The short answer
The disavow tool tells Google to ignore specific inbound links when it assesses your site. Use it in only two situations: you have a manual action for unnatural links, or you are dealing with a deliberate link scheme you cannot clean up by contacting the sites. For almost everyone else, the correct number of links to disavow is zero, because Google already discounts spam links on its own.
Treat it as a last resort, not routine maintenance. Disavowing good links by mistake tells Google to ignore value you earned, and rankings can fall. A high toxic score in a third-party tool is that tool's opinion, not a signal from Google.
- Only disavow for a confirmed manual action or a real link scheme you cannot remove by outreach.
- "Toxic" is a vendor label. Google talks about link spam and aims to ignore it automatically.
- One plain text file per property, built at the domain level. Each upload replaces the last.
Most sites should never use this tool
Google calls the disavow tool an advanced feature and says plainly that most sites do not need it. Its systems are built to ignore unnatural links rather than punish you for links you did not create. If you are reaching for the tool because a dashboard flagged some links as toxic, stop and check whether you have an actual manual action first.
The instinct is understandable. You open a backlink tool, see a column of links marked toxic or spammy, and assume they are dragging you down. But that column is a model's guess at what Google might dislike. It is not a message from Google, and it is not evidence that anything is wrong.
Google's own guidance, and years of public comment from its search team, land in the same place: for the large majority of sites, spammy inbound links can be safely ignored, because the algorithms already discount them. Acting on a toxic score alone risks the one thing disavowing can genuinely cause, which is telling Google to throw away links that were helping you.
Straight from Google
Google introduced the disavow tool in 2012, and the explanation from that launch still holds today. It was built for owners who had a real links problem, usually ones they created, and it has always come with the same warning: most people do not need it.
When Disavowing Is Justified
There are only three situations where reaching for the tool makes sense. If none of these describe you, the answer is to leave your backlinks alone.
You have a manual action
Search Console shows a manual action citing unnatural links to your site. This is Google telling you directly that links are a problem, almost always because they were built on purpose. A disavow plus a reconsideration request is the documented path out.
You caused the bad links
You, a past agency or a cheap link package built paid links, ran large link exchanges, or used link networks, and you want to clean up before a manual action lands. Remove what you can first, then disavow the rest.
A real link scheme you cannot remove
A deliberate, verifiable spam attack you have tried and failed to get taken down. Genuine cases are uncommon, because Google already ignores most unearned links, so confirm the pattern is real before acting.
Check first in the manual actions report. No manual action usually means no disavow.
How to Disavow, Step by Step
Confirm there is a real problem
Open the manual actions report in Search Console. A manual action for unnatural links is the signal that matters. If there is none, a third-party toxic score alone is not a reason to disavow anything.
Try removal first
For the worst links, contact the sites and ask for removal or a nofollow. Google expects a genuine attempt at cleanup before you disavow, especially if you are heading into a reconsideration request.
Build the file at the domain level
Create a plain text file, UTF-8 encoded, with one URL or domain per line. Use domain:example.com to disavow every link from a site, which is usually the right call for spam, since it comes from the whole domain, not one page.
Upload it in the disavow tool
Submit the file in Google's disavow tool for the correct property. Each new upload replaces the previous file entirely, so keep one master file and re-upload the full list every time you change it.
File a reconsideration request if needed
If you disavowed to clear a manual action, submit a reconsideration request once the file is in and removals are done. Explain what happened and what you fixed. Approval lifts the action.
The Disavow File Format
The file is plain text, UTF-8 encoded, with one URL or domain per line. Lines that start with # are comments for your own reference and are ignored by Google. To disavow every link from a site, use the domain: prefix, which is almost always what you want for spam.
# Two individual URLs to disavow
https://spam-example.com/bad-page
https://another-spam.net/profile/you
# Disavow every link from these whole domains
domain:low-quality-directory.com
domain:paid-links-network.net
domain:spun-content-farm.infoKeep one master file. Every time you upload, the new file replaces the old one completely, so a new upload must contain the full list, not just the latest additions.
A Worked Example
Illustrative scenario, not client data
A site owner runs a backlink audit and the tool flags 300 links as toxic. Traffic has dipped. The instinct is to disavow all 300 today. Here is the better sequence.
- Check for a manual action: the Search Console manual actions report shows none. That single fact changes everything, because Google is not holding these links against the site.
- Look for a cause they created: none of the 300 came from paid links, exchanges or a network the owner bought. They are organic spam that simply appeared, which is normal for any site that ranks.
- Explain the dip honestly: the traffic drop lines up with a known algorithm update and a competitor refreshing a key page, not with the links. Disavowing would have done nothing for it.
- Do nothing to the links: the right action here is no disavow at all. The owner instead refreshes the affected pages and watches the recovery in Search Console.
Now change one detail. If that report had shown a manual action for unnatural links, and the owner recognised a batch of links from a package they once bought, the sequence flips: contact the sites, build a domain-level disavow file for what remains, upload it, and file a reconsideration request. Same tool, completely different decision, driven by Google's signal rather than the dashboard's. For related territory, see SEO techniques to avoid.
