Google’s New Disavow Links Tool - Do You Really Need It?
Mood:  cool
Topic: SEO

Google’s endeavor to fight spamming and link farms continues in the form of new algorithms and tools. While Google’s Penguin update isolates and penalizes websites indulged in spammed or purchased links, the latest Google disavow links tool provides a fair chance to these websites to realize and correct their mistakes. Equally benefited are the webmasters and websites affected by what is called negative SEO.

The tool sounds interesting and easy to use as well. If your website’s traffic and ranking has been hit by Penguin, you need to follow the steps given below:

• Prepare a text file listing the URLs of the bad links
  
  
• Open Google’s Disavow Links page.
  
  
•  Select your website and upload the text file

 That’s it. As a webmaster, you might feel relieved after pursuing the procedure. But, here are some additional things you need to know:

• You might consume huge amount of time recognizing the bad links
  
  
• Google may take weeks, sometimes months, to disavow the links
  
  
• Google will not essentially take your recommendations into account and will use its own judgment to assess the links you submitted
  
  
• Do take special note of Google’s warning to use the tool with caution.

No two opinions on the fact that Google’s disavow links tool is extremely valuable, but not for all. You shouldn’t be using the tool just because:

• Your website ranking is fluctuating (it might be temporary)
  
  
•  One or more of your web pages have failed to index (it might be accidental)
  
  
• You guess a negative SEO attack (it might be a wrong guess)

Have a look at the damage that the tool may cause, if used unnecessarily or ineffectually:

• You might prepare a long list of what you think are ‘bad links’ and end up including good links due to typos
  
  
• What you consider a bad link might be a good link and disavowing the same will damage your website’s rank
  
  
•  You might waste time (and efforts and money) preparing the list and Google might just not disavow the links. Though Google assure that it assesses the links coming up for disavowing, you can’t completely overlook the probable damage.
  
  

 In addition, it is noteworthy that the tool may be used against you:

• Your competitor or enemy might list your website’s link for disavowing with the intention to see it getting penalized
  
  
•  One of your company’s employees (out of revenge or differences) having access to the tool might list the good links to your website in the list for disavowing
  
  

 In any case, the tool must be used in some extreme cases like:

•   After being hit by Penguin
  
  
• After being denied the Penguin cleanup reconsideration request
  
  
•  After receiving the ‘unnatural links’ warning from Google
  
  
• After confirming a negative SEO attack
  
  
• After all the efforts to manually remove the links fail
  
  

Take help from SEO experts in India to ensure your disavow list contains actual bad links. The tool might excite you, but it is not one you should use simply out of curiosity or on the basis of wild guesses.