Bad backlinks can feel like mystery crumbs on your SEO carpet. Some are harmless. Some are gross. And a few may make Google raise an eyebrow. Ahrefs can help you find, review, and organize those links so you can build a clean disavow file with less panic and more control.
TLDR: Use Ahrefs to find suspicious backlinks, review them carefully, and add truly harmful domains or URLs to a disavow list. Then export the disavow file from Ahrefs and upload it inside Google Search Console’s Disavow Tool. Do not disavow random links just because they look ugly. When in doubt, be calm, be picky, and disavow at the domain level only when the whole site is clearly spammy.
First, What Does “Disavow” Mean?
To disavow a link means telling Google, “Please ignore this backlink when judging my site.”
Think of it like handing Google a tiny note. The note says, “I did not invite these weird links to the party.”
But here is the key point. Ahrefs helps you find and prepare the bad links. Google is where you actually submit the disavow file.
So the full process looks like this:
- Find backlinks in Ahrefs.
- Spot suspicious or harmful links.
- Add them to your Ahrefs disavow list.
- Export the disavow file.
- Upload it to Google Search Console.
Simple enough. Like making soup. But with fewer carrots and more spam domains.
When Should You Disavow Links?
Do not disavow links just because they are low quality. The internet is messy. Every site gets odd backlinks. That is normal.
You should consider disavowing when:
- You have a manual action from Google for unnatural links.
- You bought links in the past and now regret it deeply.
- You see a clear negative SEO attack.
- You have many spammy links from adult, gambling, hacked, or fake sites.
- You inherited an old domain with a scary backlink history.
If you are unsure, slow down. Disavowing good links can hurt your SEO. It is like throwing out all your socks because one has a hole.
Step 1: Open Your Site in Ahrefs
Log in to Ahrefs. Go to Site Explorer. Enter your domain.
Use the exact version you want to check. For example:
- example.com
- www.example.com
- https://example.com
Ahrefs will show you a dashboard with many numbers. Do not panic. You do not need to click every shiny button.
Look for the left menu. Find the Backlink profile section. Then click Backlinks or Referring domains.
Backlinks shows individual links. Referring domains shows websites linking to you. For disavow work, referring domains are often easier to review first.
Step 2: Look for Suspicious Patterns
Now it is detective time. Put on your tiny SEO hat.
In Ahrefs, sort and filter your backlink data. Look for patterns that smell strange.
Watch for these red flags:
- Lots of links from strange foreign sites unrelated to your topic.
- Domains with names full of nonsense words.
- Sites with adult, casino, pills, or hacking content.
- Pages with thousands of outgoing links.
- Same anchor text repeated again and again.
- Links from obvious link farms or private blog networks.
- Links pointing to deleted pages or weird URLs on your site.
Also check the anchor text. If you sell handmade candles but your anchor text says “free poker bonus,” something has gone sideways.
That does not mean one weird link is dangerous. But hundreds of weird links from ugly domains? That is worth reviewing.
Step 3: Review Before You Add Anything
This is the most important step. Do not disavow based only on one metric.
Ahrefs may show metrics like Domain Rating, traffic, anchor text, and link type. These are helpful. But they are not final proof.
Open the linking page if it is safe to do so. Look at the site. Ask simple questions:
- Does this website look real?
- Is the content useful?
- Is the link placed naturally?
- Is the site related to my niche?
- Does the page exist only to list random links?
If the site looks like a robot sneezed keywords onto a page, be careful. It may belong in your disavow file.
If the site is just small, old, or ugly, that is not enough. Ugly websites can still be real. We respect vintage internet vibes.
Step 4: Add Bad Links to Your Ahrefs Disavow List
Once you find a link or domain you truly want to disavow, you can add it inside Ahrefs.
In the backlink report, select the suspicious links or domains. Then look for the option called Disavow URLs or Disavow domains. The exact button may vary depending on the Ahrefs interface.
You usually have two choices:
- Disavow URL: Ignore one specific page linking to you.
- Disavow domain: Ignore all links from that entire domain.
Use domain-level disavow when the whole website is spammy. This is common for link farms, hacked domains, and trash directories.
Use URL-level disavow when only one page is bad, but the rest of the site may be fine.
In most spam cases, domain-level is cleaner. It tells Google to ignore the entire linking site. Less fuss. Less whack-a-mole.
Step 5: Check Your Disavow List in Ahrefs
After adding links, go to the Disavow Links section in Ahrefs. Review everything.
This is your final “are we sure?” moment.
Look through the list and remove anything that feels uncertain. If a site is real, relevant, and not manipulative, do not disavow it.
Keep your list focused. A good disavow file is not huge by default. It is accurate.
You can also add comments if needed. Comments help future you understand why something was added. Future you has enough problems. Be kind.
Step 6: Export the Disavow File
When your list is ready, export it from Ahrefs.
Ahrefs will create a text file in the correct format. It may look like this:
domain:spamdomain.com
domain:badlinks.example
https://weirdsite.com/spam-page.htmlThe domain: part means the whole domain is disavowed. A full URL means only that specific page is disavowed.
Do not decorate the file. Do not add fancy formatting. Google wants a plain text file. Boring is beautiful here.
Step 7: Upload the File to Google
Now leave Ahrefs and go to Google’s Disavow Tool in Google Search Console.
Choose the correct property. This matters. Pick the property that matches your site.
Then upload your exported .txt file.
If you already uploaded a disavow file before, be careful. A new upload replaces the old file. It does not merge automatically.
So if you have an old disavow file, download it first. Combine it with the new Ahrefs export. Then upload the complete version.
After uploading, Google may take time to process it. It is not instant. Google is fast at many things, but disavow processing is more like a sleepy turtle with a clipboard.
Step 8: Monitor Results
After you upload the file, watch your site over the next few weeks and months.
Check:
- Manual actions in Google Search Console.
- Organic traffic trends.
- Keyword rankings.
- New suspicious backlinks in Ahrefs.
- Anchor text changes.
Do not expect fireworks. Disavowing is not a magic ranking button. It is more like cleaning up a risk.
If your site had a serious link problem, it may help recovery. If the links were already ignored by Google, you may see little change. That is normal.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Disavowing too much: More is not always better.
- Trusting only metrics: Low DR does not always mean bad.
- Ignoring old files: New uploads replace old disavow files.
- Disavowing good mentions: Real links are valuable.
- Skipping review: Always inspect before adding.
Also, do not use disavow as your first SEO move. First build great content. Fix technical issues. Improve internal links. Earn better backlinks. Then, if needed, use disavow as a cleanup tool.
Final Thoughts
Disavowing links in Ahrefs is not scary once you understand the flow. Ahrefs helps you find the suspicious links, organize them, and export a clean file. Google Search Console is where you submit that file.
The golden rule is simple: disavow only links you are confident are harmful. Be careful. Be patient. Do not swing the SEO broom like a wild wizard.
Used wisely, the disavow process can help protect your site from spammy backlinks and messy link history. Used carelessly, it can remove signals that were actually helping you. So review, export, upload, and monitor. Then go have a snack. You earned it.