To get your website ranked on the first page of Google’s search results is a daunting task. And using high-quality backlinks from trustworthy and popular websites relevant to yours is one of the most important tactics deployed by the website that do rank higher. Backlinks can do your website a lot of good, but they can also backfire if you are not careful with it. The shady underworld of internet can also use this tactic against you by sending dubious, spammy and downright toxic links (link farms, directories, foreign language sites, and industries that are frowned upon) towards your website in order to re-rank your website. Yes, that happens. At any given point of time, you are bound to find some toxic backlinks pointing towards your website. Is there a way around it? Yes. Can you identify such perpetrators? Yes. Can you stop them from negatively affecting your SEO performance? Yes. And below we tell you how.

How to remove toxic links from your websites or pointing to your website?

1. Get your backlink data in assembled

The first step, naturally, is to collect all the data comprising of your backlink profile. You can use tools like Moz, SEMrush, and Ahrefs to your advantage and compile a list of backlinks pointing to your website. While each of these tools uses a different metric, you will get the results you are looking for. Export the data into a CSV file and sort and order before you proceed to the next step. This will make for room for an easy flow of things so you are not overwhelmed. Prioritize which ones you want to contact first and which ones you want to leave for later’ whatever suits you.

2. Identify and isolate the toxic ones

The next step is very crucial to executing a perfect bad links removal strategy. Now that you have all the data in place, you need to perform an extensive backlink audit by, possibly, manually visiting each of the websites directing a link or links towards yours and red flag the dubious ones. Some links will be extremely easy to identify as toxic, while identifying others will be a bit challenging. The question you need to ask yourself then is whether or not the content of that website is relevant to yours or if it is adding any real value to yours. Decision is entirely yours. Create a list of the backlinks you want to be removed.

3. Request removal from source websites

While the chances of getting toxic or low-quality links removed from the source websites are next to slim, you still need to execute this action. Assuming that you are able to find contact information of the hosting websites, which would be unlikely for majority of the cases, you need to carefully draft a mail gently requesting the owner to remove the link or links. You will not get a response for majority of the mails you send out, but it is a step Google requires you take nonetheless before you move ahead with the next step.

4. Submit a disavow request with Google

Thankfully, you have a last resort, sometimes the only resort, to get rid of those toxic links plaguing your website once and for all. It’s an easy-to-use tool that allows you to disown all the links you don’t want your website to be associated with. Using Search Console, you can submit a file containing a list of links you want to disavow, formally telling Google not to consider these links while determining your website’s search engine rankings.

If it is all too incomprehensible or sounds like too much work, you can opt for one of our Monthly SEO Packages, which comes loaded with Bad Link Removal service for your benefit. You can even schedule a Free Consultation and we’ll guide you as per your brand and niche and recommend a service that would be a perfect fit. Good riddance! You know what we mean.