How to fight back against a link spam attack

Getting spammy links removed is virtually impossible, so the only thing you can proactively do is disavow them.

This is where you upload a list of linking pages (or websites) to Google in a specific format, which effectively tells them, “I don’t vouch for these links—please ignore them.”

But here’s the thing:

Dividing the workload like this whatsapp number list allows both the vendor and the affiliate to focus on their strengths. The improvements are similar on desktop and mobile. Most of the focus in 2021 was on mobile results.

Since the introduction of Penguin 4.0, which devalues link spam and runs in real-time, the consensus amongst SEOs is that there’s no need to disavow links unless you first experience the negative effects of them (i.e., ranking/traffic drops).

The reason being, Google is pretty good at ignoring obvious link spam, so disavowing is often just a waste of your time.

Furthermore, disavowing the wrong links can do more harm than good.

Here’s what Marie Haynes—an expert on Google Penalties—says about this:

I would say that for most sites, if you are being attacked by an onslaught of spammy links, you can just ignore them. However, I would still disavow links if any of the following is true:

You have your own history of self-made links for SEO purposes in the past.

You are in an incredibly competitive vertical. I believe there are tougher algorithms in place in these niches that can make negative SEO a little bit more effective.

You see a drop in traffic that coincides with the onslaught of links and there is no other explanation for the drop.

Marie Haynes

Marie Haynes, Founder Marie Haynes Consulting

Keep in mind that you should only disavow whole domains if you’re certain that none of the backlinks from them are legit. If you’re unsure about this whole process, consult an expert like Marie.

How to fight back against a link spam attack

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