How to Disavow Links in Google: When to Do It and the File Format
To disavow links means asking Google not to take specific incoming links into account when it assesses your site. You do it by uploading a plain .txt file — one URL or domain: line per row — to Google's disavow links tool for your Search Console property. It affects only Google (Bing has its own tool in Bing Webmaster Tools), only that property, and Google treats the list as a suggestion rather than a command. The short answer for most sites: you do not need it unless there is a manual action for unnatural links, or links you know were bought and cannot get removed.
How to Disavow Links: the Short Version
- Check Manual actions in Search Console. A notice about unnatural links is the main reason to disavow; without it, most sites should stop here.
- Export your links from the Search Console Links report and review the linking domains by hand.
- Ask for removal first where you can, and keep a record of the requests.
- Write a .txt file:
domain:example.comfor whole domains, full URLs for single pages,#for comments. - Upload it in the disavow links tool for the right property. A new upload replaces the old list, so always upload the complete file.
- If there was a manual action, file a reconsideration request once the cleanup is done.
Each step is explained in detail below.
Do You Need to Disavow Links at All?
For most sites, no. Google's documentation says plainly that most sites do not need this tool: its algorithms recognise spammy and low-quality links and simply ignore them, so they neither help nor hurt. Random spam directories, scraper sites copying your content, and odd foreign domains linking to you are normal background noise for any site that has been online for a while.
The tool exists for one narrow situation: a large number of artificial or low-quality links point to your site, those links are causing a problem (or are about to), and you cannot get them removed.
When to Disavow Links
- You have a manual action for unnatural links. Search Console → Security & Manual Actions → Manual actions shows a notice about unnatural links to your site. This is the main legitimate case.
- You expect a manual action. You (or a previous SEO contractor) bought links, took part in link schemes or built a private blog network, and you want to distance the site from those links before Google reviews it.
- You cannot remove the links at the source. Google recommends asking webmasters to take bad links down first; disavow is for what remains after that.
When Not to Disavow
| Situation | Why Disavowing Will Not Help |
|---|---|
| Rankings simply dropped | The cause is usually content, technical issues, a core update or stronger competitors |
| A tool flagged "toxic" links | Toxicity is a third-party metric, not a Google signal — see spam score |
| Many off-topic or low-DR links | An irrelevant link is not the same as a harmful one; Google already discounts it |
| Prevention "just in case" | You risk disabling links that actually work and losing rankings |
| Negative SEO fears | Google says random spam links pointing at a site are ignored; disavow only if you see a manual action |
Where to Find the Google Disavow Tool
The disavow links tool is not in the Search Console navigation menu — it is opened by a direct link from Google's help page "Disavow links to your site" (the address is search.google.com/search-console/disavow-links).
- Sign in with the Google account that has access to the property in Search Console.
- Open the disavow links tool and select the property from the list.
- Click Upload disavow list and choose your .txt file.
- If the file has errors, the tool shows them with line numbers — fix and upload again.
Each property has one disavow list. Uploading a new file replaces the previous one, so always edit and re-upload the full list rather than a file with only the new domains. The same page lets you download the current list or remove it entirely.
Disavow File Format
Google's requirements for the disavow file are strict, and a file that breaks them is rejected:
- Plain text, file extension
.txt. - Encoding: UTF-8 or 7-bit ASCII.
- One entry per line: either a full URL or a domain.
- Whole domain: prefix it with
domain:, e.g.domain:spam-example.com. - Single page: the full URL, e.g.
https://blog.example.net/post-123/. Paths or wildcards likeexample.net/blog/*are not supported. - Comments: lines starting with
#are ignored by Google. Use them to note why and when a domain was added. - Limits: maximum file size 2 MB and maximum 100,000 lines, including blank lines and comments.
Example of a valid file:
# Paid links bought in 2024, removal
# requests sent 2026-09-02, no reply
domain:cheap-links-example.com
domain:pbn-network-example.org
# Single spam page, site owner unreachable
https://forum.example.net/thread-881/
Disavowing at the domain level is usually the safer choice: spam sites generate many URLs (tags, pages, mirrors), and listing individual pages misses most of them.
How to Build the List
- Export your links. In Search Console open the Links report and use Export external links; the "Latest links" export includes the date each link was last crawled. Add data from third-party link indexes if you have them — no single source is complete.
- Review domains manually. Open the linking pages. Look for paid placements, link networks, automatically generated pages, and links you know were bought. Low DR or an unrelated topic alone is not a reason.
- Try removal first. Contact site owners where possible and keep a record — it matters if you later file a reconsideration request.
- Write the file in the format above, domain by domain, with comments.
- Upload and document. Keep a copy of every version you upload.
What Happens After You Upload
- It takes weeks. Google applies the list as it recrawls the linking pages, so there is no immediate change.
- Links stay in reports. Disavowed links still appear in the Search Console Links report — that does not mean the file failed.
- Manual action: after cleaning up and disavowing, submit a reconsideration request from the Manual actions report describing what you removed and what you disavowed.
- Undo is possible. Remove a line (or the whole list) and re-upload; the links will be counted again once the pages are recrawled.
Common Disavow File Mistakes
- Uploading only the new domains. The new file replaces the old one, so previously disavowed domains are silently "un-disavowed".
- Wrong prefix.
domain:must be followed by a bare host —domain:https://example.com/ordomain:example.com/pageis invalid. - Saving from a word processor. Use a plain text editor; formatted documents and spreadsheets saved with another encoding are rejected.
- Disavowing your own domains or important partners because they appeared in an automated "toxic" list.
- Expecting a ranking boost. Disavow removes the effect of bad links; it does not add anything. If there was no manual action, positions usually do not change at all.
Disavow and Negative SEO
A sudden wave of spam links from unknown domains looks alarming in link tools, but Google's position is that such links are ignored by its systems, and site owners do not need to react to them. Monitor the Manual actions report: if it stays empty, the links are not affecting you. If a manual action for unnatural links does appear, that is the moment to build a disavow file as described above.
If You Decide to Drop Our Placements
A complete list of publications is exported from the report, including in PDF, and can be used as a basis for the file. Before doing it, read the article on Google penalties for links — in most cases there is nothing to disavow.