Disavowing Links: Avoid These Common Misconceptions
Disavowing links is a delicate task, often surrounded by misinformation. Missteps in this process can adversely affect your website’s visibility. Here are three misconceptions you should steer clear of when disavowing links.
1. Disavowing the Wrong Links
While it might seem sensible to target blatantly negative links, such as those from adult sites, illegal gambling, or questionable foreign sites, Google is quite adept at identifying these. They understand you likely didn’t intentionally build links on such platforms.
Instead, focus on disavowing links that you wouldn’t want Google to associate with your site—specifically irrelevant, overt attempts to create links. Scrutinize every inbound link you have, ensuring it adds contextual value to the content it accompanies.
Key types of links to consider disavowing include:
- Link schemes that clearly exist for ranking or monetization
- Non-editorial, spammy links
- Links with promotional anchor texts
If a link’s sole purpose appears to be link building, it may pose a risk.
2. Disavowing Unnecessarily
Sometimes, after a negative impact from an update, the impulse is to disavow rashly. Remember, disavowing links should be a last resort. Without solid, individualized reasons, you might inadvertently remove links that benefit your site’s rankings.
Before deciding, evaluate each link carefully, weighing the potential risks and benefits of disavowing it.
3. Relying Too Much on Tools
Link analysis tools can be misleading, producing lists of potential disavow candidates automatically that aren’t always accurate. SEOs shouldn’t follow these tools without question. As John Mueller puts it, “If a tool can tell you which links to disavow, Google is probably ignoring them anyway.”
Don’t let automated tools guide your disavowing process entirely. Critically assess each link to judge its contextual value.
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