Link reclamation
Link reclamation is recovering links you have already earned but are losing value from: links pointing at pages on your site that now return an error, links that were removed or changed, and mentions of your brand that were never linked in the first place.
Also called: backlink reclamation, lost link recovery, broken backlink recovery
It is usually the cheapest link building there is, because the hard part - convincing someone you are worth linking to - already happened. What remains is a technical fix on your own site, or a short, specific request to someone who has already shown they think well of you.
Most of the loss is self-inflicted. A redesign changes URLs, a product page is retired, a blog is moved to a new folder, and every external link pointing at the old addresses quietly starts landing on a 404 page. Those links still exist on other people's sites; they have simply stopped doing anything for yours.
Reclamation is also why counting links once is misleading. A link profile is not a pile that only grows - it leaks constantly, and a program that never checks for losses overstates what it has every month it runs.
The kinds of links you can reclaim
- Links to broken pages on your site. External links pointing at URLs that now return a 404 or 410. Fixed on your side, without contacting anyone.
- Links to the wrong address. Typos in the URL, links to a staging domain, or links to an old version of a page. Fixed with a redirect, or a quick note to the linking site.
- Removed links. A link that was on the page and is now gone, often because the article was edited or the template changed. Sometimes recoverable with a polite question.
- Unlinked mentions. Pages that name your brand, product or research without linking to it. Recoverable with a request, because the endorsement already exists.
- Uncredited use of your assets. Your images, charts or data used without attribution. A request for a credit link is reasonable and usually welcomed.
How to find lost and broken links
Backlink tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush and Majestic report lost links and list external links pointing at pages on your site that return errors. Google Search Console's Pages report shows URLs Google found returning 404, and its Links report shows which of your pages other sites link to most - cross-referencing the two highlights broken pages that still carry links. After any migration, compare the old URL list against the new one before launch, not after.
How to reclaim them
- Redirect first. Point each broken URL that still has external links at its closest current equivalent with a permanent (301) redirect. Google says server-side redirects pass PageRank, so this recovers the value without asking anyone for anything.
- Restore what was worth keeping. If a retired page earned many links and has no real equivalent, consider bringing back an updated version at the same address.
- Ask where a fix needs the other site. For removed links, typo'd URLs and unlinked mentions, write to the author with the exact page, the exact sentence and the correct URL. Keep it short and make the edit easy.
- Check again. Confirm the redirect resolves in one hop and the restored links are live, then keep monitoring - loss is continuous, so reclamation works best as a routine rather than a one-off cleanup.
Common mistakes
- Redirecting everything to the homepage. Google can treat a redirect to an unrelated page as a soft 404. Redirect each URL to the page that actually replaces it.
- Redirect chains. Old URL to older redirect to new page wastes crawl effort and invites breakage. Point every old address straight at the final destination.
- Emailing before fixing your own side. If a 301 recovers the link, there is no reason to ask a busy editor to change their page.
- Treating it as a one-time project. Links keep breaking as sites change. A quarterly check catches losses while they are still easy to recover.
How Outlink AI runs this in practice: Unlinked mentions & niche edits.
Common questions
What is the difference between link reclamation and broken link building?
Link reclamation recovers links to your own site that broke, disappeared or were never added. Broken link building finds broken links on other sites that point to someone else's dead page, and offers your page as the replacement. One recovers links you earned; the other earns new links by fixing other people's defects.
Do backlinks to a 404 page still count?
Generally no. A link to a URL that returns 404 points at nothing, so it passes no value to the rest of your site. Redirecting that URL with a 301 to the closest equivalent page lets the link count again, which is why fixing broken pages that carry backlinks is often the fastest SEO win available.
Related terms
Unlinked mention
An unlinked mention is a place where a website names your brand, product, or research in its text without linking to you. Asking for the link to be added is one of the highest-conversion requests in link building, because the endorsement already exists.
Broken link building
Broken link building is finding links on other sites that point to pages which no longer exist, then suggesting your own working page as the replacement. The pitch works because you are reporting a real defect on someone's page, not asking a favor.
Link equity
Link equity is the ranking value a link passes from one page to another. It is the modern, less-jocular name for what SEOs long called 'link juice', and it descends from PageRank, Google's original method of scoring pages by the links pointing at them.
Backlink
A backlink is a link on someone else's website that points to yours. It is the same object as any hyperlink - 'backlink' simply names it from the perspective of the site being linked to.
Link building
Link building is the practice of getting other websites to link to yours, because search engines treat a link from one site to another as a signal that the destination is worth showing to searchers.
Last reviewed 2026-10-24. All glossary terms
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