Broken Link Triage Worksheet
A working sheet for turning a raw broken link report into a grouped, prioritized fix plan with a named owner for every entry.
Reviewed for 2026, updated September 8, 2026.
A broken link report is a list of symptoms, not a plan. One missing image in a shared footer can appear as many failures as there are pages, and a report of several thousand lines usually collapses into a few dozen real problems once entries with the same destination, the same URL pattern, or the same template are merged. This worksheet gives that merge a home. Each row is one root cause, not one occurrence, so the sheet stays short enough to review in a single meeting.
Fill the priority column with a simple score from 1 (critical) to 5 (cosmetic) based on where the link sits, how much traffic or revenue the page carries, and whether the failure is internal or external. Internal failures usually rank above external ones because they are entirely within your control. Record the fix that was actually applied, not just that the ticket was closed, so the same URL is not redirected three different ways by three different people over the years. The example rows below are placeholders to show the expected level of detail; replace them with your own entries. The article on turning a broken link report into a fix plan and the /tools/broken-link-revenue-loss/ calculator can help you argue for the time to work through it.
| Broken URL or pattern | Found on | Internal or external | Failure type | Priority 1 to 5 | Fix action | Owner and status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| example.com/old-pricing | Main navigation, footer | Internal | 404 | 1 | 301 redirect to /pricing/ and update the nav href | Dev team, open |
| example.com/images/hero-v2.jpg | Shared header template, all pages | Internal | 404 on asset | 1 | Restore the file or change the template path once | Dev team, in progress |
| example.com/promo-spring | Email campaign, paid ads | Internal | Soft 404 (200 status with not-found text) | 1 | Return a real 404 or redirect to the current promo page | Marketing, open |
| example.com/help/setup | Help center index | Internal | Redirect chain, 3 hops | 2 | Point the link and the rule directly at the final URL, remove middle rules | Dev team, open |
| example.com/blog/2021/* | Category pages, 14 old posts | Internal | 404 after CMS upgrade | 2 | Add one pattern redirect to /blog/ archive, then fix top posts one to one | Content editor, open |
| partner.example/report.pdf | Resources page | External | Timeout after 3 retries | 3 | Recheck in 48 hours, then link to an archived copy if still down | Marketing, waiting |
| news-outlet.example/2019/story | One old blog post | External | 410 gone | 4 | Rewrite the sentence so it no longer depends on the citation | Content editor, open |
| docs.example/v2/api | Developer guide, 3 pages | External | Redirects to the home page | 3 | Replace with the current documentation URL after checking it answers the same question | Dev team, open |
| Your URL or pattern | Your source page or template | Internal or external | Your status or symptom | Your score | Your fix | Your owner, your status |
| Your URL or pattern | Your source page or template | Internal or external | Your status or symptom | Your score | Your fix | Your owner, your status |
https://linkrotly.com/templates/broken-link-triage-worksheet/Use it in your business, share it with your team, or link to it from your own site.
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