What is the Disavow Tool and When Should You Use It?
By: Cassidy Richey
Luckily, Google recognizes that accidents happen, and you don’t always have the power to place every single backlink on the internet yourself. As such, they have the mystical disavow tool that allows you to instruct Google to ignore specific backlinks, meaning these backlinks can’t affect your website positively or negatively.
Using this tool isn’t always straightforward, so it’s essential to research the best practices surrounding the disavow tool. With this guide, you can learn more about these best practices, how to spot toxic links, and what to do after using the disavow tool.
When Should You Use the Google Disavow Tool?
The first step in using the Google Disavow tool is to know when to use it. After all, the disavow tool permanently signals that search engines should ignore certain links, meaning you won’t see any positive results if you accidentally disavow a “good” link. Instead, it’s best only to use the disavow tool in the circumstances below.
Algorithm Updates
If we can predict anything about Google, they’re constantly updating their algorithm to better the average searcher experience. For example, the 2010 Panda update was one of the first updates that decreased rankings for low-quality websites and any external links they used. It affected nearly 12% of search results in the United States and caused website owners nationwide to take quality control considerations more seriously.
Since then, Google has routinely made updates to decrease rankings of low-quality content and increase rankings of high-quality websites. One recent update in March 2024 targeted content created by content farms or automation to boost rankings in Google’s eyes. This was one of the first updates that included AI in their low-quality content definition. Although Google has stated that using AI doesn’t affect your rankings, they have stated that if using AI causes your content’s quality to drop, it will affect your rankings.
These examples showcase the importance of only building links with high-quality websites that take quality control seriously. However, with Google constantly changing the definition of high-quality content, it’s crucial to analyze your backlink profile more thoroughly after an algorithm update to see if low-quality websites feature your backlinks.
Spam Comments and Sites
Regardless of your opinion on spam the food, Google considers spam as anything “that’s designed to deceive users or manipulate our Search systems to rank highly.” Essentially, the sole purpose of spam isn’t to help searchers, customers, or internet users. It’s to rank highly and to mislead people. Google is also non-discriminatory about spam formatting. Spam can be anything from backlinks in articles to social media comments. As such, it’s essential to be thorough when checking your backlinks and analyze each one, even the seemingly harmless ones.
Irrelevant Pages
If a website publishes content irrelevant to your brand or services, a reader may see it as spammy, and Google will, too. Relevant links enhance a reader’s experience, which Google will always promote. When analyzing relevancy, ask yourself what users might do if they click on the backlink. If the backlink enriches their experience and helpfully leads them to your products and services, it’s considered relevant. However, if the link doesn’t enhance the experience, they’ll likely click away.
Poor Link Neighborhood
Even if a site publishes seemingly high-quality content, it could be in a poor link neighborhood. A link neighborhood is the link ecosystem a website cultivates, including internal and external links on the website and backlinks. Even seemingly high-quality websites may receive shady backlinks that could cause their website to lose traffic. Receiving backlinks from any site entrenched in a bad link neighborhood could also reflect poorly on your site.
Need Help Determining When To Utilize the Disavow Tool? Resolve is Here To Help.
We conduct SEO audits to help evaluate your backlink profile and outline ways you can improve your website’s SEO performance.
When Should You Use the Google Disavow Tool?
The first step in using the Google Disavow tool is to know when to use it. After all, the disavow tool permanently signals that search engines should ignore certain links, meaning you won’t see any positive results if you accidentally disavow a “good” link. Instead, it’s best only to use the disavow tool in the following circumstances:
Algorithm Updates
If we can predict anything about Google, they’re constantly updating their algorithm to better the average searcher experience. For example, the 2010 Panda update was one of the first updates that decreased rankings for low-quality websites and any external links they used. It affected nearly 12% of search results in the United States and caused website owners nationwide to take quality control considerations more seriously.
Since then, Google has routinely made updates to decrease rankings of low-quality content and increase rankings of high-quality websites. One recent update in March 2024 targeted content created by content farms or automation to boost rankings in Google’s eyes. This was one of the first updates that included AI in their low-quality content definition. Although Google has stated that using AI doesn’t affect your rankings, they have stated that if using AI causes your content’s quality to drop, it will affect your rankings.
These examples showcase the importance of only building links with high-quality websites that take quality control seriously. However, with Google constantly changing the definition of high-quality content, it’s crucial to analyze your backlink profile more thoroughly after an algorithm update to see if low-quality websites feature your backlinks.
Spam Comments and Sites
Regardless of your opinion on spam the food, Google considers spam as anything “that’s designed to deceive users or manipulate our Search systems to rank highly.” Essentially, the sole purpose of spam isn’t to help searchers, customers, or internet users. It’s to rank highly and to mislead people. Google is also non-discriminatory about spam formatting. Spam can be anything from backlinks in articles to social media comments. As such, it’s essential to be thorough when checking your backlinks and analyze each one, even the seemingly harmless ones.
Irrelevant Pages
If a website publishes content irrelevant to your brand or services, a reader may see it as spammy, and Google will, too. Relevant links enhance a reader’s experience, which Google will always promote. When analyzing relevancy, ask yourself what users might do if they click on the backlink. If the backlink enriches their experience and helpfully leads them to your products and services, it’s considered relevant. However, if the link doesn’t enhance the experience, they’ll likely click away.
Poor Link Neighborhood
Even if a site publishes seemingly high-quality content, it could be in a poor link neighborhood. A link neighborhood is the link ecosystem a website cultivates, including internal and external links on the website and backlinks. Even seemingly high-quality websites may receive shady backlinks that could cause their website to lose traffic. Receiving backlinks from any site entrenched in a bad link neighborhood could also reflect poorly on your site.
