How do you report bad links on websites?

Here’s how you can report bad links:

1. Identify the Bad Links: First, use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or other SEO tools to identify bad or toxic links pointing to your website. Look for links from spammy or low-quality websites, paid links, or links with anchor text that doesn’t relate to your content.
2. Contact the Website Owner: Reach out to the webmasters or website owners of the sites hosting the bad links. Politely request the removal of the problematic links. Provide them with the specific URLs of the pages containing the unwanted links and explain why you want them removed.
3. Use Disavow Tool (if necessary): If you can’t get in touch with the website owner or they refuse to remove the bad links, you can use Google’s Disavow Tool. This tool allows you to tell Google to ignore specific backlinks when assessing your website’s ranking. Be cautious when using this tool and only disavow links as a last resort.
4. Document Your Efforts: Keep a record of your communication with website owners, including email correspondence or any other attempts to have the bad links removed. This documentation can be useful if you need to prove your efforts to search engines.
5. Submit a Disavow File (if applicable): If you’ve decided to disavow certain links, create a disavow file containing a list of the URLs you want Google to disregard. You can submit this file through Google Search Console.
6. Regularly Monitor Your Backlinks: Continue to monitor your backlink profile regularly to identify and address any new bad links that may appear.

Remember that reporting bad links is an ongoing process in SEO maintenance. It’s crucial for maintaining a clean and reputable backlink profile, which can help improve your website’s search engine rankings. Always prioritize high-quality and natural backlinks over bad or toxic ones to ensure your SEO strategy remains effective.

Read More: What is the backlinks report in Ahrefs and how do you use it?