Google launched its disavow tool in 2012 to help websites exclude incoming links from affecting organic rankings. At the time, Google was fighting “link spam,” the practice of obtaining low-grade links and link-building tactics.
Google made it clear that websites should use the disavow tool only after receiving a manual penalty notice via Webmaster Tools (now Search Console) and only when that penalty was related to backlinks, stating:
You should disavow backlinks only if:
1. You have a considerable number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality links pointing to your site,
AND
2. The links have caused a manual action, or likely will cause a manual action, on your site.
Nonetheless, many website owners used the disavow tool to preemptively avoid penalties after investing in low-quality link-building services or suspecting “negative SEO attacks” from competitors.
To this day, there’s little agreement in the search engine community on whether (or how) to use the disavow tool. Multiple providers offer disavow services that continue to attract clients. Google’s documentation says the disavow tool “is an advanced feature and should only be used with caution. If used incorrectly, this feature can potentially harm your site’s performance in Google Search results.”
In my experience, most businesses don’t know if their backlinks are spammy. In-house SEO teams don’t typically report on the quality or type of acquired links. Third-party services wrongfully label links as “toxic,” adding to the confusion.
Here are updates from industry practitioners to help you decide.
Disavows are ineffective
The disavow tool has always been a request to Google, which may or may not honor it.
The recent experiment by search optimizer Cyrus Shepard proves the point. He disavowed all links he could find pointing to his site, waited seven weeks, and saw little impact on organic traffic.
Cyrus Shepard, a search optimizer, disavowed all known incoming links to his website. It experienced no material traffic change. Click image to enlarge.
Shepard believes Google processed the document, as his site encountered a slight traffic increase shortly after submitting the disavow list. But the search engine then ignored it, he says.
The only change was the number of backlinks reported in Search Console, although it could have been a widespread reporting bug as many sites experienced it.
Hence Google likely ignores disavows unless your site receives a manual penalty. There’s no reason to invest in preemptive disavow services.
Manual link-related penalties are rare
I know of very few manual link penalties in recent years, and I’ve witnessed just one this year. This likely means Google doesn’t require help or suggestions to determine which links are unnatural or spammy and will likely drop the disavow tool eventually.
Nonetheless, if your site received a link-related manual penalty (as reported in Search Console) and you cannot remove the unnatural links, the disavow tool remains an option. There’s no better alternative at present.