Definition

Disavow Links is a Google Search Console tool that lets a site owner submit a list of inbound URLs or domains they want Google to ignore when evaluating the site, primarily for links the owner cannot have removed and which they believe may be hurting their rankings.

Google's documentation states the disavow tool is an advanced feature that should be used with caution, primarily by sites that have received a manual action for unnatural links or that have a clear pattern of paid or spammy backlinks they cannot have removed. For most sites, Google's algorithms ignore low-quality links automatically and using the tool is unnecessary; incorrect use can hurt search performance. Disavow files are uploaded as plain text in Search Console and persist until removed.

Examples

• Reconsideration after a link-related manual action

  A small business hit with a manual action for unnatural links audits its backlink profile, requests removal from the spammy domains, and uploads a disavow file in Search Console covering the domains that didn't respond. After a reconsideration request, Google lifts the manual action.

Sources

• Google Search Console Help — Disavow links to your site

Related terms

• Backlink
  A hyperlink on one website that points at another. Search engines treat backlinks as one signal of how the wider web vouches for a page.
• Manual Action
  A penalty applied by a Google reviewer when a site is found to violate the search spam policies, demoting or removing affected pages from results.

Where QueryCatch uses this

• SEO Audit