Disavow to all domains?
-
Hi there, I have several versions of my domain setup in Webmaster tools. Should I upload my disavow file against all of these domains?
For example.....
If I find a link pointing to: http://www.mydomain.com from: http://www.somespammysite.com do I need to add a disavow file in Webmaster tools for all my domain versions or only the version the offending links points towards?So...
Only
http://www.mydomain.com
Or
http://www.mydomain.com
http://mydomain.com
https://www.mydomain.com
https://mydomain.com -
It's best practice to verify all versions of your site in Webmaster Tools (now called Google Search Console) and submit your disavow file to each of them.
Most likely, though, if you only use one version (i.e. if all of your urls are https://www.... and all other versions redirect to this one) then submitting to that version should be enough. But, there's no harm in being on the safe side and submitting the file to all versions.
-
Hi there
Yes, definitely true - I just do so for documenting.
Sorry for not clarifying!
-
I think the process you have went through here sounds fine, commenting in a disavow file is needless as Google won't actually manually read it, it's a completely automated process. Commenting is for webmasters and seo's to make notes only for future reference.
-
I got a report of all inbound links and went through it manually looking at each site to see which ones looked spammy to me.
There are lot's that are easy to spot: No contact info, Obvious directory sites, sites that are mainly adverts, sites with obvious bot generated content etcProbably not the best approach
I'm going through it again now.
-
Hi there
To be honest, in my experience, actually listing backlinks in your disavow file helps substantially, not just domains.
Google wants to see effort and research done in your disavow file. I would actually run through a backlink audit and see which links are worthy of removal attempts and which are worthy of updating to your main site domain.
That way, you can comment in your disavow file saying "We reached out trying to remove these links" or "We were able to remove these links". That way, you have a thorough and well thought out disavow file, not just a blanketed disavow file to domains.
Just something to keep in mind - hope this helps! Good luck!
-
No reason not to do that, but when I say be careful with which sites you disavow, how are you assessing the likelihood it is a problem site?
-Andy
-
Thanks for the fast reply.
I have been through hundreds of thousands of links and am now cleaning up my disavow file into this format
domain:spammydomain.com
domain:spammydomain1.com
domain:spammydomain2.comI am doing domain: rather than listings all the links as there's sometimes hundreds from the same domain. Would you agree that this is correct?
-
only the version the offending links points towards
This one, which is probably your primary domain? Google is pretty smart and will know that you have multiple domains 301ing to another domain, but there is no need to disavow against a site where there are no links.
Just be careful how you are disavowing though. Don't be too brutal and concentrate heavily on those with spammy anchor texts.
-Andy
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Buying Domains with Keywords but no PA, no content
MOZ Community, I am trying to gauge both the potential upside and downside of buying a few (relatively long) URLs that encompass some new keywords that are surfacing in our industry and creating permanent redirects to our branded website. [This wasn't my idea!] These URLs haven't previously had any content or owners so their domain authority is low. Will Google still ding us for this behavior? I hope not but I worry that there might be some penalty for having a bunch of redirects pointing at our site. I have read that google will penalize you for buying content-rich sites with high DA and redirecting those URLs to your site but I am unclear about this other approach. It seems like a fairly mundane (and fruitless) play. I tried to explain that we won't reap any SEO rewards for owning these URLS (if there is no content) but that wasn't really heard. Thanks for any resources or information you can share! I would appreciate any resources.
Technical SEO | | ColleenHeadLight0 -
Handling Multiple Restaurants Under One Domain
We are working with a client that has 2 different restaurants. One has been established since 1938, the other was opened in late 2012. Currently, each site has its own domain name. From a marketing/branding perspective, we would like to make the customers [web visitors] of the established restaurant aware of the sister restaurant. To accomplish this, we are thinking about creating a landing page that links to each restaurant. To do this, we would need to purchase a brand new URL, and then place each restaurant in a separate sub folder of the new URL. The other thought is to have each site accessed from the main new URL [within sub folders] and also point each existing URL to the appropriate sub folder for each restaurant. We know there are some branding and marketing hurdles with this approach that we need to think through/work out. But, we are not sure how this would impact their SEO––and assume it will not be good. Any thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated.
