It is now two years since Google launched their link disavow tool and the questions about it do not stop.
Someone asked Google's John Mueller on Twitter "if you disavow before links appear in WMT (by using ahrefs), will they still count against you?"
Truth is, Google may still show disavowed links within your link report in Google Webmaster Tools even if they are disavowed. If you disavow them, the links won't count but they still may show up in the reporting tool.
John Mueller said in his response:
WMT is just a reporting tool; disavowing bad links early lets you move on...
@Greg_Dash @mattcutts WMT is just a reporting tool; disavowing bad links early lets you move on, but most sites have more important issues.
— John Mueller (@JohnMu) October 13, 2014I agree, it typically makes sense to disavow early because if your rankings are good now, disavowing NEW bad links shouldn't have a negative impact on your rankings. But if you are too late, you may end up disavowing OLD GOOD links, which can have a negative impact on your rankings.
It is much easier to be proactive when using the disavow tool then to do it after a penalty.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
