Google Double Downs On Not Using Link Disavow Files In A Bigger Way

Mar 10, 2023 - 7:41 am 6 by

Doubling Down Gif

Not too long ago, John Mueller from Google blasted an agency for using a disavow file and now he is doubling down on that, adding on Twitter in response to disavow link services, saying, "Some people do things that they can bill, regardless of whether it's needed or makes sense."

Recently, Gary Illyes from Google reiterated his disavow advice saying at PubCon not to use it. He repeated that it hurts more than it helps for the most part.

John also added the other day on Twitter, "To be honest, anyone who does not know, should *not* use it. That's why the tool is not a part of the search console UI. That's why our messaging has been consistently to not use it unless you know there's an actual issue. To paraphrase: When in doubt, leave disavow out."

So stop using the link disavow tool unless you have a manual action.

Here are these new tweets:

Even with super bad links pointing to your site, don't disavow:

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Ads

Google Ads API Outages and Slowness; Microsoft Ads Warns About Google Imports

Jun 29, 2025 - 8:12 am
Google Updates

Heated Google Search Ranking Volatility On Saturday June 28th

Jun 29, 2025 - 7:59 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: June 27, 2025

Jun 27, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google

Google AI Overviews Tests Showing Site Names

Jun 27, 2025 - 8:10 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Where The Google Core Updates, Web Is Thriving & AI Index Freshness

Jun 27, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google

Head Of Google Search, Liz Reid, On Ads & SEO With AI Search

Jun 27, 2025 - 7:51 am
Previous Story: Google Search Translation Tests Adding Search For This On Google