It’s something you wouldn’t hope for, but you may have to address it should Google detect harmful links in your link profile.
This piece is going to dive into constructing a Google Disavow record, submitting it to Google, and evaluating the outcomes.
Google introduced the Disavow Tool in October 2012 to assist people who employed “bad” link building in the past and were looking for ways to clear up their complicated link profile.
It was not created for use by anyone with a site, but only by webmasters who employed suspicious link construction approaches. Since its introduction, this tool has become extremely popular for helping individuals recover from algorithmic and manual penalties.
Disavow Tool
The subject of disavowing links is greatly discussed among SEOs. It’s quite evident that there is no lack of views and ideas in society, some of which have sadly become exaggerated and untrue.
As a fact, we have so many myths about the Google Disavow tool that we wrote an article that countered 29 of them.
This piece is going to address some misunderstandings, but if you are looking for more extensive information about the myths, it’s best to take a look at that.
In this article, we would like to quickly mention one of the myths surrounding the quantity of connections that you reject. We ought to make it understandable: you must reject ANY unnatural connections you discover that indicate your site. The problem comes when you disavow good links.
Be cautious if you start deleting links while attempting to get rid of the penalty since you may unintentionally end up getting rid of helpful links and this could damage your rankings even after the penalty is gone.
Despite the fact that Google’s Matt Cutts told users to use the disavow tool with a heavy hand, it’s probably wise to be extra cautious when using it. If you disavow any excellent links, you can later undo that decision.
It can take an extended period of time for Google to undo a disavowal, as the company is required to search and index the given links. It will be expensive for your business if you waste time, leading to a decrease in web traffic, search engine rankings, and revenue.
Possible Disavow Scenarios
When Google implemented the disavow tool, they probably had three scenarios in mind:
1. Preemptive Strike
We suggest utilizing the disavow tool as a precise instrument. If you discover some illegitimate links on your website but haven’t been penalized for it, you will be in this situation. Here you can simply remove those bad links.
You can chance it with those who are questionable, or those you are still uncertain about. You could be in this predicament if an unfavorable SEO ambush has been committed against you.
If you spot an unexpected influx of unwanted links during a short period of time, you can upload them to the Google disavow tool and stop worrying about a potential punishment.
2. Penguin – Algorithmic Penalty
In the event that you suffer a Penguin penalty, the disavow tool is something you will want to use. This is the moment to use the metaphor “machete”, which Matt Cutts mentioned.
In this case, it is best for you to refuse any links that seem unnatural and be extremely cautious with the ones that seem suspicious. The penguin algorithm occurs every few months (or years); therefore, you will have to wait awhile for the links to be taken out of the equation. Patience is key.
It is important to build a balanced link profile and begin using techniques to gain organic links.
3. Manual Penalty
You have to use the disavow tool when you get a manual penalty. Google will specify why they are punishing you if they have given you a Manual Penalty.
In Google Webmaster Tools, you will be able to observe why a certain action was taken and, if it is linked to anything, the disavow tool is a great method to eliminate any unhealthy links.
In order to avoid the fees, you may need to submit a request to review the situation, with information about your attempt to take down the content, and the action you took to reject it. A human employee of Google will personally look over your request for a reassessment after a penalty has been established manually.
It usually takes Google approximately 6 weeks to process reconsideration requests, though it can occasionally take less or as long as 3 months.
Links to Add in a Disavow File
cognitiveSEO is available to assist you in locating the detrimental links to your website. This tool has a feature which permits you to quickly recognize dangerous links, called the Automatic Unnatural Link Detection Tool.
We have established a formula which considers all of the standards and characteristics for ranking established by Google and produces a system for precisely distinguishing abnormal links in around 97% of instances.
We urge people to always check all links before sending a file for disavowal, and that is why we have made the procedure faster and simpler. The process is as straightforward as possible:
1. Open the Link Navigator
2. Filter by Analyze 1 link per referring domain
3. Check each link individually and change the classification if it is wrong.
4. It’s important to reload the page in the Inbound Link Analysis after you’ve exited the navigator in order to display the most recently added connections.
5. Open the Link Navigator again and add the Disavow Label to all Suspicious Links.
Building an Accurate Disavow List
To create the most exact disavow list possible, one should evaluate the links that are acquired from all different sources. We suggest that you bring the links from Google Webmaster Tools into the cognitiveSEO tool.
It is advisable to import the links from Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) in spite of the fact that a lot of the connections are obtained automatically. Do not forget that the GWT does not contain every link. In order to have an all-inclusive and current link profile, we suggest that you bring in links from any and all sources you have access to.
We advise that domains, not links, be added to the disavow list as much as possible when setting up a disavow file.
The motivation to make this recommendation is that, if one domain has an unnatural link to your website, it is likely that the same domain will link to your website again in the future with another damaging link (e.g. through site-wide links or other places where that link has been published).
However, if you are certain that the domains are reliable and the link is still suspicious, request the webmaster of that domain to attach a NoFollow tag to your link. Disavow at a domain level only if you are certain that it is not possible to apply a nofollow tag or take it away from that link.
Bad Links To Look Out For
Low-quality Blogspot Links
A large number of these links are generated, not relevant to the content of the page, and meant to trick search engines into boosting a page’s ranking.
Furthermore, if someone has the resources, they can create as many Blogspot sites as they want by using a computer program without concerning themselves with the results.