How To Evaluate Your Backlink Profile
The best way to spot bad backlinks is to evaluate your backlink profile through an SEO audit. In an SEO audit, you evaluate the overall health of your website — whether you have faulty pages that may be hindering the user experience, where your site ranks for specific keywords, and, most importantly, your backlink profile. You can use various tools to evaluate your backlink profile, including:
Most tools will provide specific data for each backlink, such as whether the link is no-followed or sponsored, the domain rating (DR), and how much domain traffic it may bring to your site. When using any of these sites, you can spot spammy backlinks published on irrelevant, low-quality sites that may publish manipulative or irrelevant content.
How To Use the Disavow Tool
Using Google’s disavow tool is relatively easy. Once you spot a spammy link and the site owner refuses to take it down, you can create a text file listing the URLs you want to disavow. You should place one URL per line. For example, a list with multiple URLs would look like this:
- http://examplesite.com/spam-article.html
- http://examplesite.com/spam-article-2.html
Note that the file shouldn’t have more than 100,000 lines, and each URL shouldn’t be more than 2,048 characters. From here, you can upload the file using Google’s Disavow tool. From here, Google will process the file and consider the links invalid in a couple of days to a week.
When Not to Use Google’s Disavow Tool
As mentioned earlier, using the disavow tool is not always best. For example, if you disavow a link you initially think is spammy even though it’s on a relevant website with experience in the topic at hand, you could miss out on any positive traffic it would bring you in the following months. Therefore, it’s essential to use caution if you find yourself in the following circumstances:
- The links are natural and organic: As mentioned, Google will penalize any content that seems unnatural and aims to boost site rankings. If people link to your site naturally and use your link to inform and enhance the reader experience, you don’t have to worry about the backlink harming your website’s traffic.
- Your site hasn’t been penalized: If your site performs well and its metrics aren’t dropping, your backlink profile is likely healthy, and you don’t have to use the disavow tool.
- The links are no-followed: Some sites will no-follow external links, which essentially blocks any “link juice” — good or bad — from the site to the backlink. If a spammy site posts your backlink but no-follows it, you don’t have to worry about disavowing it.
- The link spreads brand awareness: If a reasonably popular website publishes your link and you see more customers because of it, disavowing it may not be the best.
- You haven’t removed the links manually: If a spammy website posts content with your link, you can always contact the website owner to see if they can remove it themselves. This method may not always work, but it’s best to try before using the disavow tool.
Ultimately, the disavow tool shouldn’t be the first tool you turn to. If you’re unsure whether the backlink is low-quality, it’s best to proceed carefully and find other options first.
The Importance of Good Links
In addition to reporting poor backlinks, you should put just as much effort into building good links. Often, this is the recommended action if you’re worried about using the disavow tool. Putting more care into white hat link building ensures you’re less likely to end up with backlinks affecting your website’s performance. When building links, it’s essential to find sites that pass Google’s definition of high-quality content:
- Expertise: Can you consider the author of the content or the website owner an expert? Do they have accreditation in their field that makes them so?
- Experience: Does the content’s author or the website owner have experience in the topic at hand that could give them personal knowledge of the topic?
- Authority: Do other searchers continually turn to this content and website since they are authoritative figures within the field?
- Trustworthiness: Is the content unbiased, with plenty of research and sources you can trust?
Answering these questions can help you better understand a site’s EEAT and how they consider their readers. Sites with better EEAT are more likely to be of higher quality. If you build links with them, you’re more likely to get results — whether that includes a higher domain authority or more conversions.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Disavow Tool
What Is the Disavow Tool?
With the disavow tool, people can request that Google ignore specific backlinks that may harm their website’s SEO performance.
When Should I Use the Disavow Tool?
You should use the Disavow Tool when your website is affected by harmful or spammy backlinks that could negatively impact your search rankings, such as after a manual penalty.
Can I Harm My Website by Using the Disavow Tool?
Yes, if misused. Disavowing high-quality or natural backlinks can harm your website’s SEO. It’s essential to evaluate which links to disavow carefully.
How Do I Know Which Backlinks to Disavow?
Using tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Google Analytics, you can identify harmful backlinks. You can check for low-quality domains, irrelevant content, or spammy anchor text from here.
What Happens After I Submit a Disavow File?
Once you submit a disavow file, Google will process it. Once approved, Google will ignore the specified backlinks in its ranking calculations. Any noticeable impact can take several weeks.
Do I Need to Disavow Links Regularly?
You don’t need to disavow links regularly unless you’ve noticed a drop in rankings due to low-quality backlinks or have been penalized by Google. It’s more of a last-resort tool for severe backlink issues.
Can Google Automatically Detect Bad Backlinks?
Yes, Google’s algorithm often ignores low-quality or spammy backlinks. People use the Disavow Tool for manual action or negative SEO cases where these links cause issues.
How Do I Submit a Disavow File?
To submit a disavow file, you must create a list of harmful backlinks, format them into a disavow file, and upload it through Google Search Console’s Disavow Tool page.
Can I Disavow Links From Entire Domains?
You can disavow individual URLs or entire domains if you believe they harm your website’s SEO. Just ensure that the domain is of low quality before submitting.
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Content & Outreach Specialist
Cassidy Richey is a master cartographer of SEO content. In particular, she specializes in mapping out, writing, and editing onsite content. She also has plenty of experience with link building after building her career around it. Outside of her work, Cassidy likes to read (yes, even more), swim, and escape to the Idaho mountains.