Link reclamation is the process of recovering link value from lost or broken links to your site and turning unlinked mentions into links. It sounds like housekeeping, and most link building plans treat it that way: something to get round to after the outreach campaign. That order is backwards. Reclamation starts with publishers who already know you exist, which makes it the cheapest work in link building.
It covers three different problems, each found and fixed differently. Getting them mixed up is how reclamation turns into a vague task that never gets done.
What is link reclamation?
Search Engine Journal’s guide to reclaiming lost and broken links defines it as recovering value from lost or broken links and converting unlinked mentions. In practice that splits into three jobs:
| Problem | What happened | How you find it | The fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broken links to your site | Another site links to a URL of yours that no longer works | A backlink report filtered to target pages returning errors | 301 redirect the old URL to its closest live equivalent |
| Lost links | A site that linked to you no longer does | A lost-backlinks report from your link tool | Ask the publisher, who has linked before, to restore it |
| Unlinked mentions | A page names your brand but does not link | Search for "Brand Name" -site:yourdomain.com, excluding social sites | A short, polite request to add a link |
Only the first row needs no one’s permission. The other two need an email, but a much easier one than cold outreach.
Fix your own broken URLs first
Start here, because it is entirely in your control. Every time a URL changes during a redesign, a migration or a content clean-up, the links pointing at the old address start landing on an error page. The linking sites did nothing wrong; you moved the page.
The fix is a permanent redirect from the old URL to the page that now does the same job, so existing links still count. Use a 301, not a 302, for a move you do not intend to reverse; 301 vs 302 redirects explains why the code matters. Redirect to the closest equivalent, not to the homepage by default. A link to a specific guide that now lands on your homepage serves the reader poorly.
Sort the broken targets by how many referring domains each has and work down the list. A handful of old URLs usually account for most of the lost value.
Check the redirects after they go live. A redirect that chains through two or three hops, or loops back on itself, still leaves the link landing badly. Test each old URL directly and confirm it reaches the new page in one step. Then add the redirect map to whatever process you use for future migrations, so the next redesign does not undo the work. Broken inbound links of this kind come from your own site changes, which means they can be prevented as well as repaired.
How to find unlinked brand mentions
The search operator does most of the work. Search "Brand Name" -site:yourdomain.com and exclude the social networks, which rarely give useful links and which you cannot ask in the same way. What remains are pages that talk about you on sites you do not own.
Some page types are worth checking first. Roundups and comparison pages often mention brands without linking to them, sometimes because the writer named several products in one sentence and linked none. Those pages are relevant by definition, because they were written about your category.
Run the search for your product names and the names of people who speak for your company, not only the brand. Set up alerts so new mentions reach you while the article is fresh and the writer still remembers it.
Before you add a page to the outreach list, read the mention in context. A passing reference in a list of twenty tools is a weaker case than a paragraph that describes what you do. Prioritise the mentions where a link would plainly help the reader.
The outreach: shorter than you think
The received wisdom says outreach needs a value proposition and a careful pitch. For unlinked mentions it does not. The publisher has already decided you are worth mentioning, so a short, polite request to add a link is often enough. Thank them for the mention, point to the sentence, give the URL you would like linked, and stop.
- Name the page and the line. The editor should be able to make the change without searching.
- Suggest the most useful URL. If the mention discusses a specific feature, link that page, not the homepage.
- Ask once, follow up once. A mention is a favour already given; chasing it repeatedly costs goodwill.
Lost links are similar. A site that linked to you before is more receptive than one that never has. Before writing, check why the link went: if the page was rewritten and your reference dropped, offer something current that fits the new version. If the whole page was deleted, there is nothing to restore.
Keeping reclamation going
Reclamation is not a one-off audit. Mentions keep arriving, and links keep being lost to rewrites and dead pages on other sites. A simple routine is enough: a monthly look at lost backlinks and new error pages with links, and alerts for the brand and product names in between.
Track every request in one sheet with the URL, the date sent, the reply and the outcome. It stops you emailing the same editor twice and shows which kinds of pages tend to say yes. Over a few months that tells you more about your own niche than any general benchmark.
What link reclamation cannot do
The limitation is scale. Reclamation recovers what you have already earned, so its ceiling is set by how often you are mentioned and how many links you had. A young site with few mentions will find very little to reclaim, and there are no reliable success-rate figures to tell you what share of requests will convert.
Not every unlinked mention should be chased, either. Some publishers have a policy against linking to companies they write about, some mentions are critical, and some sit on pages you would not want a link from. Our note on nofollow links covers what to expect if the link you get back is qualified.
Once your own links are in order, the same thinking applies to other people’s dead pages: broken link building uses their lost links as your opening. More on recovering and earning links sits in the link building archive.
Frequently asked questions
What is link reclamation?
Recovering link value from lost or broken links to your site, and turning unlinked mentions of your brand into links.
How do I find unlinked mentions?
Search for “Brand Name” -site:yourdomain.com, exclude social sites, and check roundups and comparison pages first. Set up alerts to catch new mentions.
Should I redirect broken URLs to my homepage?
No. Redirect each one with a 301 to the closest live equivalent, so the link still points readers to what they expected.
What should a reclamation email say?
Thank them for the mention, point to the exact line, give the URL to link and keep it short. The publisher already chose to mention you.
The takeaway Reclaim before you prospect. Redirect your own broken URLs, ask lapsed linkers back, and turn mentions into links with a short, polite note.
