{"id":2577,"date":"2023-07-27T17:49:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T17:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/?p=2577"},"modified":"2023-08-23T17:20:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T17:20:25","slug":"using-googles-disavow-links-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/using-googles-disavow-links-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Google\u2019s Disavow Link Tool: What Is It & When To Use It"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Using<\/a>There are many factors that influence SEO, including keyword density, social signals, and even website speed<\/a>. Link building is probably the most well-known and discussed factor of them all. By now you realize that link building is a powerful tool in your SEO arsenal<\/a>, but that tool can be a double-edged sword. Each backlink leading from a reputable website to yours is a vote of confidence in Google’s eyes, and counts toward a higher PageRank for your website. However, not every website that links to yours is desirable. Perhaps you’ve used spammy link-building techniques in the past, but are now trying to make things right. Perhaps links to your site have mysteriously shown up on a website or forum you’ve never even seen before. Unfortunately, you usually don’t have control over whether or not a third party website takes your links down. That’s where the disavow links tool comes in.<\/p>\n

What is the Disavow Links Tool?<\/h3>\n

The disavow links tool was created as a way for webmasters to ask Google not to consider certain backlinks<\/a> when determining PageRank. Using it is a lot like the process one goes through when cleaning up their consumer credit score. You contact creditors (or third party websites) to set things straight with them, and then contact the credit bureaus (or Google) to remove items that negatively impact your score (or PageRank).<\/p>\n

When to Use the Tool<\/h3>\n

You should only use this tool if the website in question has spammy, artificial links pointing to your site. You shouldn’t disavow links from a website for any other reason, for example, if it has a low PR. This could potentially harm your site’s ranking in an irreversible way. Remember that Google algorithms are very fine-tuned, so you don’t want to do anything drastic that could throw them off.<\/p>\n

How To Use It<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Log into your Google Webmaster Tools account. Click on the website you want to work on.<\/li>\n
  2. On the dashboard, click \u201cSearch Traffic\u201d and \u201cLinks to Your Site.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Under \u201cWho Links Most\u201d click \u201cMore.\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. Click on \u201cDownload More Sample Links.\u201d You can also click on \u201cDownload Latest Links\u201d to see dates.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This downloaded file contains all of the pages that link to your website. Use it to create a text file of the links you want to disavow. Include one link per line. If you want to disavow the links from an entire website, put “domain:example.com” on one line, instead of each individual link. If you want to include additional information, begin the line with the # sign. Google gives this example of a well-formatted text file:
    \n\"SCREENSHOT-GOOGLE-DISAVOW\"<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Once you’ve created and saved your file, go to the disavow links tool<\/a> page.<\/li>\n
    2. Select your website. Click \u201cdisavow links.\u201d<\/li>\n
    3. Click \u201cchoose file.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Additional Tips<\/h3>\n