Introduction
Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors in Google’s algorithm. A backlink is created when one website links to another. The more high-quality backlinks a website has, the higher it will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
However, not all backlinks are created equal. Some backlinks, like those from spammy or low-quality websites, can hurt your website’s ranking. That’s where disavowing backlinks is important, and with the help disavow tool.
The disavow tool is a way for you to tell Google that you don’t want certain backlinks to count towards your website’s ranking. It is a great way to clean up your link profile and get rid of any spammy or low-quality links. In this guide, we’ll explain everything you already know and everything you need to know on how to disavow links.
What Are Backlinks?
As we mentioned before, a backlink is created when one website links to another. For example, if you have a blog post about “How to Make a Perfect Cup of Coffee,” and I have a website about coffee, I may link to your blog post on my website. That would be considered a backlink.
Backlinks are important because they help Google determine the quality of a website. If a website has a lot of high-quality backlinks, it is more likely to rank higher in SERPs. On the other hand, if a website has a lot of low-quality or spammy backlinks, it is more likely to rank lower.
High-quality backlinks are like gold. They can help improve your website’s ranking in the search engines, while low-quality ones will only hurt it!
Why Are Some Backlinks “Bad”?
Some people think that all backlinks are good for your website, but this is not true. Some can hurt you and make ranking more difficult which means they’re called “bad” or “spammy” ones!
Bad backlinks are created by using black-hat SEO techniques, such as:
Buying links: This is when someone pays for a link to be placed on another website. This is against Google’s guidelines, and it can get your website penalized.
Link farms: These are websites that are created solely to build backlinks. They usually have low-quality content, and they can hurt your website’s ranking.
Reciprocal links: These are when two websites agree to link to each other. They offer no value to the reader, and they can hurt your website’s ranking.
Misdirected links: These are when a website links to your website, but the link is not relevant to the content. For example, if I have a website about coffee and I link to your website about cats, that would be considered a misdirected link.
While these are only a few examples, there are many other ways to create bad backlinks. It’s important to be aware of them so you can avoid them! Check out our guide “SEO Practices: Best To Worse Explained [White Hat, Black Hat, Grey Hat, Negative SEO]” to know more about blackhat SEO.
How to Check If You Have Bad Backlinks
The first step in disavowing backlinks is to check if you have any bad links. There are a few different ways to do this:
1. Google Search Console
The first way is to check your backlinks in Google Search Console (formerly known as Webmaster Tools). To do this, log into your account and click on “Search Traffic” and then “Links to Your Site.”
There, you will see a list of all the websites that link to your website. You can click on each website to see more information about the links, such as the anchor text and the date when the link was first found.
2. Moz Open Site Explorer
Another way to check your backlinks is with Moz’s Open Site Explorer. Just enter your website’s URL into the tool and it will show you a list of all the websites that link to yours.
3. Majestic
Majestic is another tool that you can use to check your backlinks. Just enter your website’s URL and it will show you a list of all the websites that link to yours.
4. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is yet another tool that you can use to check your backlinks. Just enter your website’s URL and it will show you a list of all the websites that link to yours.
5. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a great way to see not only your backlinks but also the traffic that those links are sending to your website. To do this, log into your Analytics account and click on “Acquisition” and then “All Traffic.”
From there, you will see a list of all the websites that have been linked to your website. You can click on each website to see more information about the links, such as the anchor text and the date when the link was first found.
Now that you know how to check your backlinks, the next step is to disavow them!
What Is The Disavow Tool?
The disavow tool is a tool that allows you to tell Google not to take certain backlinks into account when they are determining your website’s ranking. This is useful if you have a lot of low-quality or spammy backlinks pointing to your website.
Important Steps to Take Before Disavowing Links
Before you disavow any links, there are a few important things to keep in mind:
1. Check If The Links Are Bad
The first thing you need to do is to make sure that the links you want to disavow are bad. Just because a website has low-quality content doesn’t mean that the link is bad. And just because a website is new doesn’t mean that the link is bad.
2. Try To Remove The Links Manually
The next thing you need to do is to try to remove the links manually. This means contacting the website owner and asking them to remove the link.
3. Keep A Record Of The Links You Disavow
The third thing you need to do is to keep a record of the links you disavow. This can be a simple text file or an Excel spreadsheet.
