Google disavow file: why you should never use it again
The disavow links tool in Google Search Console still lingers in SEO strategies, like an outdated reflex from a bygone era. Yet in 2025, disavowing Google links has become not only unnecessary, but dangerous for your search rankings.
In this article, we explain why the Google disavow file no longer belongs in your SEO strategy. And more importantly, how overusing it can weaken your link profile or even ruin your online visibility.
What is Google’s disavow tool?
The Google disavow tool, available via Google Search Console, was originally created to allow site owners to submit a list of inbound links to ignore when calculating their search engine rankings.
A disavow file is simply a .txt file containing either specific URLs or entire domains you want Google to disregard. This file is uploaded through the Google disavow tool interface and then processed at Google’s discretion.
đź“Ś Excerpt from Google’s official documentation:
“If your site has a manual action due to unnatural links or you believe it might, you can submit a Google disavow file to indicate the links you want ignored.”
In other words, it was a last resort tool in case of a manual penalty. But those days are long gone.
Why you should stop using the disavow file in 2025
1. Google already ignores toxic backlinks
One of the biggest changes in Google’s algorithm—especially since Google Penguin—is its ability to automatically filter spammy links. There’s no need to disavow backlinks that Google already ignores.
Even if your link profile includes spammy anchor texts (like poker, adult, etc.), Google Search Console typically doesn’t show them because they’re automatically discounted by the algorithm. SEO tools like Ahrefs, Majestic, or SEMrush may flag spammy links… but that doesn’t mean Google sees them as harmful.
👉 Always check your inbound links in Google Search Console first—not in a third-party tool—before disavowing anything.
2. Disavowing doesn’t change any external SEO KPIs
Many consultants mistakenly believe that disavowing Google links can improve metrics like Majestic’s Trust Flow or Moz’s Domain Authority.
đźš« False. Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Majestic have no access to your Google disavow file. The Google disavow tool is entirely disconnected from these platforms. You cannot manipulate SEO scores through it.
3. Disavowing can hurt your rankings
There are many documented cases where submitting a disavow file caused a drop in Google rankings, even without a manual action. Why?
Because blindly following third-party tools that flag “toxic” links often leads to disavowing quality links by mistake. The result? Loss of authority, drop in traffic.
Real case: a company disavowed several links flagged by a third-party tool. Three weeks later, traffic dropped. After deleting the disavow file, their Google Search rankings recovered. A bad disavow can do more harm than good.
4. The disavow file is useless without a manual penalty
The only real reason to disavow backlinks is if there’s a confirmed manual action in your Google Search Console.
In that specific case, a Google disavow file can help show your intent to clean up. But even then, it’s usually better to contact sites and request link removal. That’s far more effective.
A tool bound to disappear?
In October 2023, Bing simply removed its own disavow tool. And there are signs Google may follow suit.
Why? Because the disavow file is:
- Used extremely rarely
- Too risky for non-experts
- And useless in 99% of cases
Some speculate that Google only keeps the tool alive to train its machine learning models—a kind of supervised learning based on human feedback. Either way, it adds no SEO value.
The disavow tool is still used by many SEOs—this topic even comes up in our link building survey.
Removing a link is not disavowing it
Be careful not to confuse link disavowal with URL removal via Search Console. These are two totally different tools.
- Disavow = text file asking Google to ignore external backlinks.
- Removal = tool to temporarily deindex your own site’s pages from Google search.
Example: removing hacked WordPress pages from Google’s index. That’s a legit use case of the Search Console removal tool.
In short: forget the disavow tool
❌ Don’t disavow links if:
- You haven’t received a manual penalty
- You’re only relying on third-party SEO tools
- You hope to improve an external KPI
- You’re unsure about the link’s impact
âś… Only do it if:
- You have a confirmed manual action in Search Console
- You’ve tried contacting sites to remove links
- You’re working with an experienced SEO expert
Need a backlink audit?
Link building is a powerful SEO lever—as long as you don’t shoot yourself in the foot with a poorly used Google disavow file.
At Stiv.media, we run high-quality backlink campaigns and provide custom SEO audits to evaluate the health of your link profile.
Want to check the quality of your site’s link profile?
