Disavowing backlinks means uploading a text file to Google Search Console that lists linking pages or domains you want Google to ignore. This page gives the seven steps from export to upload, the exact file format with a sample you can copy, and the cases where a disavow is the wrong tool.
What does it mean to disavow backlinks?
To disavow backlinks is to ask Google, through a file uploaded in Search Console, to ignore specific links when it assesses your site. The file lists URLs or whole domains, and changes take effect over a few weeks.
The disavow tool is separate from link removal. Removal deletes the link at the source by contacting the site owner. Disavowing leaves the link in place and tells Google not to count it. Google describes the tool as an advanced feature, built for sites that hold a large number of artificial or spammy links, or that received a manual action for unnatural links.
When do you need to disavow backlinks?
Disavow backlinks when a manual action cites unnatural links to your site, or when you hold many manipulative links you cannot get removed. Ordinary low-quality links do not require one. Google reserves the tool for large volumes of spammy links.
Google states that in most cases it assesses which links to trust without additional guidance. Three situations call for a file: a manual action titled Unnatural links to your site, a past link-buying or network campaign whose links remain live, and a negative-SEO attack that produced a pattern of links you did not create. A single odd link, a nofollowed link or a low-authority link needs no disavow.
How do you disavow backlinks?
Disavow backlinks in seven steps: export links, flag the harmful ones, request removal, write the file, upload it, choose the property, and record the date. Removal comes before the file, because Google asks for a good-faith removal effort first.
- Export your links from the Search Console Links report and from one third-party backlink index, then merge the two lists.
- Flag links from sites that exist to sell links, auto-generated pages, unrelated foreign-language hosts and network sites.
- Email the owner of each flagged site to request removal, and keep a log of each request.
- Write the disavow file from the links that remain, using the format in the next section.
- Open Google’s disavow links tool at
search.google.com/search-console/disavow-linksand select a URL-prefix property, since the tool does not support Domain properties. - Upload the file and confirm.
- Record the upload date and the file version in your link plan.
Teams that prefer the cleanup handled for them can review the toxic backlink removal service, which covers outreach for removal and file preparation.
What format does a disavow file use?
A disavow file is a plain text file saved with a .txt extension in UTF-8 or 7-bit ASCII, with one URL or domain per line, up to 100,000 lines (blank and comment lines count) and 2 MB. Lines starting with a hash are comments.
Two entry types exist. A bare URL disavows one page. A line beginning with domain: disavows every link from that domain and its subdomains. The sample below uses reserved example domains; replace each entry with your own.
# Disavow file for example.com, version 1, prepared 2026-10-11
# Removal requested twice, no reply from these sites
domain:spam-directory.example
domain:link-network-site.example
https://blog.example.net/post/paid-links-page.html
https://forum.example.org/thread/auto-posted-profileSave the file as disavow.txt. The comment lines document each decision for the next person who edits it.
Which disavow entry fits: a domain or a single URL?
Disavow the whole domain when the site as a whole is manipulative, and a single URL when only one page is. Domain entries are the standard choice for network and directory sites, because new spam pages on the same site are then covered without further edits.
| Entry type | Syntax | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | domain:example.com | Every page on the site is spam, or new spam pages appear regularly |
| URL | https://example.com/page | Only one page carries the link and the rest of the site is legitimate |
How long does a disavow take, and how do you reverse it?
Expect changes to take effect over a few weeks. To reverse a disavow, upload a new file without the entries, or select the property and choose Cancel Disavowals to remove all of them. A new upload replaces the previous file entirely.
No confirmation appears when processing finishes, so check the property after a few weeks. Keep the old file, edit a copy, and upload the updated version whenever the list changes. Each URL can run up to 2,048 characters. When the disavow responds to a manual action, submit the reconsideration request after the file is uploaded and describe the removal attempts in it.
How do you avoid needing a disavow file?
Avoid needing a disavow file by building links through methods that leave no manipulative pattern, labeling paid placements with the right attributes, and rejecting prices far below the benchmark. Prevention costs less than cleanup, and it starts with how links are acquired.
Build links through methods that leave no manipulative pattern; the catalog of link acquisition tactics ranks each method by exposure. Mark paid placements with the attributes described in the guide to paid link attributes, and compare vendor quotes against the link pricing benchmarks, since a price far below the benchmark signals a network or an automated product.
Related: backlink guides for site owners and recovering after a link penalty.