4. Only Disavow The Worst Links
And last but not least, you should only disavow the worst links. There’s no need to disavow all of your backlinks. Just the really bad ones.
Note: In most cases, links from high-quality sites will be trusted by Google without additional guidance, so most websites don’t need to use this tool.
How To Use The Disavow Tool
The disavow tool is a way for you to tell Google that you don’t want certain backlinks to count towards your website’s ranking. To use the disavow tool, you first need to create a list of links to disavow. To do this, you can either use a text editor like Notepad or a spreadsheet program like Excel.
Once you have your list of links, the next step is to upload it to the disavow tool. To do this, log into your Google Search Console account and click on “Search Traffic” and then “Links to Your Site.”
Next, click on the “More” button and then select “Disavow links.”
On the next page, you will see a warning that says “This is an advanced feature and should only be used with caution.” Read through the warning and then click on the “Disavow Links” button.
Once you have done this, on the next page, you will be able to upload a file with all of the links that you want to disavow. You can either create this file yourself or use a tool like Google’s Link Disavow Tool.
Make sure you have your file ready and click on the “Choose File” button to select the file from your computer. Finally, click on the “Submit” button to upload the file.
And that’s it! You have now disavowed all of the links in your file. It may take some time for Google to process the file and for the changes to take effect, so be patient.
To confirm that you have disavowed the links, you can go back to the “Links to Your Site” page in Google Search Console and click on the “More” button. If you see a message that says “Disavowed: Yes,” then you know the disavowal has been processed. You will also see a toxic score next to each link, which is a measure of how spammy the link is.
Note:
I’m sorry to say that the disavow links tool doesn’t work with Domain properties. If you have a domain property, this page won’t be able to help get rid of those pesky backlinks!
Common Questions About The Disavow Tool
1. How long does it take for the disavowal to take effect?
It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for the disavowal to take effect. Google has to process the file and then re-crawl all of the links in it. So be patient!
2. Can I disavow an entire domain?
Yes, you can disavow an entire domain, but I don’t recommend it. The only time I would ever do this is if the entire domain is spammy and there’s no way to get rid of the links.
3. What if I accidentally disavow a good link?
If you accidentally disavow a good link, don’t worry! Just submit another file with that link removed and Google will re-crawl it and take it into account.
4. What is the difference between “disavowing” and “nofollowing” a link?
When you “disavow” a link, you are telling Google that you don’t want that link to count towards your website’s ranking. When you “nofollow” a link, you are telling Google that you don’t want it to follow the link and pass along PageRank.
5. Should I use the disavow tool if I have a manual penalty?
If you have a manual penalty, then you should use the disavow tool. This will help Google to understand which links are bad and which ones are good.
6. What happens if I don’t use the disavow tool?
If you don’t use the disavow tool, then Google will continue to take into account all of the links pointing to your website, even the bad ones. This can hurt your website’s ranking and may even result in a manual penalty.
7. I think someone is trying to hurt my website with bad links. What should I do?
If you think someone is trying to hurt your website with bad links, the first thing you should do is create a list of all of the suspicious links. Once you have that list, you can upload it to the disavow tool and Google will ignore those links.
8. I received a message from Google saying that my website has unnatural links. What does that mean?
If you received a message from Google saying that your website has unnatural links, it means that Google has found links pointing to your website that they consider to be spammy or low-quality. These links can hurt your website’s ranking, so it’s important to remove them.
Conclusion
It is not an easy task to keep your backlink profile clean. You can do all you want to create great content and get high-quality links, but there will always be spammy websites out there trying to hurt your website. That’s where the disavow tool comes in. By using this tool, you can tell Google to ignore all of the bad links pointing to your website. This will help to improve your website’s ranking and protect it from manual penalties. So if you have a problem with bad backlinks, don’t hesitate to use the disavow tool. It could be just what you need to clean up your link profile and protect your website.
I hope this guide was helpful! If you need help getting started with your SEO efforts, you can hire an agency that specializes in SEO or you can contact us at 12 Channels because we offer SEO services as well.
12Channels is a full-service digital agency that specializes in SEO, PPC, social media, web design, and more. We have a team of experienced online marketers who can help you to improve your website’s ranking and get more traffic. Contact us today to learn more about our services!
