How to find dead or broken business websites, in bulk
To find dead business websites in bulk, take the website address from each business listing, request it, and keep the ones that fail to load, then re-check them on the day you call. As of 12 Nov 2026, 7,827 of the 122,822 sellable US local businesses in the 67Leads warehouse that list a website (6%) had a site that did not load when we last checked, and 4,902 of those have 10 or more reviews.
Key numbers
- 7,827Listed website did not load
- 6%Share of listed sites that did not load
- 122,822Website on the listing
- 4,902Listed website did not load, 10+ reviews
Live from the 67Leads warehouse, computed (US Central) when this page was served. Sellable means graded as the trade, with a phone, opted-out businesses removed. Methodology.
Shortcut: the dead websites pages list them by trade and city, the website down checker tests one address, and the bulk URL checker tests up to 25 at once.
What "dead" means
A listing links to an address. The address can fail in several ways, and they are not the same pitch:
- The domain no longer resolves. The owner let it expire or never renewed it.
- The server answers with an error. A 404, 500 or similar: the hosting broke or the site was removed.
- The connection times out. The host is down or the site is too slow to load.
- The certificate is invalid. Browsers show a warning page, so visitors leave.
- It redirects somewhere unrelated. A parked page or another company.
Name which one you saw when you call. "Your domain expired" and "your certificate is invalid" lead to different offers.
Step 1: Start from businesses that are still trading
A dead website matters most for a business that is open. Filter for ones with reviews: a listing with dozens of recent reviews is trading, while one with none may have closed. 4,902 down-site listings have 10 or more reviews today. Start there, trade by trade, using the dead websites pages.
Step 2: Confirm it yourself
A single failed request is not proof. Sites go down for an hour and come back. Before you call:
- Open the address in a browser on your phone and your computer.
- Run it through the website down checker, which reports up or down, the status code, the final address and HTTPS.
- Check again a few hours later, or the next morning. The bulk URL checker is built for re-testing a batch.
- Look the business up on its map listing to confirm it is open and the phone number matches.
Only call about a site you have seen fail twice. "It was down when I looked this morning and again this afternoon" is true and specific.
Step 3: Work out why, and what it costs the owner
The reason shapes the offer. A lapsed domain can sometimes be re-registered if it has not been bought by someone else; a broken certificate is a quick fix; a site that was never updated may need a rebuild. Use the website last updated checker to see how stale it is, and the website builder detector to see what it is built on, which tells you whether you can fix it or have to replace it.
Do not guess what the outage costs them in lost jobs. You cannot know it. You can say what a visitor sees today.
Step 4: Reach the owner
Phone first. A short opener: "I tried to open your website this morning and it would not load. I wanted to tell you in case you did not know." That is a favour, not a pitch, and it is the reason owners take the call. If they thank you, offer to send a quote to fix or replace it. Our guide on how to pitch a business whose website is down has the full script.
If you email instead, keep to the CAN-SPAM basics: your real name and postal address, an honest subject and a working opt-out. See the FTC compliance guide.
Step 5: Make the offer small
For a dead site the easiest yes is a narrow one: get the existing site back online, or put up a one-page replacement with phone, services, area and reviews. Send a written price. Upsell later, after the site works. If the business had no usable site before, the no-website guide covers the larger rebuild pitch.
Doing it for a whole trade
If you want to test your own list rather than ours, export the website column from your list and run it through the bulk checker 25 at a time. Keep a log of the date and result for each address, because a result is only true on the day you got it. Refresh any list older than a week before you call it.
How 67Leads fits
67Leads checks the website on each listing and stores whether it loaded. The dead websites pages show the counts by trade and city with contacts masked. Search is free, your first 67 leads export free, and after that credits start at $6.70 per 1,000. The site-down data study shows the rate by trade.
Questions
How many local business websites are down?
As of 12 Nov 2026, 7,827 of the 122,822 sellable businesses that list a website (6%) had a site that did not load when we last checked. Some will have recovered since, so re-check each one before you call.
How do I check if a business website is down?
Open it on your phone and computer, then use the website down checker for the status code and HTTPS result. For a batch, the bulk URL checker takes up to 25 addresses.
Can I tell the owner their site is down?
Yes, and it is usually welcome. Say what you saw and when, and offer to help. Do not claim an outage you have not confirmed twice.
Is a down website a better lead than no website?
Often. The owner already paid for a site once, so they do not need convincing that one matters, only that it is broken.
Get 67 leads freeNo card. Search is free with contacts masked.