How to Build a Google Disavow File

A disavow file is a plain text file you submit to Google via Search Console. It tells Google to ignore specific backlinks when assessing your site's link profile. Links you disavow are not counted, either positively or negatively, in how Google evaluates your site.

This guide explains when a disavow file is necessary, how to identify which links to include, and how to format and submit the file correctly.

When should you use a disavow file?

Google's own guidance is to use the disavow tool only if you have a "considerable number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality links" pointing to your site and you cannot get them removed manually. It is not something to use lightly.

Situations where a disavow file is warranted:

• Your site has received a manual action from Google for unnatural inbound links
• You have noticed a significant number of toxic or spam links in your backlink profile that appeared after a competitor or bad actor ran a negative SEO campaign against you
• Your site has a history of aggressive link building, particularly buying links or using private blog networks, and you want to clean up before a Google review

Situations where you probably do not need one:

• You have a small number of low-quality links mixed into an otherwise healthy profile
• Your site has not seen any manual action or unexplained traffic drops
• The links you are worried about are simply from low-authority sites, not spam networks

If in doubt, err on the side of not disavowing. Disavowing high-quality links by mistake can actively hurt your rankings.

Step 1: Identify links to disavow

Start by pulling your full backlink profile using Crawly's free backlink checker. Export the full link list as a CSV.

Look for domains that match the profile of a toxic link:

• The site has no clear topic, no real content, or looks like it was built purely to pass links
• The anchor text pointing to you is heavily keyword-optimised (e.g. "buy cheap domain hosting uk" rather than your brand name)
• The same domain is sending an unusually large number of links compared to its apparent size
• The site appears on multiple spam or malware blacklists
• The domain was registered recently and has no organic traffic

Crawly flags domains ranked below 50 million globally as potentially toxic. This is a useful starting filter, but not every flagged domain should be disavowed. Review them individually.

Keep a record of each domain you decide to disavow and your reason for including it. This makes it easier to review and update the file later.

Step 2: Try to remove links manually first

Before submitting a disavow file, Google recommends attempting to have spammy links removed manually. In practice, this means contacting the webmaster of each linking site and asking them to remove the link.

For spam sites and link farms, manual removal attempts are rarely successful, and Google understands this. A short, documented effort is usually sufficient before moving to the disavow tool.

Keep a log of your removal requests, including the date, the domain, the contact method used, and any response you received. If Google ever reviews your case, this documentation demonstrates a good-faith effort.

Step 3: Format the disavow file

The disavow file is a plain .txt file with one entry per line. Google supports two formats:

Disavow a specific URL:

https://www.example.com/bad-links-page.html

Disavow an entire domain (recommended for spam sites):

domain:example.com

Use the domain-level format for spam sites and link farms. These sites often have hundreds of pages, each linking to you, so disavowing individual URLs would be impractical.

Lines beginning with # are treated as comments and ignored by Google. Use these to annotate your file:

# Toxic links identified in backlink audit, May 2026
# Criteria: spam sites, link farms, keyword-stuffed anchor text

domain:spam-site-one.com
domain:link-farm-example.net
https://www.another-example.com/bought-links.html

Keep the file well-organised. You will likely need to update it in the future, and clear comments make it much easier to audit later.

Step 4: Submit the file to Google Search Console

1. Go to Google Search Console
2. Select the correct property
3. Navigate to the Disavow links tool (found under the Links report, or search for "disavow" in the help)
4. Upload your .txt file

Google will process the file and apply it to your site's evaluation. This typically takes a few weeks to reflect in your rankings, though Google may take longer during periods of heavy crawling activity.

Once submitted, the file remains active. Google continues to apply it with every recrawl of your site.

Step 5: Maintain the file over time

A disavow file is not set-and-forget. New toxic links can appear at any time, particularly if your site is targeted by negative SEO. Review your backlink profile quarterly and update the file whenever you identify new domains to add.

When you update the file, you must re-upload the complete file each time. Google replaces the previous submission entirely, so do not just submit a file containing only the new entries.

Also review existing entries occasionally. If a domain you disavowed has been cleaned up or redirected to a legitimate site, removing it from your disavow file may be appropriate.

Common mistakes to avoid

Disavowing links from high-quality sites. Always review your disavow list carefully. A link from a major publication should never be disavowed, even if its domain happens to fall below a quality threshold in a particular tool.

Disavowing too aggressively. Some SEOs disavow every link that looks slightly suspicious. This can remove genuine, helpful links and hurt rankings.

Using page-level disavows for link farms. If a spam site has hundreds of pages linking to you, disavowing individual URLs will miss most of them. Always use domain: for sites that are entirely toxic.

Submitting an empty file. An empty disavow file will clear your previous submissions. Double-check your file before uploading.

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Used correctly, a disavow file is a useful tool for protecting your site from low-quality links. Used carelessly, it can cause unnecessary damage. Take the time to audit carefully, document your decisions, and keep the file up to date.

Start your link audit with Crawly's backlink checker to see which domains are linking to your site and flag potentially harmful ones.