Running an affiliate business means managing a lot of moving parts, from website development to content and SEO.
In terms of SEO, a key area that divides opinion is around link building and the process of disavowing links. Some believe this necessary while others question its legitimacy.
As such, gaining a more comprehensive understanding of disavows, and whether they’ll make a noticeable difference to your search rankings or not, is crucial.
In this article, we’ll identify what a disavow is and the impact it can have on your website, as well as some of the pros and cons of acting against bad links.
What is a disavow?
Backlinking is a difficult game to play, and the days of unnatural linking boosting SERPs visibility are long gone.
Disavowing links means that you effectively nullify backlinks to your website that do not add value or could even cause damage.
Disavowing links is used in multiple sectors, including gaming. It acts as a protection mechanism against negative SEO attacks or spam links targeting your site, which can in turn see rankings fall.
Should you pay attention to disavows?
The subject of disavows is hotly disputed. Some believe that Google knows what is and isn’t spam links, but others believe it’s a crucial practice.
In some cases, for example, affiliates have had their sites penalized because of black hat link building that was deliberately undertaken by competitors to damage their rankings.
In the gaming sector, you need to think about several possible issues with backlinking. Unfortunately, a lot of websites continue to adopt outdated practices – and if yours is included in this, you might find yourself getting knocked down Google’s search results pages.
Another potential issue in the gaming space is that you might get backlinked by websites that are either unregulated or not trusted. In both cases, you could suffer the consequences with a drop in rankings.
While many people in the SEO space argue that you shouldn’t disavow links, it’s better to be safe than sorry. With so many poor practices still around there is a high risk of falling victim to unnatural link building tactics whether from your own activity or that of a rival.
If you don’t act, you’ll could be needlessly penalized.
How to be proactive with the disavow tool
You can do several things to be proactive with disavowing links that might harm your search rankings.
First and foremost, you should use Google’s dedicated tool for disavowing links. Whenever you discover that unnatural links point to your website, you should act as quickly as possible to ensure that these are neutralized.
Another good idea is to scour through the web and check for articles you’ve been mentioned in. When looking at the source, ask yourself whether you think this is a trustworthy website or not. If you suspect that it isn’t, disavow the link.
Don’t take chances with Google’s search rankings
Staying on top of the SEO game requires proactivity but sometimes others will play a role in how well you do. Disavowing backlinks that you feel are problematic is an excellent way to ensure that others don’t hinder your results.