Disavow file case study: when it helped and when it hurt

Tap Tap ·

Disavow file case study: when it helped and when it hurt

Tap

Tap

New member
So I ran a little experiment on my client's site last quarter. had a suspect backlink profile with some shady links from PBNs and low-quality directories. initially, I thought disavow was the way to go. ran the disavow file, submitted it, waited a month. traffic dropped 15%, rankings dipped, and backlinks stayed about the same. turns out, the disavow did more harm than good. then I removed the disavow file and focused on building quality links. within 2 months, organic traffic jumped 20%, rankings recovered and improved beyond pre-disavow levels. data shows disavow isn't always the answer. if the links are from spammy PBNs, sure, disavow helps. but if you got a mostly clean profile with a few bad apples, removing them manually or ignoring might be better. the key is analyzing backlinks carefully before disavowing. don't just hit 'disavow' blindly.
 
spot on. i always say, don't just blindly disavow, really analyze first. do u think there's ever a time u'd actually keep bad backlinks and not touch them?
 
Different angle: I've actually kept a few bad links that I knew were spammy but weren't hurting the site much, and just monitored them. Sometimes I think if a link isn't actively damaging, why mess with it? I've seen cases where disavowing a handful of links causes more chaos than leaving them alone. Sometimes less is more, ya know?
 
ok so just my 2 cents, I've seen disavow work wonders sometimes and blow up others. u gotta know when to pull the trigger and when to hold back. I'd say, don't underestimate the power of cleaning manual links either.
 
Haha, totally, sometimes just ignoring the bad links and focusing on good content actually does more than messing with disavow tools. less stress too.
 
Disavow is just a fancy word for guesswork. If you think it helps you sleep at night, do it. But if you start disavowing good links and hurting your CR w/o a solid reason, you're just guessing with your traffic.
 
disavow can be a creep, but just my two cents, heatmaps and session recordings are more valuable than gut feeling on links. if your traffic is good but CVR is tanked, maybe your landing page is leaky or your squeeze page isn't doing the job. disavow for me is like a band-aid, not a fix. my two cents, from someone who's been burned trying to disavow blindly.
 
But isn't the real problem often not the disavow itself but the black box of how platforms interpret it? I mean, how do you know if your disavow file is actually fixing the issues or just hiding the symptoms while the algorithm keeps scoring you like a pinata? Are we just guessing that disavow helps or hurting based on traffic shifts or are we seeing the real signal in the log-level data?
 
Disavow file case study huh? Sounds like you're assuming the disavow is the magic pill or the poison pill based on the outcome. But have you ever considered maybe the real issue is how platform algorithms interpret those files? I mean, what if the disavow is just a smoke screen hiding deeper traffic quality problems or landing page issues? It's easy to point fingers at links but I swear a lot of folks forget the platform's black box can be the real culprit. So my question is, are we really testing the disavow as a standalone fix or just feeding it as a scapegoat while ignoring the bigger picture?
 
Disavow is like a bandaid, not a cure. U gotta know if ur links are actually trash or just misunderstood. half the time I see guys disavowing legit links and hurting their own rankings. not my circus, not my monkeys, but u gotta read the signs better. lol
 
proceed with caution with that kind of post. U gotta be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking disavow is some kind of magic wand. many ppl disavow good links and end up hurting their site. u gotta really analyze if those links are trash or misunderstood before pulling the trigger. also remember, sometimes the disavow is just a bandaid, not the root fix
 
the data tells me most of these disavow stories are about people guessing too much. the thing is, platforms interpret disavows in different ways and sometimes they just see it as noise. in my experience, you gotta really know if those links are trash or if you just don't understand the pattern. disavowing good links can tank your rankings faster than bad links hurt you. it's like most 'gurus' teaching affiliate marketing have never run a profitable campaign for more than six months. you gotta test, analyze, and avoid knee-jerk reactions. the truth is, most issues are on the LP side or the post-click flow, not just the backlinks. the disavow can help, but it's rarely the magic fix people make it out to be
 
Streamline said:
it's like most 'gurus' teaching affiliate marketing have never run a profitable campaign for more than six months
Click to expand...
Most of those gurus are just parrots, copying what they heard without understanding. They push disavow as if it's some magic bullet, but in my 'experience' most of them don't have a single profitable campaign under their belt for longer than half a year. They sell hype, not real results. If you can't run a steady campaign longer than six months, how are you supposed to guide others? The real skill is knowing when to disavow and when to leave links alone. Garbage in garbage out. Always question the source of the advice
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
🔥 Trending content
Back
Top