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Andrei Ghimpu April 09, 2025 A 4 minute read

Google Says the Disavow Tool Isn’t for Routine Use

Here’s What You Need to Know

If you’re regularly disavowing links as part of your SEO maintenance checklist – Google says you might be wasting your time.

At the recent Search Central Live event in New York, Google’s John Mueller clarified the role of the Disavow Tool during a Q&A session, and his comments might surprise some in the SEO community. In short: for most website owners, the Disavow Tool simply isn’t something you need to be using.

So, What is the Disavow Tool?

Let’s start with a quick refresher. Google’s Disavow Tool was introduced in 2012 in the wake of the Penguin update – a major algorithm shift designed to crack down on spammy and manipulative link-building practices. The tool was meant to help website owners tell Google, “Hey, we don’t trust these links pointing to us, please ignore them.”

This was especially helpful for sites that had been penalised due to shady SEO work – often from agencies or link sellers who built dodgy backlinks without their clients fully understanding the risks. Sometimes those same link sellers would then charge again to remove the links – so the Disavow Tool gave honest site owners a way out of that mess.

Not Part of “Normal” Site Maintenance

At the NYC event, Mueller responded to a question about what to do with “toxic” backlinks, and whether regular disavowals were a smart move. His answer? A firm no – at least not unless you know there’s a real problem.

He said: “The disavow tool is really something that you only really need to use in cases where you know that there’s really problematic links and that you have a history of link building and you just want to make sure that Google ignores those links.”

In other words, unless you’re actively trying to clean up a past link-building campaign that violated Google’s guidelines, the tool shouldn’t be a part of your monthly or quarterly SEO tasks.

Google’s Algorithms Are Smarter Than You Think

One of the reasons many SEO professionals still obsess over backlinks is because they remain one of Google’s core ranking signals. But over the years, Google has become increasingly savvy at ignoring spammy, low-quality links on its own – without penalising the sites they point to.

Mueller reinforced this, noting that Google is good at figuring out what’s worth counting and what’s not. He said: “For the most part, Google is really good at ignoring links that are problematic. And I suspect many of the tools that say this is a toxic link, they’re just making things up.”

Yup – you read that right. Those SEO audit tools that flag hundreds of “toxic links”? According to Mueller, they may be creating more fear than actual value.

When Should You Actually Use the Disavow Tool?

Let’s be clear – the Disavow Tool still has its place, but only in specific situations. You should consider using it if:

  • You know you’ve participated in paid link schemes, private blog networks (PBNs), or other manipulative link-building strategies in the past.

  • You’ve received a manual action from Google related to unnatural links.

  • You’re actively cleaning up your backlink profile after a previous SEO provider or freelancer used black-hat techniques.

If none of the above applies to you – it’s best to leave the Disavow Tool alone.

Focus on What Matters

At O’Brien Media, we often get asked whether backlinks still matter – and they absolutely do. But the quality of your backlinks is what really counts, not the quantity. Our SEO team focuses on creating content that earns links naturally – from relevant, trustworthy sources – rather than playing the link spam game.

If you’re worried about backlinks, a better use of your time and budget is to:

  • Create genuinely useful, shareable content that answers your customers’ questions.

  • Promote that content through social media and email marketing.

  • Engage with your industry and community to build real connections and brand mentions.

As Mueller said, it’s better to focus on building a great website with high-quality content than to stress about every single backlink.

Final Thoughts

Google’s Disavow Tool might have been a lifesaver a decade ago, but for most businesses today, it’s simply not needed. In fact, using it too often might even do more harm than good by disavowing links that are perfectly natural and valuable.

If you’re unsure about your link profile, it’s always worth getting an expert SEO opinion – but don’t panic if an automated tool shows a few “toxic” backlinks. Google’s own systems are designed to handle that kind of noise.

At O’Brien Media, we take a balanced, evidence-based approach to SEO. We won’t ask you to disavow links unless there’s a genuine reason to – and we’ll always explain the “why” behind every recommendation.

For a more in-depth look at your website’s SEO health, drop us a message. We’ll be happy to run a full audit and give you a clear, jargon-free breakdown of what’s working – and what could be improved.

Source: “Google Says Disavow Tool Not Part Of Normal Site Maintenance” by Roger Montti – Search Engine Journal, April 2025. Read the original article

Categories: SEO