Disavow
Disavow is the process of using Google's Disavow Links Tool to request that specific backlinks be ignored when evaluating your site's rankings. Introduced in 2012 after the Penguin update, it helps sites penalized for manipulative link building to disassociate from harmful links.
Disavow is the process of using Google's Disavow Links Tool to request that specific backlinks be ignored when evaluating your site's rankings. Introduced in 2012 after the Penguin update, it helps sites penalized for manipulative link building to disassociate from harmful links.
Why It Matters
Most websites never need to use the disavow tool. Google states: "In most cases, Google can assess which links to trust without additional guidance." However, it becomes relevant when you've received a manual action, have a history of link buying, or are under large-scale spam link attack.
When to Use
Use when:
- You received a manual action citing "unnatural links" in Google Search Console
- You previously purchased links or participated in link schemes
- Large-scale spam backlinks arrived from a negative SEO attack
Don't use when:
- SEO tools flag links as "toxic" (Google doesn't officially use this concept)
- Rankings dropped without a manual action (likely caused by something else)
- Only a small number of low-quality links exist (Google ignores them automatically)
How to Disavow
- Review external links to your site in Google Search Console
- Identify harmful links causing the manual action
- First request link removal from the linking site's webmaster
- List unremoved links in a
.txtfile - Upload the file to Google's Disavow Links Tool
The "Toxic Links" Misconception
"Toxic backlinks" is not a Google term — it's coined by SEO tools using their own risk criteria. Tool assessments may not match Google's actual judgment. Blindly disavowing tool-flagged links can hurt rankings by removing links that were actually helping.
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