Remove toxic links using the tool Disavow is one of the options for Technical SEO that can make a difference on our website. An effective way to Google do not take into account these domains that are aimed at us and are of no interest to us.
In reality, rather than eliminating toxic linkswe have to translate it literally and call it disallow. The links will not disappear from the page that is linking to us, they will simply disappear. Google will not take them into account.
It would be easier to talk to the owner of the domain and ask them to remove the link, but this is not always possible. Most often, they will not even reply. Even so, it is worth trying, it will be even better. remove toxic links than to disavow them.
Before I explain how to use Disavow at Google Search ConsoleLet me explain what the toxic linkswhere they arise from and why it is important to avoid them. With
The history of toxic links
The toxic links and I have our own personal story. A decade ago now, it's amazing how time flies, I moved to Madrid after finding it impossible to work in anything in my native Cadiz or in the Seville where I studied my degree and my master's degree.
Of course, I didn't get there and I started working as a SEOIt was also a position that was just starting to be mentioned. Instead, I started as a stock boy in a well-known supermarket chain.
I was even interviewed on several TV and radio stations because at that time, at the end of the economic crisis, it was very popular to study a degree and end up in a non-specialised position.
Funnily enough, that venture went well and I was offered my first job as a SEO copywriteras a freelancer for a digital marketing agencyI was not allowed to leave my job as a cashier and stock boy. But it was a first step that led me to where I am today.
The point is that at that time toxic links did not exist. A Google loved links, all of them, without exception. And if you wanted to rank a page, the easiest way to do it was to get lots and lots of links on any page, blog, forum, etc.
My job consisted mainly of writing articles, the content of which didn't matter. The only thing that was relevant was that I had a link to a anchor text determined to the page that had contracted the service. The agency would then look for a place to place it.
But that didn't matter much. In fact, the agency was offering me ten euros for every page on which I could place one of these articles. Or at least a anchor text with a link to the page they were interested in. Any page or blog would do. They made no distinction.
The problem with links
These links ended up being a problem for Google. Also for the user. In the end, it was not the best pages that were being rewarded, but the ones with the most links.
The important thing was to have an agency that would place you on all kinds of blogs, regardless of their relation to your subject matter. Quantity was valued over quality.
Then Google changed its algorithm and decided that what mattered was the qualityWhat does Google mean by a valid link? Well, a link on an authoritative page, either general (such as Wikipedia, a media outlet or a public administration) or specific to the topic of the keyword.
That is, if we have a pet food, it is relevant that we are on a page about pets, but a link on Media Markt would have no value, even if Media Markt is an authoritative page for Google.
Over the years, this algorithm has been perfected and penalises those cases in which, for example, it detects that there are pages, in many cases media outlets, that commercialise links.
If a page that Google has detected that you have a fraudulent relationship with your links, you have linked to us, Google is going to define that link as a toxic link and it will penalise us.
What was a common practice in SEO ten years ago, now it is 100% Black Hat SEO.
What are toxic links?
For clarification, Toxic links are those that penalise the positioning of our site.
We are penalised because Google understands that they are fraudulent. It is important not to confuse this with poor quality links, which need not penalise us.
For example, if I have a travel agency and I link to a travel blog that has just started, that link will have practically no value for Google, but it will be understood as relevant, as it belongs to the same topic and "makes sense".
Another aspect that comes into play here is the link juiceThe question is about the authority conveyed by the links, but that's a topic for another post.
In this case, we are talking about toxic links, and to see what these links are, the only option we have is to use some SEO tool as Ahrefs o SEMrush. In fact, some of these tools allow the use of the disavow by communicating directly with Google Search Console.
As no tool is infallible for the time being, it is always interesting to review what we will disallow. It is possible that some of the links pointed out to us are not really toxic and have put us on alert due to a low score on domain authority.
By doing a link analysis we will be able to check how many of these links we have. If we see, as in the example above, that most of our links are toxic, we should not despair. On the contrary, it is good news, because we have detected the "disease" and now we can cure it.
If you don't know if you have the criteria to know if a link is toxic or not, you can consult the Google's spam policies.
How to disavow links with Disavow?
To disavow links with Disavow There are only two simple steps to follow. First, you have to create a list to include all toxic links that link to our website.
Second, it is necessary to upload the file. It is important to note that we can only have one file uploaded so it is a one-time job. Later, we can delete the list and upload a new one, but we cannot add more information to the list that is in the tool.
That is why, Google recommends that this function not be used until we have a significant number of toxic links and we know for a fact that it is harming us.
If you do not have payment instrumentsRemember that within Google Search Console there is a section on Links where we can consult all the internal and external links that Google is considering and exporting them.
However, we will not have specific information on whether or not Google whether or not it considers x link to be toxic.
Create a list
To create the list we have to create a file in which to include it. Its format must be .txt, so it is enough with a Notepad page.
Then, line by line, you must add the list of URLs o domains you want to disallow. You have to add it with its protocol, either http or https, otherwise it won't work. That is to say, each URL or domain on a separate line.
Likewise, we can deauthorise domains or subdomains in full. To do this you must first add "domain:" and then enter the domain.
It is important to know that URLs cannot be longer than 2048 characters. (if they have more, deauthorise the domain directly) and that the file must not be larger than 2 MB or have more than 100,000 lines.
Also, if it helps you to organise the file, you can put lines with notes starting with #. These lines will be ignored by Google.
For example:
#URLs that I want to disallow with Disavow:
https://publicidadenganosa.spam/enlacecomprado
http://notasdeprensa.fake/noticia-inventada
#Domains and subdomains I want to disallow:
domain:pressnotes.fake
domain:maspam.publicidadenganosa.spam
Upload the file
Once we have the format ready, it's time to upload the file to Disavow.
We can do this very easily. First we go to the tool page.
There we will have to select a property from the list of properties in Google Search Console we have. Depending on our property type, we may or may not be able to use the tool. Otherwise, we will have to resort to the manual alternative and ask for the removal of links directly.
If we only have one property, we will enter it directly.
Note that the list you upload is not shared between properties. That is, each domain ownership may have a single list, but they may be different between different domain properties.
In case a list already exists, you will see an example of disallowed pages and domains in the old list. When you upload the new one, the old one will disappear.
Simply click on the button and we can select the .txt file we have prepared.
If there is an error, the tool will warn us about it. In this case, the list will not be changed, but the existing list will be maintained (or none if there was no previous list). It is time to correct and upload again.
Once you have climbed it, you have to be patient. It can take several weeks for Google to add your listing to its index.. Its algorithm will re-crawl the web and process the pages it finds.
Re-authorise all unauthorised pages
We also have the possibility of delete the list without replacing it with another list. To do so, we only have to select a property in the list of properties, as we have done in the previous step.
Once inside, we can click on the button of cancel the deauthorisations. Thus, we will remove the guideline and Google will again take into account all links to our site.
As when a new list is added, this is not an automatic action, but can take weeks to be added to the list. Google index. With everything to do with crawling and indexing in our SEO content strategypatience will be our greatest ally.
If you have problems with toxic links, at Ddigitals we are SEO experts and we can help you.
