Definition of link disavowal

Through our SEO Agency Optimize 360

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The world of SEO and natural referencing is constantly evolving, and what worked yesterday may not work today.

One of the most controversial practices in the field of website optimisation is the use of inbound links (or backlinks), some of which can be considered 'toxic' and damage a site's reputation.

To counter this problem, Google has introduced the option of link disavowal. In this article, our SEO Agency will explore this technique, its impact on SEO and the steps involved in effective link disavowal.

 

What is link disavowal?

Le link disavowal is a process whereby a website owner asks Google to disregard certain links pointing to their site when assessing the quality of their pages and their ranking.

In particular, this makes it possible to prevent or combat penalties imposed by the search engine as a result of the accumulation of toxic links from unreliable or fraudulent websites.

Toxic links: what are the risks?

The toxic links are inbound links deemed inappropriate or harmful by Google, due to their origin or characteristics.

They can result from malicious practices, such as link spamming or the purchase of backlinks from unscrupulous platforms. These links can damage a site's reputation and lead to severe penalties in terms of natural referencing, such as reduced visibility in search results or even complete downgrading of the site.

The role of link disavowal in SEO strategy

Faced with the risks associated with toxic links, link disavowal is a valuable tool for website owners concerned about their natural referencing. It makes it possible to maintain a e-reputation and avoid Google's sanctions by informing the search engine which links you do not wish to be associated with.

Manual vs. algorithmic penalties

When Google detects toxic links pointing to a site, it can apply two types of penalty:

• Manual penalties : they are imposed by a member of the Google team responsible for examining suspicious cases. If the penalty is justified, a message will be sent to the site owner via the Search ConsoleIn this case, it is necessary to clean up the incoming links before requesting a review.
• Algorithmic penalties : They are assigned automatically by Google when it considers that a site's incoming links are of low quality or irrelevant. In this case, there is no explicit notification and the site owner must identify the problems themselves in order to act accordingly.

In both situations, a properly executed link disavowal can help to remove penalties and improve the natural referencing of the site concerned.

How do I disavow a link?

La procedure link disavowal is fairly straightforward, but requires time and special attention to be effective.

1. Identify toxic links

The first step is to identify all the inbound links on your site and analyse their quality. You can use the data provided by Google Search Console, as well as third-party tools specialising in backlink analysis.

2. Attempt manual removal

Before proceeding with disavowal, Google recommends trying to contact the owners of the sites hosting the links in question to request their removal. This may seem tedious, but some webmasters may agree to this request and this will avoid the need for systematic disavowals.

3. Create a disavow file

For each link you wish to disavow, create a text file (.txt) containing the URLs concerned, preceded by the keyword "domain:". You can also add comments at the beginning of the line using the "#" character. Example:

# Comment
domain :example.com
domain :autreexemple.fr

4. Submit the disavowal file

Log in to Google Search Console and access the link disavowal tool. Select your site, then download the text file you have created containing the links you wish to disavow. Then confirm the procedure, and keep an eye out for any changes in your ranking on the results pages.

It should be noted, however, that link disavowals often take several weeks to be fully taken into account by Google.

We also recommend that you regularly check your inbound links and update the disavow file if necessary, in order to maintain a solid SEO strategy that is adapted to the constant changes taking place on the web.