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SEO Term Definition

Google Disavow Tool

The Google Disavow Tool allows website owners to ask Google to ignore specific backlinks when assessing their site. It is used to neutralise toxic or spammy links that could trigger a Penguin penalty.

Reviewed by Alexander Yarovenko · Updated: 2026-07-03

What is the Google Disavow Tool?

The Google Disavow Tool is a feature in Google Search Console that allows website owners to submit a list of links or domains that they want Google to ignore when evaluating their backlink profile. It's a last resort for dealing with toxic, spammy, or manipulative backlinks that you cannot get removed manually.

When to Use the Disavow Tool

Google recommends using the disavow tool only if:

  1. You have received a manual action for unnatural links in Google Search Console
  2. You have a significant number of spammy backlinks that you believe are causing ranking issues
  3. You have already attempted to manually remove the links by contacting webmasters and been unsuccessful
Caution: Using the disavow tool incorrectly can harm your rankings by disavowing legitimate backlinks. Google's SpamBrain now automatically discounts most spammy links — disavowing may be unnecessary in most cases.

Disavow File Format

# Disavow file for example.com
# Updated: 2025-01-15

# Disavow specific URLs
https://spammy-site.com/page-with-link/

# Disavow entire domains (more common)
domain:spammy-network.com
domain:link-farm.net

The Disavow Process

  1. Export your backlink profile from Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Search Console
  2. Identify toxic links (low DA/DR, irrelevant, spammy anchor text, porn/gambling sites)
  3. Contact the webmasters of spammy sites and request link removal
  4. For unresponsive webmasters, add links/domains to your disavow file
  5. Submit the disavow file in Google Search Console
  6. If you have a manual action: submit a reconsideration request
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