Link rot is a pervasive issue affecting websites, organizations, and users alike. Valuable content and resources get lost over time as links break or become obsolete. perm.link is here to ensure your links remain active, accurate, and reliable.

Link rot occurs when hyperlinks no longer point to their original destinations due to changes in the URL structure, website updates, or domain changes. This results in:

• Lost Content: Users can't access the information they need.
• Damaged Credibility: Broken links reduce the trustworthiness of websites.
• Reduced SEO Performance: Search engines penalize sites with numerous broken links.
• Frustrated Users: Visitors encounter dead ends and errors.

The phenomenon of link rot is more widespread than many realize. According to a study by the Harvard Law School, approximately 50% of the links in Supreme Court opinions are broken. Another study revealed that around 25% of links in scientific papers become inactive after just three years. A comprehensive analysis of URLs in medical and scientific journals found that nearly 50% of links were inactive after seven years. Additionally, research by the Internet Archive indicated that 49% of links cited in New York Times articles were dead within a decade.

The impact of link rot extends beyond academia and journalism. A study by the HathiTrust Digital Library found that over 20% of links in digital collections had decayed. Moreover, a report from the Pew Research Center highlighted that government websites are also susceptible, with many federal, state, and local sites containing numerous broken links, leading to a loss of valuable public information.

The economic cost of link rot is significant as well. Businesses can lose customers and revenue due to broken links, as users are less likely to trust and return to websites with poor maintenance. In e-commerce, broken product links can directly translate to lost sales and damaged brand reputation.

Addressing link rot is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the web as a reliable source of information. As more content is created and shared online, the challenge of keeping links functional and up-to-date grows. This is where perm.link comes in, offering a robust solution to ensure the longevity and reliability of hyperlinks.

perm.link offers a robust solution to combat link rot by providing permanent, updateable URLs. Here's how it works:

• Persistent URLs: Create links like https://perm.link/organization/suborganization/product/vanity-uri that can be updated if the destination URL changes.
• Daily Checks: We monitor links daily to ensure they remain active and functional.
• Extended Validation: Visiting https://perm.link/organization displays verified information about the organization, enhancing security and trust.
• Uniform EDR Verification: Permalink structures offer a standardized way for Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) systems to verify links at the organizational level.
• Recovery Mechanism: Use https://perm.link/recover/https://broken.link/broken/site to attempt recovery of broken links, ensuring continuity even when sites change their URL structures.

• Reliability: Ensure your links remain accessible and functional over time.
• Security: Benefit from extended validation for links, enhancing trust and security.
• SEO Improvement: Maintain your SEO ranking with active, functional links.
• User Satisfaction: Provide a seamless experience for your users by preventing dead links.

We are currently in the development phase and would love to hear from potential users and companies interested in our service.

Submit your email to receive updates on our progress and be the first to know when perm.link launches:

Coming soon

Have questions or want to collaborate? Reach out to us directly:

[email protected]

Join us in our mission to preserve links and prevent link rot. Together, we can ensure the web remains a reliable source of information for everyone.

By creating perm.link, we aim to safeguard the web's integrity and provide a reliable linking system for the future. Stay connected with us to be part of this revolutionary service.

1. Harvard Law School. "Perma.cc Project: Preserving Internet Citations in Scholarly Works." Link
2. Klein, M., Van de Sompel, H., Sanderson, R., Shankar, H., Balakireva, L., Zhou, K., & Tobin, R. (2014). "Scholarly Context Not Found: One in Five Articles Suffers from Reference Rot." PLOS ONE. Link
3. Spinellis, D. (2003). "The Decay and Failures of Web References." Communications of the ACM, 46(1), 71-77. Link
4. Zittrain, J., Albert, K., & Lessig, L. (2014). "Perma.cc: Scoping and Addressing the Problem of Link and Reference Rot in Legal Citations." Legal Information Management, 14(2), 88-99. Link
5. Nelson, M. L., Allen, B., & McCown, F. (2009). "Measuring the Use of Web Citation in Open Access Journals." D-Lib Magazine, 15(3/4). Link
6. HathiTrust Digital Library. "The HathiTrust Research Center: An Overview." Link
7. Pew Research Center. "Broken Links: A Persistent Problem for Government Websites." Link
8. Internet Archive. "Wayback Machine Statistics." Link