How to disavow backlinks (and when you should not)

What does disavowing backlinks do?

Disavowing tells Google to ignore links you list when it evaluates your site, so they no longer count for or against you. You do not delete the links; the other site still hosts them and visitors can still click them. You are only telling Google not to use them as a signal.

Google's disavow links help page calls it an advanced feature that can harm your search performance if used incorrectly. That warning matters: disavowing good links throws away a signal you earned, and disavowing links you did not build is usually unnecessary. For the basics of what a link is and how Google uses it, read what backlinks are.

When should you disavow backlinks?

Google's rule is narrow: disavow only when you have a considerable number of spammy, artificial or low-quality links pointing to your site, and those links have caused a manual action or are likely to cause one. In practice that means links someone bought, built or exchanged for you in the past, not the odd scraper or directory that found you on its own.

Two things make that rule easier to apply:

• SpamBrain already neutralises most spam. Google's December 2022 link spam update said it uses SpamBrain, one of its spam detection systems, to neutralise the impact of unnatural links, and that any credit those links passed is lost. A random burst of junk links is usually handled without you.
• A manual action is the clear signal. If Search Console shows a manual action for unnatural links to your site, the disavow file is part of the recovery. If there is no manual action and no pattern of links you built, leave the links alone.

Google's spam policies define link spam as creating links primarily to manipulate rankings, and list buying links, excessive link exchanges and automated link building as examples. Those are the links worth reviewing. Our guide to link building covers the tactics that do not break those rules.

What are toxic backlinks?

"Toxic" is a label used by third-party SEO tools, not a term Google uses. A tool scores a link or a domain as toxic when it matches patterns the tool associates with spam: a cheap domain ending, a spammy topic in the name, a link farm, an exact-match commercial anchor, or a page in an unrelated language.

Those patterns are useful prompts to look closer, but they are not a message from Google. A link can score badly in one tool and still be ignored by Google, and a link can look clean and still be part of a paid scheme. Treat a high toxicity score as a question ("should I look at this domain?"), not an instruction to disavow. The anchor text on a link is one of the signals worth checking.

How to find links worth reviewing

Start with the links Google already shows you, then add the links Bing reports, then use a free checker for a second view. You do not need a paid backlink database to find the handful of links that matter.

• Search Console Links report. For a site you have verified, open Links and export the tables. It lists your top linked pages, top linking sites and top linking text. Our guide to Search Console backlinks shows how to read and export it.
• Bing Webmaster Tools. Its backlinks report shows links Bing has found to your site, which can include sites Google's report does not.
• A free backlink checker. MrKeyword's free backlink checker shows referring domains and the links it has seen, with the source of each domain labelled. Our guide on how to check backlinks compares what each free tool can and cannot show.

Look for a pattern, not a single link: many links from unrelated sites, the same commercial phrase used as anchor text again and again, links from pages that exist only to link out, or a sudden burst of links you did not earn.

Disavow file format

A disavow file is a plain-text file with one URL or one domain: entry per line. Google's help page gives the exact rules:

• One entry per line. A full URL disavows that one link. domain:example.com disavows every link from that domain and its subdomains.
• Comments start with #. Use them to note why a link is listed and the date you checked it.
• Encoding is UTF-8 or 7-bit ASCII. Save the file as plain text, not a Word document or a spreadsheet.
• Limits: 100,000 lines and 2 MB. A file over either limit is rejected.
• One file per property. Uploading a new file replaces the old one, so keep your own copy of the current list before you change it.

Here is a short example. The comments are optional, and the entries are examples only:

# Links reviewed 2026-11-13. Remove an entry once the site owner deletes the link.
# Whole domain: every link from this site and its subdomains
domain:cheap-seo-links.example
# One page: only this link
https://spam-directory.example/page/link-farm
domain:link-farm.example

Google's disavow tool does not support Domain properties, so use a URL-prefix property for the upload. If you are unsure which property type you have, the Search Console guide explains the difference.

How to upload a disavow file to Google step by step

Open Google's disavow links tool, choose the property, upload the file, and expect a few weeks before the change takes effect. The steps:

1. Ask for removal first. A short, polite note to the site owner is the cleanest fix. If the link disappears, you do not need to list it.
2. Open the disavow links tool. Go to Google's disavow links page and follow the link to the tool. Sign in with the account that owns the property.
3. Pick the property. Choose the site you are cleaning up. Remember that the tool does not support Domain properties.
4. Upload the file. Select your disavow.txt and confirm. Uploading a new file replaces the previous one, so include every entry you still want disavowed.
5. Wait a few weeks. Google says it can take a few weeks to process a disavow file. Disavowed links still appear in the Links report, so do not expect the list to shrink.

If you also have a manual action, fix the links and then request a review in Search Console. Disavowing alone does not remove a manual action.

Does Bing have a disavow tool?

Yes. Bing Webmaster Tools has its own Disavow Links tool, separate from Google's. It lives in the site configuration area of Bing Webmaster Tools, and you upload a list of links or domains there for Bing to ignore. Google's disavow file and Bing's are separate uploads: doing one does not do the other. Check the current help text in Bing Webmaster Tools before you upload, because the two tools do not necessarily share the same limits or format.

How MrKeyword's Backlink Audit helps

Backlink Audit puts every referring domain MrKeyword knows about in one list, scores each one from warning signs written in plain words, and writes a Google-format disavow.txt for the domains you choose. The score is the sum of the points of each warning sign, from 0 to 100. A score of 60 or more is high risk, 30 to 59 needs a review, and under 30 is low risk. Strong Link Authority and nofollow links subtract points, because they are signs a link is unlikely to be harmful.

The warning signs include spam-prone domain endings, spam words in the domain name, overused commercial anchor text, and pages written in a script unrelated to your site's language. Each one carries its points and a short reason, so you can see why a domain scored the way it did instead of trusting a black box. You then mark each domain Keep, Remove or Disavow. MrKeyword writes the disavow file for the ones you chose, and it never submits anything to Google for you: uploading the file is your decision.

That fits Google's advice to use the tool narrowly. The score helps you find the links worth a look; it does not decide for you, and a high score is not a manual action. For the wider picture, see what backlinks are and how to check backlinks.

Disavow vs remove vs leave alone

Most links should be left alone. Remove the ones you can, and disavow only the pattern you cannot remove that has caused or may cause a manual action.

For the rel values themselves, see nofollow vs dofollow links.

Questions and answers