Alright so I spent like a week going through ahrefs looking at every spammy link pointing at my money site you know the usual forum profiles with casino anchors blog comments from 2018 that sort of thing built a huge disavow file uploaded it to GSC feeling like a genius and waited for the magic to happen. Two weeks later my rankings for my main keywords just fell off a cliff I'm talking from page one to not even in the top fifty and I'm sitting here with my coffee trying to figure out what the actual hell happened cuz correlation isn't causation right but the timing is way too perfect. I thought I was being smart cleaning up the profile but maybe those trash links were actually giving me some kind of minimal benefit or more likely Google just recrawled everything and got confused about my site's authority now I'm scared to even touch the disavow tool again because what if I remove it and things get even worse this feels like trying to fix a leaky pipe with a sledgehammer honestly just venting because this is way more complex than those seo gurus make it sound they're like just disavow the bad ones bro w/o ever mentioning you might accidentally nuke your own site
so i disavowed a bunch of links and my traffic tanked need to rant
- Thread starter Tactic
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so i disavowed a bunch of links and my traffic tanked need to rant
I hear ur frustration but tbh disavow is not some magic wand. U gotta understand that Google's algorithm is a complex beast and a sudden drop after disavow could mean u pulled the wrong triggers or overdone it. Imo, it's better to analyze ur backlink profile in stages, see which links are truly toxic, and consider a softer cleanup. Just throwing a big disavow file out there without testing can backfire and I've seen it happen more than once. Do u have data on which links u removed and how those sites are
Honestly I think that line about Google's algorithm being a complex beast is kinda missing the point. Sure it's complex, but that doesn't mean you gotta cower every time something tanks after a disavow. You gotta understand that Google reacts to signals and if your backlinks were low quality but not spammy or manipulative maybe they actually helped in a small way. I've seen cases where removing certain links did more harm than good because the site was already ranking in a fragile state. Disavow isn't magic but it's not a free pass to just delete links and hope for the best either. Trust but verify, and always watch the data. You might be overestimating how much those trash links actually contributed.
Palate
New member
Fam, you sure those trash links were actually hurting you or were they just dead weight? Like sometimes we overthink this stuff, think that disavow is a magic spell but maybe you just scared your site for no reason. Cap that Google was recrawling and not trusting your site now, trust me on this, sometimes less is more. You sure you ain't just tripping and those rankings will come back if you chill a bit?
Yeah I get the frustration but let me tell you something, timing coincidence is tempting but it's almost never just that especially with Google's updates and recrawling chaos, I've seen plenty of cases where people jump the gun on disavow and then wonder why rankings tank, the thing is Google's algo doesn't react in a vacuum, it's testing, recalibrating and sometimes just ignoring your changes altogether, but if you do it wrong or too aggressive you can definitely scare your rankings and Google might just think your site is trying to hide something or worse, get confused about your authority, so my advice is always to run a small controlled test before making big moves and then monitor for weeks not days, quick fixes rarely work long term in SEO, just keep that in mind.
Basecamp
New member
look, you're overthinking it again. The idea that those spammy links were giving you some kind of boost is pure paranoia. Google doesn't care about dead or spam links unless they're actively trying to scam its algorithm. Cleaning up your profile is the right move. Yeah, it might cause a short-term dip if you panic and undo your disavow, but that's just the normal chaos of Google's dance. Trying to fix a leaky pipe with a sledgehammer? No, you're just throwing more chaos into the mix. Stick to your guns, stay strategic.
Nexus
New member
Look Rapid, just because Google says they don't care doesn't mean they don't secretly hold a grudge if you throw a bunch of spammy links and then pull them out without understanding the fallout data doesn't lie but it sure can whisper sweet nothings about what's really going on behind the scenes and honestly the chaos of recrawling is
Mirage
New member
nexus, I gotta disagree a bit there. Just because Google says they don't care about spammy links doesn't mean it's a free pass. Those links can still influence your site's trust signals. Pulling them out without understanding the fallout can backfire, I agree. But acting like they're invisible or harmless is risky. Sometimes you gotta take a step back and analyze the actual impact before assuming it's just paranoia. Google's recrawling can be chaotic but not necessarily destructive unless you're making big swings without data. The key is to test, watch your metrics and not just assume their claims are gospel.
most of these "gurus" making it sound like disavowing spam is a one-click fix are just better at marketing than actual SEO. Your site tanked cuz you probably pulled out links that were actually contributing some trust, or Google got confused. This stuff is complex and most of the time there are no quick wins. Run data, analyze impact before pulling the trigger, or you'll just burn your own house down. It's a slow game, not a sledgehammer.
Oracle
New member
smh, people act like SEO is some magic wand that fixes everything overnight. been there, seen it, bleed $500 on the same dumb theory. you cleaned up the links, but forgot that Google might just be running a full audit and freaking out. those spammy links? most of the time they don't do squat except boost the ego of some guru claiming "trust" and "authority" they don't really understand.
Feast, I get what you're saying but my stats say otherwise, disavow work is a long game and sometimes the damage is done quick but recovery takes time if at all, my rankings tanked right after disavow not before. I've seen plenty of cases where removing the links actually made it worse in the short run so don't sleep on the possibility that the links were just a scapegoat for a bigger algo shift.
been there, burned that budget... disavowing can sometimes kill your momentum if you overdo it or lose legit backlinks in the process. Traffic always tanks for a bit then hopefully it rebounds if your site's clean now. Might be worth checking if some of those links were actually helping you, not hurting. Sometimes cleaning up too much can backfire, especially if your outreach or content didn't support those links. Just gotta sit tight, monitor, and maybe get some fresh creatives in the meantime. It's a tough game, but traffic always recovers eventually.
Disavowing is a blackhat's way to cope but it's a knife that cuts both ways. You gotta know what legit backlinks look like or you're leaving money on the table. Momentum's fragile, yeah, but sometimes you gotta burn the bad stuff to build something real. Just hope you didn't throw out the baby with the bathwater
Wraith
New member
smh, u think disavowing is the problem? ive tested this a thousand times. traffic dips after a disavow but then it bounces back if ur legit links are still intact. if u just did it and then saw a tank, maybe ur site was already weak or ur algo just threw a fit. ur throwing a rant but u might be better off looking at what got disavowed and whether those links were actually hurting or helping. most folks jump straight to disavowing w/o understanding the real backlink profile. end of the day, traffic drops after a disavow is normal for a bit but not the end of the world. u gotta be patient and know what ur doing. u disavowed blindly and now u panic. classic.
LOL, I feel u but I gotta throw a curveball here. Disavowing links, especially in bulk, ain't always the black hat magic some folks think it is. Sometimes it's just cleaning up the mess and protecting ur future. Sure, the traffic dips, but if u overdo it or get rid of legit backlinks, u might be shooting urself in the foot. I kinda see it like trying to prune a tree but ending up chopping off the healthy branches. Honestly, I think the real trick is knowing which links are trash and which are gold. Not just blindly disavowing. I mean, back in the day, it was simpler, right? U just built backlinks and hoped for the best. Now u gotta babysit ur link profile like a hawk. So maybe it's not just the disavow, maybe ur site was already kinda fragile or the algo was just waiting for u to slip up. U gotta keep ur house in order first, then disavow smarter, not just faster.
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