How to disavow toxic backlinks?

Question

Anubhav Kumar · Answer

Disavowing
toxic backlinks is an advanced SEO step you take when your website has
harmful, spammy, or low-quality backlinks that could hurt your 
Google rankings.
In General Word,
Telling Google to ignore bad links that might be hurting your SEO. Only use it carefully and when truly needed.
To disavow a backlink means telling Google:
“Please ignore these links when evaluating my site’s ranking.”
You do this using 
Google Search Console’s Disavow Tool.
It doesn’t remove the link from the web — it just prevents Google from counting it against you.
When Should You Disavow Links?
You should only disavow links if:
You have a large number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality backlinks, andYou believe these links are hurting your site’s ranking orYou’ve received a manual action (penalty) from Google for 
unnatural links.Otherwise, Google automatically ignores most bad links — you don’t need to disavow every low-quality link.
Step-by-Step: How to Disavow Toxic Backlinks
Step 1: Identify Toxic Backlinks
Use SEO tools like:
Google Search ConsoleAhrefsSemrushMoz Link ExplorerUbersuggest
Look for links that are:
From spammy or irrelevant sitesFrom link farms or adult/gambling sitesContain over-optimized anchor textHave low domain authorityUse foreign or unrelated TLDs (.xyz, .ru, etc.)
Step 2: Export and Review the Links
In Google Search Console:
Go to Links → Top linking sites.Click Export External Links → Download CSV.Review and identify which domains or URLs are toxic.
Step 3: Try to Remove Links Manually (Optional)
Before disavowing, Google recommends you contact site owners and
ask them to remove the links.
You can:
Find their contact form or email.Politely request link removal.Keep a record of your outreach attempts.If they don’t respond — move to disavow.
Step 4: Create a Disavow File
Create a plain text file (.txt) listing the URLs or domains you want Google to ignore.
File Format:
One URL or domain per lineUse domain: for entire domainsAdd comments using #
Example (disavow.txt):
# Disavowing spammy backlinks
http://spammywebsite.com/badlink.html
domain:toxicdomain.com
domain:cheap-seo-links.xyz
Important:
Encoding must be UTF-8 or 7-bit ASCII.Max file size: 2MB.Use only valid domain names or URLs.
Step 5: Upload to Google Disavow Tool
Go to the official tool: 
https://search.google.com/search-console/disavow-linksSelect your verified property (your site).Click Upload Disavow List → Select your disavow.txt file.Submit.
Google will confirm receipt and process your request over time (may take weeks).
Step 6: Monitor Results
Keep checking Google Search Console for:
Manual actionsChanges in traffic or rankings
Continue building high-quality backlinks to strengthen your site’s profile.
Tips for Safe Disavowal
Only disavow links you’re sure are harmfulPrefer domain-level disavowal rather than individual URLs if the entire site is spammyKeep a backup of your disavow fileUpdate the file instead of re-uploading from scratchDon’t disavow natural or legitimate backlinks — it can harm your SEO
Summary
Step
Description
Identify
Find spammy backlinks using SEO tools
Review
Manually check which links are truly toxic
Contact
Try to remove links manually
Create File
Make a disavow.txt file
Submit
Upload it via Google Disavow Tool
Monitor
Watch your ranking and link profile

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How to disavow toxic backlinks?

Anubhav Kumar

Can you answer this question?

1 Answers

When Should You Disavow Links?

Step-by-Step: How to Disavow Toxic Backlinks

Step 1: Identify Toxic Backlinks

Step 2: Export and Review the Links

Step 3: Try to Remove Links Manually (Optional)

Step 4: Create a Disavow File

Step 5: Upload to Google Disavow Tool

Step 6: Monitor Results

Tips for Safe Disavowal

Summary

Liked By

Step	Description
Identify	Find spammy backlinks using SEO tools
Review	Manually check which links are truly toxic
Contact	Try to remove links manually
Create File	Make a `disavow.txt` file
Submit	Upload it via Google Disavow Tool
Monitor	Watch your ranking and link profile