Google has finally launched the much-awaited Link Disavow tool. Not surprisingly, it’s been talked about and dissected in almost every SEO forum on the web. If you’ve been suffering from a case of information overload, here’s a simple explanation of what the Link Disavow tool means for the average webmaster.

What Is The Link Disavow Tool?

With this tool you can tell Google that your website is being harmed with low quality links over which you have no control. Google’s algorithm may then ignore those links while assessing your site’s worth in terms of ranking and PR.

How To Use The Disavow Tool?

Upload the file that contains the link you want Google to ignore. In case you wish to block a domain just specify the name of the domain.  The size of the file is limited to 2MB; you can also insert comments, if you wish to.

Is It Good For You From An SEO Perspective?

If your site’s been hit and run down by Google’s penalties, or a negative SEO campaign, and you’ve been running from site to site trying to clean up the mess, the tool may seem like just the thing you’ve been praying for.

In many ways it could help your site regain some of its lost ranking. But, it isn’t a tool to be used lightly. Not only has Matt Cutts advised webmasters against overusing the tool, if you analyze the various aspects of link disavowing in detail, you would realize there are many layers to it.

Here’s What You Need To Be Careful About!

The link disavow tool is akin to an admission of guilt. Webmasters who’ve been around for a while understand that there’s a difference in what Google says openly and what it means. So, while the tool may help you clean up your act, it could also mean that Google will start watching you more carefully.

Another thing to keep in mind is that jumping on the disavow boat without thinking it through could sink your site.  You have to be 100% sure that the links you are disavowing are actually harming you. Matt Cutts has clearly stated the reavowing links is not a simple process.

So, if you end up disavowing links that are actually pushing your rankings up, the only person you’ll please is your competitor! Therefore, before you even start considering using the Link Disavow tool, you need to evaluate your link profile thoroughly, or get an expert to do it.

You also need to be very careful about who has access to your Webmaster Tools account, because anyone with access to it can simply disavow all your good links and kill your rankings.

If by any chance your site happens to be the one that people are disavowing links from, the tool can spell disaster for you. Google is not going to look benignly at your site, if webmasters start showing their mistrust towards it openly.

If you look at it from Google’s perspective, it’s a pretty cool move to get everyone to chip into the Internet clean up act. However, as a webmaster you need to ensure that you don’t volunteer unless you are sure it will help your case. Perhaps, even more importantly, you need to ensure that you don’t end up becoming one of the victims.

In this scenario, you need to be extra careful about which link exchange proposals you decide to accept, which comments you approve, and which sites you agree to host guest blogs from.

In Conclusion

From an SEO content marketing perspective, the link disavow tool is not a negative development. In fact it’s a great relief for webmasters reeling from the effect of negative SEO. However, it’s a not a tool to be played around with.  My advice— Take your time, analyze your link profile, before you even think of pressing the disavow button.

 

 

 

 

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