The easiest way to defend yourself against toxic backlinks is to detect and deny them , i.e. tell Google that we haven’t looked for those links and we don’t recognize them.
To do this, I advise you to use tools such as Semrush , which in addition to intercepting all the toxic backlinks on your website, also prepares the file for you to submit to Google to disown these links.
Here’s how to do it all step by step.
First go to Semrush and if you don’t have it yet, create a free account. Once logged in, in the left sidebar select SEO > Backlink audit .
Then choose the project you want to audit. If you don’t have a project yet, create one with your website. You will see a screen like this below, where all the backlinks that refer to your site and their toxicity score will be listed .
You can also filter backlinks by score
- The gray icon on the left, to move the Whitelist backlink and then “accept” it
- The central blue icon to move the link to the ” Remove ” section
- The blue icon on the right to move the link to the ” Reject ” section.
By moving them to Whitelist, you create a list of backlinks you want to keep .
You can also choose to contact a website to ask for a link to be removed . In Iran Phone Number List this case, simply move the backlink to the “Remove” section where you can send an email and request that the backlink be removed.
If this move doesn’t pay off, then you can proceed to reject it . Move the unwanted links to the “Disavow” section and Semrush will create a special file for you with the list of all the backlinks you want to remove and which you will need to upload to Google in its link disavow tool called Disavow .
This action is not to be taken lightly . Rejecting links that aren’t actually harmful can hurt your rankings. Therefore always manually check all the links before proceeding to disavow.
As you can see, I also rejected several links. Once rejected, they will look like this on Semrush:
Posting fake reviews
Let’s look at another possible negative SEO move: that of fake reviews .
Very often, before purchasing a product or service, a person searches online for reviews and testimonials. A competitor could then leave a series of fake reviews in order to sink your credibility and your online reputation.
How to defend yourself against fake reviews
There is no way to defend yourself against fake reviews. What we Numbers Lists can do, however, is to constantly monitor what is written about us and our brand.
First, I recommend activating Google Alerts . In fact, by adding a keyword, such as your name or your brand, you will receive an email every time you receive a mention on the web.
Another way to stem the problem is to always keep your channels updated and constantly monitored , such as social media or the Google My Business tab, where you can also report the presence of a fake review to Google and ask for it to be removed.