Disavowing links - what you really need to know

You may have come across this advice or formed this belief after reading about spam links. But this suggestion is harmful, and if you're not careful, it could hurt your page's ranking potential.
Disavowing toxic links is an essential step for protecting your website's search engine position and preserving domain credibility. These harmful links often come from irrelevant, spammy, or low-authority sources designed to manipulate rankings but ultimately damage your site's reputation. To identify harmful links, use tools like Google Search Console, Semrush, or Ahrefs, which assess backlinks and assign toxicity scores. It is important to carefully analyze links flagged as dangerous or potentially harmful, considering factors such as the linking site's quality, relevance, and link anchor text. Once identified, creating and submitting a disavow file through Google Search Console lets you inform Google that you want these links to be ignored during ranking calculations. This process helps prevent penalties or ranking drops caused by unnatural backlink profiles. Regular backlink audits and keeping your link profile clean are vital to maintaining healthy performance. Removing or disavowing unwanted links enhances your site's trustworthiness and supports sustainable growth while safeguarding against negative SEO tactics. Embracing a proactive approach to toxic link management not only protects rankings but also fosters a reliable, user-focused online presence.
Let me walk you through what's really happening here.

What is a disavow?

A disavow tool is found in Google Search Console. It lets you tell Google to ignore a link to your site that you think is bad. The thinking is that the link hurts your site's ranking, so it's best to have Google disregard it. This is usually done after you see a search penalty in Search Console. Using this tool can be tricky. It's simple to use, but telling Google to ignore a link isn't always the best idea. So, how do you know if you should use this tool?

What is a 'spammy' link?

A spammy link is usually from a PBN or other low-quality site. Usually, these sites engage in some grey-hat SEO practices. Ultimately, any links from these sites will likely be understood by Google as low-quality or spam.

How to identify a spammy link

To do this you’ll need to export your links or view them in an SEO tool, such as SEMrush or Ahrefs. Performing a link audit will help you to identify spammy links. And you should be on the lookout for the following:

Paid links - these are links that are on a post that is clearly flagged as sponsored. These are against Google’s guidelines.
PBN links - these can be harder to identify but you should take a look at the site and ask yourself if it genuinely looks like a real site with a real business behind it. If you can tell it’s not, then guess what, so can Google.
Low-quality links - these are usually directories and in the comments sections of sites. There’s no real value in these links and they are often farmed by low-level link building services.
Negative SEO - this is where someone malevolently builds bad links to your site in order to negatively affect your ranking.
But you should be careful. Just because you have identified a spammy link doesn’t mean you should rush to disavow it.

Should you ever use the disavow feature?

It's tough to know exactly how Google values links to your site. SEOs can only make informed guesses. Disavowing links might make you lose value without you knowing. Usually, ranking drops aren't because of spammy links. Lots of other things could be the problem, like weak content, not being seen as an authority on the topic, or tech issues with your site. If you disavow links, you might accidentally remove the value of good ones. Even experienced SEO pros can't always tell if a backlink is good or bad. Google itself has warned people about how to use the disavow tool. Many SEOs, including myself, try to warn clients about the risks of misusing the disavow tool. If Google has penalized you, there might be a reason to use this tool. Even then, get advice from an expert and follow a careful process. Disavow links cautiously, not carelessly. Unless you've been manually penalized and you've truly tried everything to find out why your site's ranking is down, avoid disavowing links. Disavowing can hurt your site and limit its growth. The disavow tool is there in your Search Console dashboard. It lets you tell Google to ignore a link from another website to yours. This is a tool that you need to use carefully. Since you can't control what's on other sites, it can be helpful for SEOs. But disavows shouldn't be taken lightly. When I've taken over a client's Search Console, I've seen people do it for no good reason. Some SEO experts see it as part of their job and spend time on this potentially damaging process for their clients. Even someone who knows what they're doing would be careful when using this thing and would likely do it slowly over time. Many SEOs who know their stuff are starting to agree. A recent survey showed that 38% of SEOs never use the disavow tool. Marie Haynes, a top SEO expert, says she's stopped using it because she thinks it's not needed. It's hard to be sure since we don't know exactly how Google's algorithm works or what makes a ranking go down. But why risk disavowing a link if it could make you lose its benefits?

What should you do with spammy links?

It's hard to know exactly how Google views a link to your site. As SEOs, we can only guess. If you disavow links, you might lose value without realizing it. Ranking problems are not always because of bad links. They could stem from weak content, a lack of authority on the topic, or technical problems. If you disavow links, you risk getting rid of the good ones. Even seasoned SEO pros can't always tell if a backlink is good or bad. Google has warned people about how to use the disavow tool. Many SEOs try to teach their clients about the risks of misusing the disavow tool. If Google has penalized you, then you might have a reason to use it. But even then, get advice from an expert and follow a plan. Disavow carefully, not carelessly. Unless you've been manually penalized and have tried everything else to find out why your site isn't ranking well, try to avoid disavowing links. Disavowing can hurt your site and limit its potential.