Backlinks are like upvotes for your website. The more high-quality ones you have, the better Google thinks your site is.
But here’s the catch: not all backlinks are good.
Some can actually harm your SEO and cause your rankings to drop.
Spammy, irrelevant, or low-quality links can trigger Google penalties, damage your authority, and even get your site deindexed. That’s why you need to disavow bad backlinks, AND it is a critical SEO task. So make sure you know everything about it before doing anything.
Let’s talk about identifying, removing, and disavowing toxic backlinks the right way.
Plus, in the end, I’ll share some tips to maintain a clean backlink profile and improve your rankings in 2025.
Let’s dive in!
What Are Bad Backlinks?
Not all backlinks help your website. Some can actually hurt it.
Types of Bad Backlinks to Watch Out For
Here are some of the most common types of toxic backlinks that damage your SEO:
- Spammy Websites – Low-quality sites that exist just to generate ads or scrape content.
- Private Blog Networks (PBNs) – Networks of websites created solely to manipulate Google rankings.
- Paid Links – Links you purchased (Google strictly prohibits this!).
- Irrelevant Links – A plumbing site linking to your travel blog? That’s a red flag.
- Sitewide Footer & Sidebar Links – Links placed in a website’s footer or sidebar across all pages.
- Over-Optimized Anchor Text – If too many backlinks use the same keyword-rich anchor text, it looks unnatural.
- Links from Penalized Domains – If a website has been penalized by Google, links from it can pass on negative effects to you.
Having too many of these bad links can put down your SEO. So, how do they actually impact your rankings?
How Bad Backlinks Harm Your Website
Ignoring toxic backlinks can cause serious SEO issues. Here’s what can happen:
1. Google Penalties (Manual & Algorithmic)
Google uses two main ways to penalize websites for bad backlinks:
- Manual Penalties – Google’s spam team reviews your site and issues a manual action for unnatural links.
- Algorithmic Penalties (Google Penguin) – Google automatically devalues spammy links, causing a drop in rankings.
2. Drop in Search Rankings
Your rankings will take a hit if your backlink profile looks unnatural or filled with low-quality links.
3. Wasted Google Crawl Budget
If Google is busy crawling spammy backlinks, it might not focus on your important pages.
4. Damage to Your Website’s Reputation
If your site appears on shady, low-quality websites, it can damage your credibility and make users lose trust in your brand.
Now, let’s move on to how you can identify and remove bad backlinks.
How to Identify Bad Backlinks
Before you can remove toxic links, you need to find them.
Step 1: Use Google Search Console
- Go to Google Search Console
- Navigate to Links > Top Linking Sites
- Download your backlink list and start analyzing
Look for spammy or irrelevant websites linking to you.
Step 2: Use SEO Backlink Analysis Tools
Google Search Console is useful, but it doesn’t provide a detailed analysis. Use these tools for a deeper look:
- Ahrefs – Provides spam scores and backlink quality.
- SEMrush – Identifies toxic backlinks.
- Moz Link Explorer – Shows domain authority and spam scores.
- Majestic SEO – Measures Trust Flow and Citation Flow.
Step 3: Manually Check for Toxic Links
When reviewing your backlinks, look for these warning signs:
- Does the website look low-quality or spammy?
- Is it completely unrelated to your niche?
- Does it contain excessive pop-ups or ads?
- Does it have a high spam score (above 30%)?
If you find links that fit these criteria, it’s time to remove or disavow them.
How to Remove Bad Backlinks
(Before Using the Disavow Tool!)
Before disavowing links, try removing them manually.
Step 1: Contact the Website Owner
Reach out and ask them to remove the link. Here’s a simple template:
Subject: Request to Remove a Link
Hi [Website Owner],
I noticed your site links to mine on [page URL]. Unfortunately, this link is negatively impacting our SEO. Could you kindly remove it?
Thanks for your help!
Best, [Your Name]
Step 2: If No Response, Proceed to Disavow
If they ignore you (which often happens), or the site is completely spammy, you’ll need to use Google’s Disavow Tool.
How to Disavow Bad Backlinks
(Using Google’s Disavow Tool)
If you can’t remove bad links manually, here’s how to disavow them properly.
Step 1: Create a Disavow File
- Open a text editor like Notepad.
- List the bad links, one per line, like this:
# Disavowing toxic links
http://spammywebsite.com/bad-link-1
http://spammywebsite.com/bad-link-2
domain:badspammydomain.com
- Save it as disavow.txt.
Step 2: Upload to Google’s Disavow Tool
- Go to Google Disavow Tool
- Select your website
- Click Upload Disavow File
- Submit the disavow.txt file
Step 3: Wait for Google to Process It
Google may take weeks or months to process your request.
Best Practices to Keep Your Backlink Profile Clean
Now that your site is free of bad backlinks, follow these tips to keep it that way:
- Audit Your Backlinks Regularly – Check them every 3-6 months.
- Build High-Quality Links – Focus on organic, authoritative backlinks.
- Avoid Buying Links – Google penalizes sites that purchase links.
- Use the Disavow Tool Sparingly – Only disavow links when absolutely necessary.
Final Thoughts
Disavowing toxic backlinks is essential for protecting your SEO. But remember, it should always be a last resort.
Start by identifying bad backlinks, requesting removal, and only disavow those you can’t remove.
Keeping a clean backlink profile helps you achieve higher rankings, more traffic, and better website authority.
For more SEO strategies, check out our guides on backlink building strategies and Google algorithm updates!
