How to Disavow Backlinks: Step-by-Step Guide With File Template

Most B2B owners who think they need to disavow links don't. Google's link spam algorithms have gotten good at ignoring junk on their own. But scenarios remain where the Disavow Tool is the right move: a manual action notice, a confirmed negative SEO attack, or a legacy backlink profile from a past agency that bought thousands of PBN placements.

Below: when disavowing is appropriate, the step-by-step process, the file format, and what to do instead in most cases.

Should you disavow at all?

Google's official guidance, repeated by John Mueller and Gary Illyes, is that the average site should not use the Disavow Tool. Penguin (now part of the core algorithm) typically discounts low-quality links automatically. Sending a disavow file when you don't need to can quietly remove links that were actually helping you.

Disavow if you have one of these

• A manual action in Search Console for "unnatural links to your site". This is the textbook case.
• Strong evidence of negative SEO. A spike of thousands of low-quality links from foreign domains, link farms, or porn/casino sites in a short window, with no plausible organic explanation.
• A history of buying spam links. If you or a previous agency bought PBN placements, blog comment spam, or directory dumps, and you suspect it's affecting rankings.
• A failed reconsideration request where Google explicitly asks for cleanup.

Skip the disavow if

• You're "just being safe" or "future-proofing".
• An SEO tool's spam score flagged a few backlinks as toxic.
• You see scrapers or aggregators pulling your content (those are usually harmless).
• You haven't checked Search Console for a manual action.

Step 1: Pull your backlink profile

Start with Google Search Console because it shows you exactly what Google sees. Go to Links → Top linking sites → More → Export latest links. That gives you the raw list.

Cross-check with a paid tool for completeness:

• Ahrefs for the largest backlink index.
• SEMrush for spam scoring.
• Majestic for Trust Flow analysis.
• Free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools or Moz Link Explorer if budget is tight.

Combine the lists into a single deduplicated spreadsheet keyed by source domain.

Step 2: Identify which links to disavow

Manual review is non-negotiable. Tools surface candidates. You decide.

Spam patterns worth investigating:

• Foreign-language sites in niches unrelated to yours.
• Sites with hundreds or thousands of outbound links per page.
• Domains with names like keyword-1.com, keyword-2.com, keyword-3.com (PBN footprints).
• Exact-match anchor text dominating the link's anchor distribution (for example, every link uses "buy viagra cheap online" anchor).
• Sites with no real content, just scraped or AI-spun copy.
• Hacked subfolders on otherwise legitimate sites (often /wp-content/uploads/ pages with spam HTML).

For each candidate, open the linking page. If a human visitor would say "this is obvious junk", it's a candidate. If you're unsure, leave it.

Step 3: Try outreach removal first

Google used to require manual outreach attempts before accepting a disavow. They no longer require it, but it's still worth trying for the worst offenders, especially if you have a manual action.

A short removal email:

Document every email you send. If you escalate to a reconsideration request later, Google wants to see the effort.

Step 4: Build the disavow file

The file is plain text, UTF-8 encoded, with one entry per line. If you already use a backlink monitor, the work is mostly done for you. Linkody includes a disavow file builder on every plan: mark toxic links inside the dashboard and export a Google-ready file. Monitor Backlinks (now part of SEOptimer) supports the same workflow with white-label PDF context for client-facing reports.

Otherwise, write the file by hand. Two formats:

• Domain-level: domain:example.com disavows every link from every page of example.com. This is usually the right choice, since one bad page on a domain typically means more bad pages.
• URL-level: a full URL like https://example.com/spam-page/ disavows that single page. Use this when only one page is problematic on an otherwise legitimate site.

Lines starting with # are comments and are ignored. Keep your file under 2MB and 100,000 lines.

# Disavow file for yourdomain.com
# Last updated: 2026-05-02

# Negative SEO attack from August 2025, Russian and Chinese spam farms
domain:linkfarm-example1.ru
domain:linkfarm-example2.cn
domain:cheapseolinks.xyz

# Legacy paid links from 2018 agency engagement
domain:lowqualityblog1.net
domain:lowqualityblog2.net

# Single hacked subfolder on otherwise legitimate site
https://realsite.com/wp-content/spam.html

Save it as disavow.txt. Keep a copy in version control. You'll likely revise it.

Step 5: Submit through Google Search Console

1. Go to the Disavow Tool (it's intentionally hidden in Search Console because Google doesn't want casual users finding it).
2. Select the property you want to disavow links for.
3. Upload your disavow.txt file.
4. Confirm. Google replaces any previous disavow file with the new one. Always upload the complete file, not just additions.

Effects are not instant. Google must recrawl the disavowed links before treating them as ignored. That can take weeks to months.

Step 6: Submit a reconsideration request (only if you have a manual action)

If your disavow is in response to a manual action, file a reconsideration request after uploading. Be honest:

• Acknowledge what happened (paid links, PBN, etc.).
• Explain what you did to clean up: outreach attempts, the disavow file uploaded, process changes to prevent recurrence.
• Attach the spreadsheet of attempted removals.

Reconsideration takes weeks. Wait for the explicit "manual action revoked" message before assuming you're clear.

Common mistakes

1. Disavowing healthy links. A spam-score tool says "toxic". You disavow. Months later you realize the link was passing real equity. The Disavow Tool has no undo for the time spent.
2. Uploading a partial file. Each upload replaces the previous one. If you upload only new entries, you accidentally re-allow everything you disavowed before.
3. Wrong syntax. Putting a URL where a domain entry should go (or vice versa) means Google treats only the exact line as disavowed.
4. Skipping the manual review. Disavowing every site flagged by a tool with no human check is the fastest way to remove helpful links.
5. Disavowing scrapers and aggregators. Sites that copy your content and link back are usually harmless. Don't waste a disavow line.

What to do instead, in most cases

If you don't have a manual action, your time is better spent on the positive side of the link profile:

• Earn more high-quality editorial links to drown out the noise. See how to build backlinks and white hat link building.
• Pitch unlinked brand mentions for conversion to real links. Our guide on unlinked brand mentions covers the workflow.
• Audit internal links so equity flows to your money pages.
• Track new spam in Search Console monthly. If a real attack starts, you'll see the spike early.

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