To disavow backlinks, you create a plain .txt file (UTF-8 or 7-bit ASCII) that lists one URL or one domain: entry per line, then upload it for a URL-prefix property in Google’s disavow links tool. Google then ignores those links, which can take a few weeks. But Google’s own help page says “most sites will not need to use this tool”, so the real first step is deciding whether you should disavow at all.
I’ve written this guide the way I’d walk a client through it. First the decision, because a wrong disavow can hurt more than the links did. Then the export, the file, the upload and, if you have a manual action, the reconsideration request. If you’re still asking whether “toxic” links matter in the first place, start with my post on toxic backlinks, which covers Google’s position and the vendor scores; this page is only the how-to.
Should You Disavow Backlinks at All?
Google puts it plainly. On its disavow links help page, it says you should disavow only if both of these are true:
- You have “a considerable number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality links” pointing to your site, and
- Those links “have caused a manual action, or likely will cause a manual action” on your site.
Note the AND. A handful of weird links fails the first test. A pile of scraper spam you never asked for usually fails the second, because a manual action targets manipulation, and you didn’t manipulate anything.
John Mueller from Google has said the same thing more casually. At a Search Central event in April 2025 he said the tool “is not something that you need to do on a regular basis”, and that he’d really only use it with a manual spam action (reported by Search Engine Journal). In March 2026 he softened it slightly on Bluesky, saying most sites don’t need it, “but that’s not all sites.”
The Four Things That Decide Your Path
Before you open any tool, answer these four questions. They change the answer more than any toxic score does.
- Do you have a manual action? Check Security & Manual Actions in Search Console. An “Unnatural links to your site” action means disavowing is part of the fix.
- Who built the links? Links you, a past owner or a hired SEO paid for or built are your problem. Spam that appeared on its own usually isn’t.
- Can you get them removed? Google wants removal first. The disavow file is for what you couldn’t remove.
- What kind of Search Console property do you have? The disavow tool doesn’t support Domain properties, so you may need to verify a URL-prefix property first.
Decision Matrix
| Manual action? | Who built the links? | What I’d do |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, unnatural links | You or an SEO you hired | Remove what you can, disavow the rest, then request review |
| Yes, unnatural links | A previous owner | Same cleanup, and say you recently acquired the site in your request |
| No | You bought dofollow links or ran a scheme | Get links removed or marked rel="sponsored", disavow what’s left, stop buying |
| No | Nobody on your side, random spam | Do nothing. Google ignores most of it |
| No | Unsure, and spam volume keeps growing | A small domain-level file is fine for peace of mind |
How to Disavow Backlinks in Four Steps
Passed the checks above? Good. Here’s the process I follow, in the same order Google’s own manual action guidance lays out: find the links, ask for removal, write the file, upload it.
Step 1: Export Your Backlinks From Search Console
Start with Google’s own data. It shows the links Google actually knows about. Open the Links report in Search Console. Google suggests two exports: by host (Top linking sites, then Export) or by date (Export external links, then Latest links).
If the list is large, Google’s manual action guidance says to start with the sites that link to you most, or links created in the last few months. That’s good advice. Paid campaigns tend to cluster by domain and by date, so they’re easy to spot once you sort the export.
I also pull a second export from a third-party tool, because Google says the Links report “shows a sample” rather than every link. I use the tool’s data to find links, never to decide which ones to disavow. That decision needs a human looking at each domain, using checks like the ones in my guide on how to evaluate backlink quality. If you want the full review process, from export to prioritized list, that’s covered in my backlink audit guide.
Step 2: Try to Get the Links Removed First
People skip this. Big mistake. Google’s manual actions page says that “blindly adding all backlinks to the disavow file is not considered a good-faith effort”, and that disavowing everything without trying removal “might lead to rejection” of your reconsideration request.
So email the site owners. Ask them to either remove the link or stop it passing PageRank with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". Keep a simple log with the domain, the date you asked, and the reply. You’ll attach that log to your reconsideration request later.
In my experience, plenty of these emails vanish into abandoned inboxes, especially on old link networks where nobody has logged into the hosting account for years and the contact form bounces straight back to you. That’s fine. A documented attempt still counts, and the silent domains are exactly what the disavow file is for.
Step 3: Build Your Disavow File
The format is strict. Break a rule and the upload fails, with Google listing the errors on screen. Here are the rules from Google’s help page.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| File type | Plain text, name must end in .txt |
| Encoding | UTF-8 or 7-bit ASCII |
| One entry per line | A full URL, or a domain prefixed with domain: |
| Subpaths | Not supported. You can’t disavow a folder such as example.com/en/ |
| Comments | Any line starting with # is ignored |
| URL length | Maximum 2,048 characters |
| File size | Maximum 100,000 lines (blank and comment lines count) and 2MB |
Here’s an example file you can copy and edit. I use comments as a paper trail, so anyone opening the file later knows why each entry exists.
# Disavow file for https://www.example.com/
# Last updated 2026-09-30
# Removal requested by email; no response from the domains below
# Paid article links from an old campaign, owner declined removal
https://blog.example.net/2021/05/best-plumbers-in-town.html
https://blog.example.net/2021/06/emergency-plumber-tips.html
# Link network sites, disavow the whole domain
domain:paid-links-network.example
domain:spam-directory.example
When I find a domain that’s clearly a link seller or a network, I use domain: rather than listing URLs. Google itself recommends the domain: operator for multiple links from one site. It also catches pages you haven’t found yet.