Though they might be related to the information and designed with the best interests in view, Blogspot is regarded as a low value website (as it has been overused by unscrupulous users) to the point where your content could be viewed less favorably by algorithms.
Spammy Discussion Forum Links
These have an obvious pattern. These are randomly located connections which are put on forums to deceptively enhance one’s rankings. The more connections created to your website, the better. Or so they say.
Therefore, there are programs that can be used for generating immense amounts of this kind of linking. It is considered spammy when links are created in a way that is not natural.
Bear in mind that some forum links can be beneficial, just as some can be detrimental. It’s the bad links we need to look after. Google isn’t worried about high-quality links that point to and suggest additional material.
Although they are worried about links from forums that are of poor quality and done in the same way as described above.
If one engages in any activity that is seen as manipulative and done frequently, then at some point Google might see it as deceptive and penalize it.
It is feasible that a devaluation due to a computing algorithm might occur.
Spammy Foreign Guestbook Links
These are always spammy. If your website is based in the U.S. but you notice that you are receiving thousands of links from Germany, France, Spain, Europe, and Sweden, this is something to take note of.
These should be rejected promptly before they cause an issue.
Private Blog Networks
Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are viewed as an issue due to the fact that they violate Google’s standards for online content as laid out in their Webmaster Guidelines for linking. While there are methods to “hide” your PBN including:
- Spyder Spanker: aWordPress Plugin that hides bots,
- Hide My WordPress: another WordPress Plugin that hides the fact your site is WordPress by concealing all potential WordPress code,
- Changing your domain name’s contact information (including the SOA record email address to an unknown one),
- Randomizing every single facet of your PBN,
- Not using any Google Tools like Google Analytics or Google Search Console hooked up to your sites.
Google may eventually discover your private blog network, causing it to be removed from the Google search results. PBNs used to be an effective means of obtaining links, however the situation has since altered. It is wise to avoid using private blog networks altogether.
When you examine a link profile manually, you can still recognize them out in the open.
For example, you may:
- Find sites that all have very similar content, and when you click their external contextual links, you find more sites that are all the same template.
- If you use a spreadsheet for your link profile analysis, you might find that every group of 5 links or so, they look exactly the same in terms of content and links, but they’re all different domain names, multiplied many times over.
After Finding Your Links, Compile Your Spreadsheet
We wish to differentiate between spammy and legitimate links on the link analysis spreadsheet, according to how they measure up to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
In the column devoted to spammy links, we are aiming to recognize any links that seem to be of a spammy character. We will indicate if we want to reject the link by placing a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the column labelled ‘Disavow’ on the right.
We have prepared our spreadsheet and thus are well-positioned to extract the links using the appropriate resources.
Next, Export Your Links from at Least Three Sources
In an ideal situation, the goal would be to export connections from as many sources as feasible. If this isn’t the best approach for your team and is too expensive, you should look into getting data from at least three distinct sources.
In case we can do the first method and money is no object, we recommend exporting links from all of these sources:
Once you have finished exporting your hyperlinks, you should make sure to structure them appropriately. It’s not advised to just transfer URLs from either SemRush or AHREFs, as they will not be in the same form.
This new link analysis sheet was put together so that it’s simple to transfer links without being forced to use any specific style.
After Exporting Your Links, Populate the Spreadsheet
It is now necessary to enter the URLs you crafted into the spreadsheet. Don’t fret, this endeavor shouldn’t be too overwhelming and would only take a short while if you’re used to it.
If you are unfamiliar with the situation, you may need to spend some time becoming accustomed to it. Put all the links you got from the tools into the spreadsheet by copying and pasting the URLs.
The final three columns should be used as your link evaluation areas and should remain empty. Don’t be concerned – you’ll be completing these categories when you analyze the link.
Once you have assembled the links, you should make sure that all duplicates are removed. We do this by using Excel’s data de-duplication feature. Creating a one-column link file is painless, and you can be positive that there won’t be any duplicate links later.
After Analysis, Compile Your Disavow File
Once you have done your ultimate assessment, the subsequent move is to repudiate the connections you chose as ‘yes’ in the repudiate column. Using Excel’s Data > Sort function, it is simple to arrange the column according to either “Yes” or “No”.
Then, you can simply copy and paste.
Compiling Your Disavow File
Now, you can begin to put together the disavow file. Using Notepad to create the document is recommended, as the disavow tool only takes .txt files. Google recommends the following format for creating your disavow file:
The first section includes specific pages and URLs. In the second part, any domain which you may like to disown is included.
Upload Your Disavow File
Once you have put together your disavow file, it’s time to submit it. Head to this page to submit your disavow file. Be sure to bookmark it for easy access!
Ensure that you are signed in to the Google account where you will be transfering the file. Be careful not to unintentionally post an incorrect disavow file!
Things to Keep in Mind During Your Disavow Process
In our experience, discovering a page that is suitable to be disavowed occurs very infrequently, probably less than one hundredth of one percent of the time. Almost always, you are rejecting the entire domain.
In many instances, pages that contain junk content tend to be related to websites that are widely considered to be spam. However, there will be some individual webpages that are exceptionally spammy.
However, this is not the norm at all. We recommend that you focus on disavowing spammy domains. By not including spammy domains in your profile, you have a great chance to significantly enhance your link profile.
It’s crucial to make sure that you repudiate any links that are having a detrimental effect on your website.
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