How to Disavow Links in Ahrefs (My Step by Step Guide)
Hello guys, welcome back to my blog. A few of my readers messaged me lately asking about bad backlinks pointing to their site, and how to get rid of them. So today I am going to show you how to disavow links in Ahrefs, the exact way I do it on my own sites. I will also tell you when you should actually bother with this, because honestly, most sites don’t even need it. So lets get into it.
How to Disavow Links in Ahrefs, My Simple Method
If you ask me how to disavow links in Ahrefs, the short answer is, Ahrefs itself does not send anything to Google directly. What it does is help you find the bad backlinks and export them in a proper disavow file, which you then upload on Google Search Console’s disavow tool. A lot of people get confused here, thinking Ahrefs has some magic button that removes links, but that is not how it works, and honestly no tool can do that.
I always use Ahrefs Site Explorer for this whole process, because that is where all my backlink data lives anyway.
What Is a Disavow File, in Simple Words
A disavow file is just a plain text file where you list the domains or specific URLs you want Google to ignore when it looks at your backlink profile. According to Google’s own support page, this feature is meant for advanced users, and Google clearly says most sites will not need it at all.
I think this line from Google is important, so let me quote the idea here, they basically say Google can usually tell good and bad links apart on its own, so this tool is not something every website owner should be touching. This is why I always tell my readers, do not disavow links just because you feel scared, only do it when you have a real reason.
Red Flags, How I Spot Toxic Backlinks in Ahrefs
Before you even think about disavowing anything, you need to actually find the bad links first. I usually go to Site Explorer, enter my domain, then check Backlink Profile and Referring Domains. Here is what I personally look for.
| Red Flag | What It Usually Means |
|---|---|
| Very low Domain Rating (DR) | Site has almost no real authority |
| Strange country TLDs like .ru or .cn (for unrelated niches) | Could be spam network links |
| Exact match keyword anchor text everywhere | Looks like paid or manipulated links |
| Gibberish domain names | Often spam or PBN type sites |
| Sudden spike in referring domains | Could be a negative SEO attack |
I also check the Anchors report inside Ahrefs to see if my anchor text looks natural or too keyword stuffed. If most of my links say my brand name, I feel fine. But if a lot of them say some random commercial keyword, that is a red flag for me.
Step by Step, How I Actually Disavow Links Using Ahrefs
Ok so here is my exact process, step by step, the same one I use on my own websites.
- Open Ahrefs Site Explorer and enter your domain.
- Click on Backlinks or Referring Domains from the left side menu.
- Sort by Domain Rating, low to high, so the weakest looking domains show up first.
- Filter for dofollow links only, since nofollow links don’t really pass any SEO value anyway, so disavowing them is mostly pointless.
- Go through the list and flag the domains that actually look spammy or unrelated to your niche, based on the red flags I shared above.
- Export this list, I always save mine as a plain CSV first so I can review it properly before doing anything final.
- Turn this list into a proper disavow.txt file. You just write “domain:example.com” for a whole domain, or the full URL if you only want to block one page.
- Go to Google Search Console’s disavow links page, pick your property, and upload this txt file.
One thing I always do before step 7, I download my old disavow file first if I ever submitted one before, because Google’s disavow tool works on the whole file, not one link at a time. So if you upload a new file without your old entries, you basically remove your old disavow list too.
Disavow File Format Rules (Don’t Mess This Up)
I have seen people mess up their disavow file because they did not follow the format properly. Here are the rules straight from Google’s documentation.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| File Type | Plain text (.txt) only |
| Encoding | UTF-8 or 7-bit ASCII |
| Domain Format | Must start with “domain:”, like domain:spamsite.com |
| Max File Size | 2MB |
| Max Lines | 100,000 |
| Max URL Length | 2,048 characters |
| Comments | Allowed if line starts with # |
I always double check my file in a plain text editor before uploading, because even one wrong character can mess up the whole submission.
When Should You Actually Disavow Links
This is the part I really want you guys to read carefully. Just because Ahrefs shows some low DR backlinks does not mean you should panic and disavow everything. Based on Ahrefs’ own guide on disavowing links, you should really only consider it if:
- You got a manual action penalty notice inside Google Search Console because of unnatural links, this is basically the one clear “yes, do it” situation
- You see a sudden traffic drop that lines up with a bunch of spammy links appearing out of nowhere
- You know for a fact that someone, maybe an old SEO agency, bought spammy links for your site in the past
Also, after Google’s Penguin 4.0 update back in 2016, Google moved from “penalizing” sites for bad links to just “devaluing” them, meaning it often just ignores the bad links on its own now. So honestly, for most normal websites, I don’t think disavowing is even needed.
Common Mistake I See People Make
The biggest mistake I see is people disavowing good, natural backlinks just because the Domain Rating looks low. A small blog with low DR can still be a completely real, honest website. Removing links like this can actually hurt your rankings instead of helping. So please, always double check before adding anything to your disavow list.
Quick Facts Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tool to Find Bad Links | Ahrefs Site Explorer, Backlinks/Referring Domains |
| Tool to Submit Disavow File | Google Search Console Disavow Tool |
| File Format Required | Plain .txt, UTF-8 or ASCII |
| Max File Size | 2MB, 100,000 lines |
| Who Really Needs It | Sites with a manual action penalty mostly |
| Google’s Own Advice | Most sites don’t need to use this tool |
| Related Update | Google Penguin 4.0, 2016 |
FAQ
Q: How to disavow links in Ahrefs directly? A: Ahrefs itself does not submit anything to Google. You use Ahrefs to find and export the bad backlinks, then upload that file on Google Search Console’s own disavow tool.
Q: Do I need to disavow links if my DR is low? A: No, not at all. Low DR just means low authority, it does not always mean the link is spam. I only disavow when I see real red flags like spammy anchors or unrelated foreign sites.
Q: How long does disavow take to work? A: Based on Google’s own guidance, it can take some weeks for Google to process your disavow file since it needs to recrawl those pages again.
Q: Can disavowing hurt my website? A: Yes, if you disavow real, natural backlinks by mistake. This is why Google itself calls it an advanced feature and says to use it carefully.
Q: Where do I upload my disavow file? A: You upload it directly on Google Search Console’s disavow links page, not inside Ahrefs.
Final Words
So guys, this was my complete guide on how to disavow links in Ahrefs. I covered how I find toxic backlinks, the exact steps I follow, the file format rules, and most importantly, when you should actually bother doing this at all. My honest advice, don’t rush into disavowing unless you have a real reason, because most websites really don’t need it. Keep on visiting my blog for more simple SEO guides like this one.