Mueller has also said on Bluesky that you can disavow a whole TLD if most of the spam comes from a few TLDs. Google’s help page doesn’t document that syntax, so I stick to named domains and URLs in client files.
Be careful with the export trick. Google lets you build the list from a Links report download, but it warns you to remove any URLs you don’t want to disavow. Uploading an unedited export disavows your good links too.
Step 4: Upload the File to Google
- Go to the disavow links tool. It’s easy to miss inside Search Console, so I always use the direct link.
- Select your property. If a list already exists, you’ll see a summary of disavowed pages and domains.
- Click the upload button and choose your .txt file.
- If there are errors, Google shows them straight away and keeps your old list. Fix the file and upload again.
Three rules catch people out. Each property gets exactly one list, and a fresh upload overwrites the earlier one completely, so always edit your previous file and re-upload the whole thing rather than sending only this month’s additions. Only a verified owner can upload. And the list covers that property plus its child properties, so separate http and https properties each need their own copy.
After a successful upload, Google says processing can take a few weeks while it recrawls the web. Disavowed links will still appear in the Links report. That’s normal, not a failed upload.
Why Can’t I See My Property in the Disavow Tool?
Probably because you only have a Domain property. Google’s help page says the disavow links tool “does not support Domain properties”. The fix is to add and verify a URL-prefix property for the version of your site people actually use, such as https://www.example.com/, then upload the file there.
If your site has changed protocol or subdomain over the years, check which URL-prefix properties you have. Each one needs its own list, apart from child properties that inherit it.
How Do You Submit a Reconsideration Request After Disavowing?
This only applies if you have a manual action. Once you’ve removed or disavowed the artificial links, go to the Manual actions report and select Request Review.
Google says a good request explains the exact issue, describes what you did to fix it, and documents the outcome. For link actions, I include three things: the removal log from Step 2, a short explanation of the links I couldn’t get removed, and a note that those are in the disavow file. If you bought the site, say that too, since Google’s page covers recently acquired sites.
Then wait. According to Google, most reconsideration reviews take several days or weeks, and link-related requests can run longer than usual. Patience is part of the fix. Don’t resubmit while a review is pending. You’ll get an email when it’s done, and if the action stays, you go back to Step 1 and dig deeper.
What If You Bought Links but Have No Manual Action?
This is the gray zone where the “likely will cause a manual action” wording matters. If you paid for dofollow links, those links break Google’s link spam policy unless they carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". SpamBrain may already be ignoring them, but you can’t rely on that.
My advice is simple. Stop buying them first, then ask the sites to mark existing ones rel="sponsored" or remove them, and disavow the domains that won’t cooperate. Otherwise you end up maintaining a disavow file forever.
How Do You Undo a Disavow?
To remove everything, open the disavow tool, select the property and click Cancel Disavowals. Google says this also takes a few weeks to process.
To remove only some entries, don’t cancel. Edit your file, delete the lines you want to restore, and upload the new version, which replaces the old list. That’s the right move when an old file disavowed real, relevant sites by mistake.
Does Bing Have a Disavow Tool?
Not any more. In September 2023, Bing announced it would retire the disavow links feature and its API from Bing Webmaster Tools in October 2023. Its reasoning was that its AI can now tell natural from unnatural links and quietly discount the bad ones. Nothing to upload there.
Mistakes I See Most Often
- Uploading a whole third-party “toxic” export without reviewing a single domain.
- Uploading only new entries, which wipes the previous list.
- Disavowing links from real publications because a score looked high.
- Hunting for the tool under a Domain property it doesn’t support, or covering only the http version.
- Disavowing without a manual action or a link-buying history, then blaming the next ranking drop on it.
When to Get Help
If you have a manual action and hundreds of linking domains, the cleanup and the reconsideration request are worth doing carefully once rather than three times. That’s work my team takes on through SEO recovery. For rebuilding afterwards, I prefer slow, clean links such as brand profiles, real business listings and relevant niche directories, which is what my foundation link building service covers. My post on do backlinks still work explains why a few good links beat a big, messy profile.
Not sure if you need a disavow at all? Ask for a free SEO audit and I’ll tell you honestly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does a Disavow Take to Work?
Google says it can take a few weeks after a successful upload for the list to be incorporated, as Google recrawls and reprocesses the pages involved. Don’t expect a ranking change overnight, and don’t expect one at all if the links were already being ignored.
Can Disavowing Backlinks Hurt My Rankings?
Yes, if you disavow good links. Google calls the tool an advanced feature that can harm your site’s performance if used incorrectly. Disavowing links that were actually helping you removes their value, which is why I never upload an unreviewed tool export.
Should I Disavow Spam Links From Sites I Don’t Know?
Usually not. If you didn’t create them and you don’t have a manual action, Google can normally tell which links to trust. If the volume keeps growing and it genuinely worries you, a short file with domain: entries for the worst offenders is a reasonable, low-risk step.
Do I Need to Re-Upload My Disavow File After Changes?
Yes. Google keeps one list per property, and every upload replaces the previous list in full. Keep a master copy of your file, add or remove lines there, and upload the whole thing each time.
Last updated: September 2026 by Mizanur Rahman
