LinkGuard is an automated tool designed to scan and monitor websites for broken links. These broken links can be either links within your own website, or links from your website to external web pages.

One of the key benefits of LinkGuard is its ability to detect broken links proactively, even when no one informs you about the removal or change of a link that has resulted in a "404 Not Found" error. This tool helps website owners and administrators ensure that all links on their site remain functional, providing a better user experience and preventing potential issues with SEO rankings and user engagement.

LinkGuard can detect soft 404 pages, just like it detects other HTTP status codes. Soft 404 errors often return a 200 OK status code, which can be misleading because the page may not actually contain the expected content.

LinkGuard checks links that return a 200 OK status but contain content that indicates it's actually a soft 404 page, such as a 'Page Not Found' message or '404 Error.' However, please be aware that some creative 404 pages that don't use 'Page Not Found' or '404' messages may not be detected.

Manual QA works well for small websites where broken links and images can be easily detected manually. However, as websites grow larger, QA becomes a more challenging task. In such cases, we often rely on third-party notifications to inform us reactively when some linkes are broken.

LinkGuard, on the other hand, offers a proactive solution. It automatically detects all the broken links and notifies you promptly, allowing you to address them before users even notice. Consider a scenario where a partner removes a page to which you've linked on your website. Ain't everyone has the time to inform you about such changes, and your website may end up linking to a dead 404 page, which can harm your SEO and brand visibility. LinkGuard helps you avoid such pitfalls by keeping your website in optimal condition.

Other than broken links, LinkGuard can also detect:

1. Missing Open Graph meta tags: Missing Open Graph (OG) meta tags can seriously impact your social presence, as they can result in the absence of proper thumbnails, titles, and descriptions when your users share your content on social networks.
2. Broken sitemap.xml: Detecting broken links in your sitemap.xml is crucial for maintaining your website's visibility on search engines like Google. When search engine crawlers encounter broken links in your sitemap.xml, it can disrupt the indexing process, causing some of your pages to go unnoticed in search results. LinkGuard helps you identify and fix these issues, ensuring that your website remains well-indexed and visible to users.
3. Robots.txt and robot meta tag: Misconfiguring these crucial settings can lead to costly consequences, such as a drop in search engine rankings and prolonged recovery periods. LinkGuard helps you identify and fix these issues before they cause long-term damage to your online presence.