Most sites do not need to disavow anything. Google's own help page says so: "In most cases, Google can assess which links to trust without additional guidance, so most sites will not need to use this tool." The tool exists for a narrow case, and a "toxic" label from an SEO tool is not that case.
Do you actually need to disavow?
Google's disavow page has a warning near the top: "This is an advanced feature and should only be used with caution." It adds that if used incorrectly, the tool "can potentially harm your site’s performance in Google Search results."
It also sets a two-part condition. Disavow only if you have "a considerable number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality links" pointing at your site, and those links have caused, or likely will cause, a manual action. Both parts, not one.
Ask three questions:
- Does the Manual actions report in Search Console show a problem with links?
- Did you, or someone you hired, buy or build links that Google's spam policies forbid?
- If both answers are no, is the only reason you are worried a score in a tool?
If your answer to the third is yes, you are in the first situation below.
Situation 1: no manual action, just a scary score
This is the common case. A report lists hundreds of "toxic" links, each with a red score.
On 6 January 2022, John Mueller of Google posted on Twitter about this kind of worry. Search Engine Roundtable reported it on 7 January 2022. One tweet read: "You should just ignore that. Some tools make assumptions about Google that just aren't correct." Another said: "We don't have a notion of "toxic" links." Two cautions: these are social posts, now deleted on X, so we could only check the wording in the embeds on Search Engine Roundtable. And the first appears to answer a report the article's author could not identify.
In 2016 Mueller said the same about ordinary links. In a hangout reported on 20 October 2016, he said a sitewide or blogroll link is "not something you need to disavow." He was talking about organic links, not paid ones.
On the Google side, the December 2022 link spam update said Google was using SpamBrain "to neutralize the impact of unnatural links."
There is a counterpoint. In a January 2019 hangout, transcribed by Search Engine Journal, Marie Haynes asked whether bad links can hurt a site algorithmically. Mueller said that when algorithms see a bunch of really bad links, they may be "a bit more cautious" about the links to a site in general, and that cleaning them up changes what the algorithms see. He did not promise a ranking change, and said in the same talk that most sites do not need the tool.
Situation 2: you have a manual action, or expect one
A manual action means "a human reviewer at Google has determined that pages on the site are not compliant with Google's spam policies," according to Google's Manual actions report page. Google says it notifies you in the report and the Search Console message center. The spam policies, last updated 28 August 2026, say Google detects violations "through automated systems and, as needed, human review."
For an "unnatural links" action, Google's order is: ask the site owners to remove the links or stop them passing PageRank, disavow what you could not get removed, then request a review. Google also warns that "Blindly adding all backlinks to the disavow file is not considered a good-faith effort," and tells you not to disavow organic links. It says reconsideration reviews can take "several days or weeks," and link-related ones may take longer.
Two practical notes from the disavow page. You must be a property owner to upload the file, and the tool does not support Domain properties, so, as we read it, you need a URL-prefix property. And a disavowed link still appears in the Links report.
Situation 3: you bought links and cannot remove them
Mueller's 2022 reply covers this case too: "Did you buy links, and can't clean them up? Disavow them." The spam policies list "Buying or selling links for ranking purposes" as link spam. They add that buying and selling links for advertising and sponsorship is not a violation as long as the links are qualified with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". Our post on whether nofollow links help SEO covers what those labels mean.
Google's page puts removal first: "First and foremost, we recommend that you remove as many spammy or low-quality links from the web as possible." Email the sites. Keep the replies. Disavow only what is left.
Even then, there is no switch. In July 2025 Mueller wrote on Bluesky, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable: "We don't process the file per-se (it's not an immediate filter of "the index")," and Google takes it into account "when we recrawl other sites naturally." The disavow page says it can take a few weeks.
Aged and expired domains: what you inherit
When you buy an expired or aged domain, you also buy whatever links it already has. That is why the first check is the history, not a disavow file. Our posts on checking an aged domain before buying and on expired versus aged domains cover the history side.
Google's spam policies define expired domain abuse as an expired domain "purchased and repurposed primarily to manipulate search rankings" by hosting content with little to no value to users. The definition turns on what the domain is used for after the purchase.
After a transfer:
- Add the domain to Search Console and verify ownership.
- Open the Manual actions report. If there are no manual actions, Google says you see "a green check mark."
- If an action appears and the site broke the spam policies before you owned it, Google says to fix the issues, then tell Google in the reconsideration request that you recently acquired the site and that it no longer violates the policies.
- Do not upload a disavow file for old links just because you inherited them. The two-part test still applies.
Search Engine Journal reported on 30 September 2025 that a site owner asked on Reddit why a site on an expired domain was not ranking. Mueller answered that "it just takes a lot of time for the old state of a domain to be shaken off," and suggested checking Search Console for pending URL removal requests and anything in the manual actions section. He gave no timeframe, and this was one answer to one site, not a general rule.
Why tools sell "toxic" scores
A tool can count and score the links it can see. It cannot see how Google treats them. Scores from different vendors disagree on the same domain, which we cover in our post on why DR, DA and authority scores differ. A score is a tool's own estimate, not a Google field. If a tool calls a link toxic, ask which of the two disavow conditions that label shows. Only a manual action in Search Console shows the second one.
Closing checklist
Epictetus opened his Enchiridion with a sorting rule. In George Long's translation: "Of things some are in our power, and others are not." The links you place, the sellers you pay and the content you publish are in your power. Every link that someone else places is not.
- No manual action, no bought links: leave the file alone.
- Manual action: remove links first, document the attempts, disavow the rest, then request a review. If you only expect one, remove and disavow, but there is nothing to review yet.
- Bought links you cannot remove: ask for removal, then disavow what remains.
- New aged or expired domain: check the Manual actions report before you build anything.
- Write down the date and what you changed.
If you are choosing a domain, you can browse the listings and run the checks above on any name you like.
Frequently asked questions
Should I disavow links on an expired domain I just bought?
Not by default. Check the Manual actions report first. Disavow only if the two-part condition on Google's page applies.
Will disavowing raise my rankings?
Google's help page does not say it will. It describes the tool as a way to deal with links tied to a manual action. In 2019 Mueller said cleaning up really bad links changes what the algorithms see, but he did not promise a ranking change.