Broken-link defense: manual checks vs link-management tool vs redirect layer

Broken-link defense: manual checks vs link-management tool vs redirect layer

Offers die. Decide how you find out before your audience does.

— Manual quarterly check: a calendar reminder to click your top 20 links. Free, but you'll miss breaks for weeks and lose revenue silently.
— Link-management tool (Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, Lasso): auto-monitors and alerts on 404s, swaps destinations in one place. Best if your links live on a site you control.
— Redirect layer (own domain): all links point at go.yoursite.com/slug; when an offer dies you repoint the slug once. The fix is upstream of every post.

Decision rule:
— If links are scattered across platforms you don't control then the redirect layer is the only place you can fix them all at once.
— If everything's on your WordPress then a link tool with monitoring covers you.
— If you have under 15 links then a manual monthly check is honestly enough.

Checklist: automated alert on 404, single point of repoint, last-checked date logged.

Definition of done: a dead offer is caught and repointed before a follower reports it.