To follow on from my post about Google’s disavow tool last week I though I’d give you a few more things to thinks about before using it.
1. Think about the long term
Don’t just start disavowing links left, right and centre and think the work is done. Look beyond this. Think not only about the links that you are going to disavow, but also about those that you plan on building afterwards. Disavowing links may aid recovery to a degree, but you will have to do more to get back into the results that count. Start building good links whilst you wait. It takes a very long time these days so the sooner you star the better. There are other things that you will have to do to get back into Google’s good books. Create new content and improve the usability of your site.
2. Think about how Google will use the data
In using the tool you are providing Google with yet more information. Think about how they could use this data and what they might use if for in the future. Sites that are frequently featured in disavow lists could be penalised in some way or could suffer in rankings. Who knows? Moreover in submitting a list you are essentially admitting to Google that you have personally used manipulative techniques, or you have paid someone else to. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this wont score you any brownie points.
3. Don’t Shoot Yourself in the foot
Be 100% sure that the links you wish to disavow are actually harmful and ‘spammy’. The best way of telling if your links are spammy or not (in the eyes of Google) is if you’ve been penalised or not. You don’t want to discover that you have told Google to ignore links that are actually helping your site to perform well because they aren’t regarded as manipulative and spammy. A number of thinks can cause a drop in performance so don’t jump the gun. Conduct a thorough investigation into why your site has dropped.
4. Don’t rely on it
Works as hard as you can to get the links removed before you send them off to Google to be disavowed. Proper removal of the links is a much more solid strategy than disavowal. Its a last resort so use it as one, not as a time saving tool because you’re lazy. The best approach to getting links removed is to be polite and give reason. If someone contacted you asking to take a link to their site off one of your sites you would ask why and would more than likely take offence. More about getting links removed can be found in my original article about the disavow tool.
5. Remember that it might not work
Its ultimately up to Google whether or not your links are disavowed. Simply sending off your list doesn’t guarantee that a few months down the line the links will be disregarded. This relates back to the above point – don’t rely on it. If Google don’t want to disavow your links then they don’t have to. In most cases it will take weeks, if not months for a successful disavowal to take effect. Be prepared to wait and be prepared to be dissapointed.
If your site has been hit by a recent Google update Miromedia can help. We provide a professional link building service that is always changing to meet the requirements of Google and other search engines. To find out more call the number above and talk to one of our helpful professionals.
