Do I really need to disavow spammy links or is it better to just get more high quality ones?
Great question, and honestly, it’s one of those SEO things where the answer is “it depends,” but I’ll break it down for you nice and clearly.
First things first: What Google says about spammy links
You’re absolutely right – Google has gone on record multiple times saying they generally ignore spammy backlinks and are good at identifying low-quality ones that shouldn’t impact your rankings. So for most websites, especially if you’re not doing anything shady or manipulative, you don’t need to disavow links regularly.
When you should consider disavowing
- You’ve had a manual action or penalty: If you got a notification in Google Search Console saying you have a manual action for unnatural links – disavow time.
You’re actively recovering from dodgy SEO work: If a previous SEO company built a bunch of crappy links (PBNs, spammy comments, forum spam, etc.) and you’re cleaning things up.
You’re in a competitive niche and you’ve been link-spammed (negative SEO): Very rare, but if you’re seeing hundreds or thousands of toxic links appear suddenly (often exact match anchors), disavowing might be wise. - You’re super cautious and want a squeaky-clean backlink profile for a site you plan to scale significantly or sell.
When you should not worry
- Random spammy links showing up from weird domains? That’s normal — Google usually ignores them.
- One or two odd links from strange sources? Not worth the worry.
- You’re spending more time reviewing spammy links than building good ones? Redirect your efforts
Case Study: Local Mental Health Practitioner
We recently worked with a health practitioner whose website traffic and client enquiries had dropped sharply. After a full audit across SEO, content, and listings, we zoomed in on one important area: backlinks.
Here’s what we found:
- Competitors had an average of 20 local citations (consistent business name, address, and phone number mentions).
- His Domain Rating (DR) was 3.2. Competitors averaged around 5.
- He had 14 backlinks, but only 3 were any good and even those weren’t necessarily high authority.
- One backlink redirected to a Fiverr gig selling backlinks, clearly spam.
- Competitors had between 100–1,000+ backlinks from 40–100 referring domains. Around 45% were do-follow.
- He had just one citation, which happened to also be his one valuable backlink.
The Problem
He was shocked. He’d never bought backlinks, signed up for shady directories, or tried to game Google — so where had these links come from?
The reality is, spammy backlinks happen, especially to sites in visible, high-demand niches like healthcare. They’re often auto-generated, part of scraped blog networks, or dropped into random spam forums without your knowledge.
Our Approach
We didn’t rush to disavow straight away. Here’s what we did instead:
- Optimised what we could control: We started with content, keywords, meta titles, heading structure and page layout, all low-cost wins.
- Built trust signals: We suggested writing helpful articles based on long-tail keywords with commercial intent, to attract natural links.
- Started earning links and citations: We began adding him to high-quality directories, especially in the health sector, to boost local authority.
- Monitored spammy links: We used tools like Ahrefs to keep an eye on new backlinks and flagged any obvious spam.
So What Should You Focus On?
Rather than obsess over removing every dodgy link, the smarter long-term move is to:
- Focus on earning links from trusted, relevant websites.
- Publish helpful content your audience wants to read and share.
- Get listed on local and industry-specific directories (especially health-related ones).
- Keep your Google Business Profile and citations consistent and updated.
- Use tools like Ahrefs or Search Console to monitor your link profile passively.
Only consider disavowing when:
- You’ve already cleaned up your site technically and content-wise.
- Spammy links are excessive and persistent.
- You’ve received a manual warning or clear drop in performance you can’t explain.
How to Spot and Handle Spammy Backlinks
If you’re still curious or worried, here’s the exact process we used to assess one suspicious link:
1. Visit the link manually
- Check if it’s a professional site or a low-quality blog farm.
- Is it in your industry? If not, it’s probably not helping you.
- Does it redirect to something fishy (like a Fiverr gig)? Major red flag.
2. Look for link farm behaviour
- Unrelated articles?
- Loads of random outbound links?
- Stuffed with keywords or low-effort content?
3. Use free tools
- Ahrefs: Domain Rating, referring domains, link quality.
- Moz: Spam Score (anything over 30% is a red flag).
- Search Console: Top linking sites, unusual domains.
- Spam Score Checkers: Use tools like Website SEO Checker for a quick read.
What to Do
The Brighter Bottom Line on spammy backlinks
Sorry couldn’t help that one – You don’t need a perfect backlink profile you need a strong, healthy one. That means focusing more on earning good links than obsessing over bad ones.
In most cases, if you fix your content, get your local listings in order, and publish genuinely useful information, the backlinks will take care of themselves.
If you’re unsure where to start, focus on what’s in your control and only revisit the disavow tool if everything else is sorted and you’re still stuck.
Need clarity on your backlink profile or overall SEO strategy?
Get in touch for a free 15-minute consult, we’ll talk through where you’re at and often uncover a few quick-win actions you can take right away.
If you’re ready for a deeper dive, our $599 SEO Audit includes a detailed action summary checklist tailored to your site. You can implement it yourself, or if you prefer a done-for-you solution, we’ll send over a customised proposal with clear pricing to help boost your visibility, traffic, and conversions.
Contact us today to book your call – let’s get your website working harder for your business.
