Disavow links from foreign news websites

Disavowing links from foreign news websites can be a useful strategy to help improve your website's credibility and search engine rankings. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it:

Why disavow links from foreign news websites?

Links from foreign news websites can be problematic for several reasons:

  1. Low-quality links: Foreign news websites may not have the same level of editorial standards as reputable news organizations in your country. This can lead to low-quality links that may not add value to your website.
  2. Language barriers: If your website is targeted towards a specific geographic region, links from foreign news websites may not be relevant or useful to your audience.
  3. Credibility concerns: Links from foreign news websites may raise concerns about the credibility of your website, especially if they are not well-established or reputable.

How to disavow links from foreign news websites:

  1. Identify the links: Use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush to identify the links from foreign news websites pointing to your website.
  2. Check the quality of the links: Evaluate the quality of the links by checking the website's authority, relevance, and content quality. You can use tools like Moz's Domain Authority or Ahrefs' Domain Rating to assess the website's authority.
  3. Check if the links are editorial or manipulative: Determine if the links are editorial or manipulative. If they are manipulative, such as paid links or links from low-quality directories, you should disavow them.
  4. Create a disavow file: Create a text file containing the URLs of the links you want to disavow. The file should be named "disavow.txt" and should be placed in the root directory of your website.
  5. Add the links to the disavow file: Add the URLs of the links you want to disavow to the disavow file, one URL per line. For example:
    http://example.com/article1
http://example.com/article2
http://example.com/article3
  6. Submit the disavow file to Google: Submit the disavow file to Google using the Google Search Console. Go to the "Search Traffic" section, click on "Links" and then click on "Disavow links". Follow the instructions to upload your disavow file.
  7. Monitor your website's links: Monitor your website's links regularly to ensure that the disavowed links are no longer affecting your website's credibility or search engine rankings.

Best practices:

  1. Be selective: Only disavow links that are low-quality or manipulative. Avoid disavowing links from reputable news websites or websites that are relevant to your audience.
  2. Keep your disavow file up-to-date: Regularly update your disavow file to reflect changes in your website's links.
  3. Use a disavow file for all links: Use a disavow file for all links, not just links from foreign news websites. This will help you maintain a comprehensive list of links that you want to disavow.

By following these steps and best practices, you can effectively disavow links from foreign news websites and improve your website's credibility and search engine rankings.