Technical SEO | | thinkcreativegroup0 -
Shopping Carts & Sub Domains
I was hoping someone could guide me in making the correct decision regarding integrating my existing domain with a hosted shopping cart. I have an existing website to promote my bricks and mortar retail operation and am expanding into web retailing. I will be using one of the major hosted shopping carts. What is the best way to join the two components from an SEO perspective? Have the cart as a sub domain of my main site, or move my existing domain name to be hosted by the cart provider and have both components operate under the same general domain? I have read arguments that putting your cart within a sub domain is not a good idea because any clout of the pre-existing domain will not be shared with the sub domain; that they will be treated as two separate sites. I have also read that using a sub domain is a good idea being that the content focus of the main domain (marketing and blogs) is different form the focus of the sub domain (product sales), and that the two components would benefit form earning their own rankings undiluted by the other. And, I have also read that search engines are getting good at being able to deduce that an eCommerce sub domain is legitimate extension of a content intensive main domain, and that they treat the two components as a combined whole. What is the truth? Which is the better way to go? Any guidance would be appreciated.
Technical SEO | | MEI1520 -
How do I fix a multiple domain mess?
I just picked up an account that is a franchisee and they have 6 exact match domains plus their main domain (all exact duplicates, not 301s). GA shows the main domain as getting the lion's share of hits, but for some important local keywords, the exact match domains rank higher. Some pages may have the exact match domain, primary domain and the franchise domain all ranking on the same SERP. Yuk! My strategy is to work on the main domain and as the work progresses, the main site will surpass the exact match domains and main franchise domain for the important searches. For the exact match domains I plan on just leaving them alone. Is this a sound strategy? I could pull the exact match domains down, but since they rank well for their keywords, it seems most sensible to leave them up. What do you think?
Technical SEO | | KristinnD0 -
Changing Domain Registrars have an affect on rankings?
So, I just wanted to move my domain from GoDaddy to NameCheap. I am still thinking about the move as I am not sure what affect it will have on my rankings. Has anyone here done it before? Did you see any drop in rankings? Also, while I was at it - I was thinking maybe I can add WhoisGuard too. I am not too paranoid about people getting my info from WhoIs, but does having a private Whois have an affect on ranking?
Technical SEO | | uzair0 -
New domain
Hi, I have a domain with no keywords on it, and I´ve been using it for years. Now I bought another domain with the keyword on it. I whant to work on seo for the second domain, with the keyword. What is the better way to work this out? 301? Duplicate de site? redirect in another way?
Technical SEO | | mgfarte0 -
Impact of moving all the domain from .net to .com
Hi, We are thinking of moving a domain from a .net extension to a .com because of internal political reason. It's a french website with 3 000 pages.The organic trafic is 65 % from France and 35 % from Canada. We have decent rankings and we have around 150 000 organic visits/month. For sure,if we move the site, we will do all the rigth 301 redirect. We will also use Google Webmaster Tools to tell the new location of the site. But even if we do all the best practices. What would be the impact of changing the extension. Is anyone had some experience with this ? I will really like to have your opinion on this. Thanks Rick
Technical SEO | | Adviso0 -
Accidently did a 301 redirect on root domain and lost domain keyword position
I just bought a domain about a week ago and instantly ranked number 4 for for my keywords with the domain keyword bonus. I created a landing page off the root of my domain while I'm building out my main site. I accidentally did a 301 redirect instead of a 302 from my root to my landing paging and this resulted in me losing my position and only being about to find my domain in the google if I searched for my domain specifically. Anyway to regain my original position? I have removed the redirect. Have I been put in the sandbox?
Technical SEO | | JohnTurner790