Google: How Long it Takes for Disavow File to Affect Rankings - Search Engine Journal

Google's John Mueller explains how long it takes for a disavow file to eventually affect the search results rankings

See which organic keywords actually drive conversions

Replace (not provided) with actual keywords and monitor their specific performance metrics in Google Analytics. Stop flying blind on essential SEO insights.

Try For Free

Google’s John Mueller was asked in an Office-hours hangout about a bad outcome from using Google’s link disavow tool. They uploaded a disavow file and within days their rankings collapsed. Mueller answered the various questions and then addressed the timing between uploading the disavow and the ranking changes, in the process revealing how long it takes for Google to work the contents of a disavow into the algorithm.

Disavow Tool Caused Ranking Collapse Within Days?

The person asking the question asked several questions that reflected various theories of why a disavow file might trigger a complete collapse in rankings.

Chief among these ideas was whether using the disavow is in itself a negative signal and how long does it take to get rid of a “black mark” for using the disavow tool.

Here is the question:

“Does using the disavow tool raise a flag in the algorithm and trigger a soft penalty on a website for possibly engaging in link building in the past?

We’ve used this tool to remove hundreds of spammy links and our site collapsed a few days later.

Should we remove the disavow tool and how long will it take for a site to return to normal...

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.