Toxic backlinks can quietly kill your website’s search performance. If you’ve noticed a sudden dip in rankings or received a Google warning about unnatural links, it’s time to act. But don’t worry—disavowing toxic backlinks isn’t as scary as it sounds. I’ll walk you through the process step-by-step, show you how to spot those “bad actors,” and help you protect your site’s reputation (and rankings) for the long haul.
Ready to clean up your link profile? Let’s dive in.
What Are Toxic Backlinks (and Why Should You Care)?
Not all backlinks are good for your site. Toxic backlinks are links from spammy, irrelevant, or low-quality websites that can actually harm your SEO. Think of them as digital graffiti on your brand’s reputation. Too many, and Google starts seeing your site as less trustworthy, which can mean lost rankings, less traffic, and fewer leads.
Examples of toxic backlinks:
- Links from hacked sites, link farms, or obvious spam
- Irrelevant sites (e.g., casino or adult content linking to your business blog)
- Sites flagged for malware or phishing
- Paid links or manipulative link schemes
Why Disavow? Can’t I Just Ignore Bad Backlinks?
Great question. In most cases, Google is pretty good at ignoring bad links. But if you’ve got a lot of toxic backlinks—especially after a negative SEO attack or a sketchy SEO campaign in your past—you could be at risk for a manual penalty or ongoing ranking issues.
When should you disavow toxic backlinks?
- You receive a warning from Google Search Console about unnatural links
- Your site is hit by a manual action for link schemes
- You notice a sudden influx of spammy links (negative SEO)
- You’ve tried (and failed) to remove links manually
How to Identify Toxic Backlinks
Before you can disavow, you need to know which links are actually hurting you. Here’s a proven process:
1. Gather All Your Backlinks
Start by pulling a comprehensive list of your backlinks. You can use:
- Google Search Console (free, but not always complete)
- Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz for a deeper look
- Free tools like Spam Backlink Checker by SmallSEOTools for a quick snapshot
2. Analyze and Score Your Links
Next, look for red flags:
- Domain rating/authority: Are they super low or zero?
- Relevance: Is the site in your industry or completely unrelated?
- Anchor text: Is it stuffed with keywords or looks unnatural?
- Spam signals: Check for lots of outbound links, poor site design, or suspicious TLDs (like .xyz or .info).
Tools like Ahrefs Site Explorer let you filter and score toxic links. Look for built-in “Toxic Score” features or export your links to Excel/Google Sheets and sort by domain quality.
3. Manually Review “Maybe Bad” Links
Automated tools are great, but nothing beats human judgment. Check the sites that seem suspicious:
- Is the content relevant and well-written?
- Does the site look like it’s made for people, or just for search engines?
- Would you want your customers to see your link there?
Disavowing Toxic Backlinks in 4 Simple Steps
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. I’ll focus on Google, since that’s where most SEO battles are won (and lost).
Step 1: Try to Remove the Links Manually
Google recommends contacting site owners and asking for link removal before you disavow. It shows good faith, and if they cooperate, you won’t have to disavow at all.
- Find a contact email on the offending site
- Politely request removal (template below)
- Keep a record of your attempts (in case Google asks)
Sample removal request:
“Hi [Name],
I noticed my site is linked on [URL]. I’d appreciate it if you could remove this link, as it’s not relevant to my audience. Thank you for your help!”
Step 2: Create Your Disavow File
If you can’t remove the links, it’s time to build your disavow file. Here’s how:
- List every URL or domain you want Google to ignore, one per line.
- Use
domain:before a domain to disavow all links from that site (e.g.domain:spammysite.com) - You can add comments with a
#at the start of a line.
Sample disavow file:
# Spammy blog network, not relevant to my business
domain:cheap-seo-links.info
# Link farm found on audit
domain:randomlinkfarm.ru
# Spammy page with irrelevant backlink
https://weirdsite.xyz/spammy-post
Step 3: Submit Your Disavow File to Google
- Go to the Disavow Tool
- Select your property
- Upload your
.txtdisavow file - Submit and confirm
That’s it! You won’t get a fancy “congratulations” email from Google, but the process is done.
Step 4: Monitor and Re-evaluate
Keep an eye on your Google Search Console for any updates. It can take a few weeks to see changes. If you notice ranking improvements or the removal of a manual action, you did it right.
Final Thoughts
Disavowing toxic backlinks isn’t just a technical chore—it’s a vital step in protecting your website’s reputation and your business’s growth. Take the time to identify truly harmful links, document your process, and be selective about what you disavow. With the right approach, you’ll keep your SEO strong and your site’s standing with Google on the right track.
If you’ve got questions or want a second set of eyes on your backlink profile, feel free to reach out to us
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Will disavowing links hurt my rankings?
Only if you disavow good links by accident. As long as you’re careful to target only toxic backlinks, your rankings should improve—or at least stabilize.
How long does it take to see results after disavowing?
It varies, but typically 2–8 weeks. Google needs to recrawl the links and update its index.
Can I disavow links using Ahrefs or SEMrush directly?
No, these tools help you find toxic links, but you must create and submit the disavow file to Google yourself.
Do I need to disavow links on Bing or other search engines?
Bing has its own process, but Google is by far the most important for most sites. Focus on Google first.
Is there a risk in disavowing links too often?
Yes—don’t make it a monthly habit unless you have a real problem. Overuse can cause you to lose valuable link equity.
Sample disavow file:
makefileCopyEdit# Spammy blog network, not relevant to my business
domain:cheap-seo-links.info
# Link farm found on audit
domain:randomlinkfarm.ru
https://weirdsite.xyz/spammy-post Step 3: Submit Your Disavow File to Google
- Go to the Disavow Tool
- Select your property
- Upload your
.txtdisavow file - Submit and confirm
That’s it! You won’t get a fancy “congratulations” email from Google, but the process is done.
Step 4: Monitor and Re-evaluate
Keep an eye on your Google Search Console for any updates. It can take a few weeks to see changes. If you notice ranking improvements or the removal of a manual action, you did it right.
Final Thoughts
Disavowing toxic backlinks isn’t just a technical chore—it’s a vital step in protecting your website’s reputation and your business’s growth. Take the time to identify truly harmful links, document your process, and be selective about what you disavow. With the right approach, you’ll keep your SEO strong and your site’s standing with Google on the right track.
If you’ve got questions or want a second set of eyes on your backlink profile, feel free to reach out to us
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Will disavowing links hurt my rankings?
Only if you disavow good links by accident. As long as you’re careful to target only toxic backlinks, your rankings should improve—or at least stabilize.
How long does it take to see results after disavowing?
It varies, but typically 2–8 weeks. Google needs to recrawl the links and update its index.
Can I disavow links using Ahrefs or SEMrush directly?
No, these tools help you find toxic links, but you must create and submit the disavow file to Google yourself.
Do I need to disavow links on Bing or other search engines?
Bing has its own process, but Google is by far the most important for most sites. Focus on Google first.
Is there a risk in disavowing links too often?
Yes—don’t make it a monthly habit unless you have a real problem. Overuse can cause you to lose valuable link equity.