Watching Recovery
Murkuz does not touch your links. It helps you see whether a cleanup or a scare actually moved your traffic.
To be clear about what Murkuz is not: it has no backlink index, it does not score links, and it cannot detect or remove toxic links. That work stays in your backlink tool and in Google's own disavow tool. Murkuz is a read-only connector for your Search Console, Analytics 4 and Bing Webmaster data.
Where it earns its place is after the decision. If you filed a disavow, or you suspect a link-driven drop, connect your accounts once, add Murkuz to Claude or ChatGPT, and ask whether the traffic and rankings for the affected pages actually moved. It returns the real rows from your own data, so you can tell a genuine change from a dashboard scare, without claiming to do anything to your link profile.
Further reading
Start with Google's own documentation, which is unusually direct about how little most sites should use this tool. Each source was opened and read in full before it was listed.
Official docsGoogle Search Console Help
Disavow links to your siteThe definitive instructions. Google calls this an advanced feature, states plainly that most sites should not use it, and gives the exact file format and upload steps. Read this before you do anything else.
Official announcementGoogle Search Central Blog
A new tool to disavow linksThe original announcement, which frames the tool as a last resort for owners who built or allowed bad links and want to clean up after trying removal first. The intent has not changed since.
Official docsGoogle Search Central
Spam policies for Google web searchDefines link spam in Google's own words and makes clear its systems aim to neutralise unnatural links automatically, which is why disavowing is rarely the fix people think it is.
Official docsGoogle Search Console Help
Manual actions reportHow to check whether you actually have a manual action for unnatural links. This report, not a third-party score, is the signal that a disavow and reconsideration request may be warranted.
GuideAhrefs, Derek Gleason
Google's Disavow Links Tool: The Complete GuideA practical walkthrough from a tool vendor that, usefully, still argues against overusing the feature. Good on how to assemble a file at the domain level and the mistakes that cost rankings.
OpinionAhrefs, Joshua Hardwick
Toxic Backlinks: SEO Woe or a Load of Baloney?The clearest explanation of why a tool's toxic score is not Google's view. Worth reading before you panic over a dashboard number and disavow links that were doing no harm.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Google Disavow Tool and when should I use it?
The Google Disavow Tool lets you give Google a list of inbound links you want it to ignore when assessing your site. You should use it only in two cases: you have a manual action in Search Console for unnatural links, usually because of links you or someone you hired built, or you are facing a genuine link scheme you cannot clean up by contacting the sites. For almost every other site, the right number of links to disavow is zero, because Google already ignores the spam on its own.
How do I disavow toxic backlinks?
First confirm the links are genuinely harmful, usually by checking for a manual action in the Search Console manual actions report. Try to get the worst links removed by contacting the sites. For what remains, build a plain text file with one URL or domain per line, using the prefix domain: to disavow a whole domain, and lines starting with # for your own notes. Upload it in Google's disavow tool, one file per property, which replaces any previous file. If you have a manual action, submit a reconsideration request after the file is in and the cleanup is done.
How do I know which backlinks are actually harmful?
The only signal that matters from Google is a manual action in the manual actions report, which names unnatural links as the reason. A high toxic or spam score in a third-party tool is that tool's opinion, not Google's, and acting on it alone is how site owners disavow links that were doing no harm. Look for patterns you recognise as something you caused: paid links, large-scale link exchanges, spun-article links, or links from a network you once bought. Organic spam that simply shows up is normal and almost never needs action.
Should I disavow links proactively or only after a problem?
Only after a confirmed problem. Google has said repeatedly that most sites do not need to worry about spammy links pointing at them, because its systems already discount them. Disavowing proactively, as a routine cleanup, carries real downside: if you include links that were actually helping, you tell Google to ignore that value, and rankings can fall. Reserve the tool for a manual action or a clear, deliberate attack you cannot resolve any other way.
Are toxic backlinks a real Google concept?
No. Toxic is a label invented by third-party SEO tools to score links by their own models. Google does not use the word and does not publish a toxicity metric. Google talks about link spam and unnatural links, and it aims to ignore them automatically rather than penalise you for links you did not create. Treat a toxic score as a prompt to investigate, never as proof that Google is holding those links against you.
How long does a disavow file take to work?
There is no instant effect. Google applies a disavow as it recrawls the pages carrying those links, so the process rolls out over weeks and sometimes longer for links on pages that are crawled rarely. If you filed the disavow to clear a manual action, the action lifts only after you submit a reconsideration request and a reviewer approves it, which can take days to a few weeks. Do not expect a ranking jump the day you upload the file.
Can a competitor hurt my rankings with spammy links?
Genuine negative SEO through spammy links is rare, because Google's systems are built to ignore links you did not earn or create. In the large majority of cases, a flood of low-quality links pointed at your site does nothing, and disavowing them changes nothing. Act only if you see a real, deliberate pattern tied to a ranking drop you can otherwise explain, and even then confirm there is a manual action before you treat the disavow as the fix.