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To improve your search engine ranking, you certainly want to obtain a high number of backlinks, but not every link is favorable. Low-quality or spammy backlinks can drag you back down and harm your backlink profile and SEO performance, which is why it is essential that you know how to distance yourself from any links that you cannot remove manually. This is a process known as disavowing links and a key skill to learn for any SEO marketer. Link management will help you maintain a positive backlink profile, so this post will look at how you can disavow links that could hold you back.
Perform A Backlink Audit
One of the most important steps in SEO maintenance is a backlink audit. You can analyse your website’s backlink profile to identify any low-quality or harmful links that could be damaging your SEO performance. A few of the best tools to use for a backlink audit include:
Google Search Console
Ahrefs
Moz
SEMrush
Attempt Manual Removal
If you are able to, you will want to remove a low-quality or spammy link to your website, as it could also damage your brand reputation. Therefore, it is a good idea to contact the webmasters of the host site and ask for removal.
Create a Disavow File
If you are unable to remove negative backlinks manually, you will need to disavow links as part of your link management strategy. The first step in this involves creating a text file (.txt) with all of the URLs or domains that you want to remove from your backlink profile. Make sure that every line begins with "domain:" followed by the domain name or "http://" or "https://" followed by the full URL.
Use The Disavow Tool
Next, you need to use Google Search Console and find the Disavow Links tool. It is then simply a case of uploading your disavow file, reviewing, and confirming the changes. Google will then dissociate these low-quality or toxic backlinks from your backlink profile, which should deliver positive SEO results.Â
Monitor Backlink Profile
Disavowing links is a relatively easy and straightforward process once you know how to do it. However, it is important to view this as an ongoing process. You should conduct regular SEO maintenance and backlink profile audits to ensure that all backlinks are positive and will not harm your SEO efforts. It is also important to keep pace with all of the latest Google updates, link-building techniques, and website optimisation practices. The world of SEO is constantly evolving, so you need to keep up with the latest developments to adapt your SEO strategy and achieve success online.
When it comes to your backlink profile, quality over quantity is key. This is why you need to practice good link management and disavow links that could harm your link-building efforts. The art of disavowing links is relatively easy to master and can make a big difference to your SEO performance. This post should help you maintain a positive backlink profile and remove or disassociate from harmful backlinks.Â
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