens when your website links to an external page, but the server of that external page fails to respond. While the problem isn’t on your site, a large number of these errors can still have a negative impact on your SEO.
Think of your website as a tour guide. If you keep sending your visitors to places that are closed, they’re going to lose trust in your recommendations. The same is true for search engines. If your site is full of links that lead to dead ends, it can be a sign that your site is not well-maintained. For a broader look at how search engines crawl your site, see our guide on crawling and indexing.
The SEO Impact of Unresponsive Links
While not as damaging as a 404 error on your own site, external no response errors can still harm your SEO in a few ways:
- Poor User Experience: A user who clicks on a link that doesn’t work is likely to be frustrated and may not return to your site.
- Wasted Crawl Budget: If a search engine crawler has to wait for a response from a slow or unresponsive server, it can waste valuable crawl budget that could be spent on your own pages.
- Quality Signals: A site with a large number of broken external links can be seen as a sign of low quality by search engines.
Finding and Fixing Unresponsive Links
For a comprehensive guide on broken link building, check out this resource from Moz.
| Cause | How to Fix |
|---|---|
| The external site is down | If the site is temporarily down, you can wait for it to come back online. If it’s permanently down, you should remove the link or replace it with a link to a similar resource. |
| The URL is incorrect | Double-check the URL for any typos or errors. If you find a mistake, correct it and the link should start working again. |
| The external site is blocking your server | In some cases, a site may block requests from certain servers. If you suspect this is the case, you can try contacting the site owner to see if they can unblock you. |
A Clean and Reliable User Experience
Regularly checking for and fixing external no response errors is an important part of maintaining a healthy and user-friendly website. By ensuring that all of your links are working correctly, you can provide a better experience for your users and send a positive signal to search engines. For more on the importance of a technically sound website, see our article on technical SEO.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an external no response error?
An external no response error occurs when your website links to an external page, but the server of that external page fails to respond. This can be due to a variety of reasons, such as the server being down, a network issue, or a malformed URL.
How do external no response errors affect my SEO?
While not as critical as a 404 error on your own site, a large number of external no response errors can still negatively impact your SEO. They can create a poor user experience, waste your crawl budget, and signal to search engines that your site may not be well-maintained.
How can I find and fix external no response errors?
You can use a tool like Creeper to crawl your site and identify any external links that are not responding. Once you’ve found them, you can either remove the link, update it to a new and working URL, or contact the owner of the external site to let them know about the issue.
Are your external links leading to dead ends? Start your Creeper audit today to find and fix unresponsive links on your site.