I wanted to walk through how to use the “disavow links tool”, which sits under off-page SEO in search engine optimization. Google explains the tool on its own site and I would recommend reading that. Here, in a form written for Türk SEM Academy readers in 2025, we will explain how to use it again and fill in what Google’s explanation leaves out.

IMPORTANT: the disavow links tool is one that calls for professional judgment. Get support from a professional before you use it. Because; the link you disavow may be helping your site rather than hurting it.

Go to the Google disavow links tool

This is an advanced feature and should be used with caution
If used incorrectly, this feature can potentially harm your site’s performance in Google Search results. We recommend that you disavow backlinks only if you believe that there are a considerable number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality links pointing to your site, and if you are confident that the links are causing issues for you. (Google’s own warning)

About the Disavow Tool

John Mueller of Google set out the following points about the disavow tool. Read them before you touch it.

What John Mueller Has Said About the Disavow Tool

1. Usually Unnecessary

The point Mueller stresses most often is that most websites have no need to use the disavow tool. Google’s algorithms are developed enough to spot unnatural or low quality links on the web and ignore them on their own. So there is no need to worry that spam links pointing at your site will hurt your rankings.

2. Only for a Manual Spam Action

Mueller says the one scenario that justifies the tool is a manual spam action from Google against your site. If you have received a manual action notice in Google Search Console for “unnatural links” and you cannot get those links removed, that is when you use the disavow tool.

3. Not Much Use Against Negative SEO Attacks

According to Mueller, the “negative SEO” links someone points at your site to damage it are usually ignored by Google automatically. If you are worried about that kind of attack, focusing on improving your site is more use than disavowing links.

4. It Can Hurt Most of the People Who Use It

Mueller warns that used wrongly, the disavow tool can do more damage by rejecting links that were actually helping your site. He stresses that you need to genuinely know what you are doing to use it. In one talk he even said the tool harms sites more often than it helps them.

5. It May Be Removed in Future

John Mueller has hinted from time to time that the tool may be withdrawn altogether. The subject has come up more often since Bing removed its own disavow tool. The basic reason is that Google’s algorithms keep getting better at recognizing spam links, so the need for manual intervention keeps falling.

In short, the general advice from John Mueller and the Google team is this: if no manual spam action has been taken against your website, do not use the disavow tool. Focus on producing quality content and earning links naturally instead.

What We Recommend at Türk SEM

Open Search Console and look down the left side for “Security and manual actions”, with “Manual actions” underneath it. If there is no notice there and you see a screen like the one below, there is a 99% chance you do not need the disavow tool.

No manual actions in Search Console

If You Suspect an Attack

If backlinks with irrelevant, unpleasant anchor text suddenly arrive at your site, and you can check that with our “Türk SEM backlink checker” tool, then you can disavow the links, accepting the risk and doing careful research first.

Do not forget that some sites, the spammier sort, will link to you. Sites like that link to nearly every website there is. I would not recommend disavowing those links at this point. Because; Google knows far more than you do, and links from that sort of site generally produce no effect on your site either way. Once you use the disavow tool on your own site you may have to keep using it. Because; you may have switched the system from automatic to manual.

How Do You Use the Disavow Tool?

Identifying the Sites

Check your site with the Türk SEM backlink checker and take a full listing of every link coming in. Visit the sites and categorize them on these 3 points.

  • Links from sites unrelated to yours, in a foreign language, or carrying adult content.
  • Links in excessive numbers, low in quality and heavy on keywords (anchor text spam).
  • Is the anchor text pointing at your site a banned word or not? (Banned text: a word prohibited under the laws of your country or by Google.)

Using the Tool

Choosing the links to disavow: you listed the risky domains and URLs in the previous step. Sort that list into sites that hit all 3 points, sites that hit 2 and sites that hit 1.

Preparing the file: save the list in a .txt file. Write each domain as domain:example.com and each URL on its own line. You can start a line with # for comments.

Uploading the file: go to the Google disavow links tool, choose the property and upload the .txt file you prepared.

That is all of it. I hope you get your problem sorted quickly.