August 19, 2024
How to deal with spammy or “toxic” backlinks. Should we disavow them to protect our website, or should we allow them to exist in our link profile? At least we have a clear position on how to deal with them.
We have seen several cases where companies have been advised by SEO experts that so-called junk backlinks can significantly damage their website. It is not uncommon to hear statements like: “We have identified spammy/toxic backlinks on your website, and disavow them is essential to ensure that you rank well in search results”. But is it really necessary?
We do not believe that this is the right solution. Google itself has confirmed that they either ignore spammy links or give them value if they are relevant. Therefore, disavow links is rarely necessary unless your site is experiencing serious ranking losses and all other SEO strategies have failed.
Google has evolved over the years to become much better at dealing with spammy links. Their algorithm, especially with the introduction of Google SpamBrain, is now able to identify and ignore unnatural links automatically. This means that most spammy links will not affect your website’s ranking, as Google simply chooses to ignore them.
It is important to understand that it is extremely difficult to damage a domain with link spam today. Most cases of aggressive link spam are quickly ignored by Google. This has led to a change in practice where it is no longer necessary to disavow links unless you are a very experienced SEO specialist and know exactly what you are doing. Google has said it themselves:
A disavow should only be considered as a last resort. If you are experiencing a complete lack of ranking, and all other SEO measures such as content optimization, building new high-quality links, and improving the user experience have failed, it may be relevant to consider a disavow. Even then, it should be done with great caution and in small stages to avoid unwanted consequences. However, for manual actions in GSC, it may be the right solution.
Instead of automatically fearing bad backlinks, let’s focus on what works. In most cases, Google will already be able to handle bad links without our intervention. Spend the time building a strong and natural link profile through quality content and relevant links, rather than worrying about disavowing every single “toxic” backlink. We therefore believe that it is a waste of money if an agency or SEO consultant spends all their energy on disavowing backlinks, instead of, for example, putting together a solid and strong SEO strategy for the future.
We are happy to look into your case. Contact us if you want to increase your online presence with SEO.