Link audit and link deletion before submitting disavow file?

[blrs12]

This post is deleted!

[RobCairns88]

Hello Marcin,

You are definitely on the right track. Generally speaking, it is never a bad time to acquire good links. The disavow file sent to Google as part of the clean up process will show them that you are trying to "clean up your act" so to speak, so there isn't much to be worried about.

They are less concerned with the % of links being removed, and more concentrated on the fact that you are trying to remove them.

Just make sure that you are waiting a sufficient time between disavow submissions - generally speaking, they will react negatively to a site that is bringing them more that one every once in a while. I would strongly suggest making sure you collect all of your bad links in the disavow file before submission rather than waiting 6-12 months and submitting a second to overwrite the first. Google doesn't want a play-by-play of your clean-up process, they just want it fixed.

As for the "clean up" before the re-working of the site - this doesn't matter from a technical perspective, but it will probably be easier to keep organized. It just depends on your level of organization and how much work is required across the board. It won't hurt you to tackle it all at once, it just might be a bit more complicated that way.

You're probably looking at a 3-4 month process for the updates and clean up to take effect, but if you think the site and the brand is worth it, then go ahead.

Hope this helps clarify the situation, feel free to get in touch if you want to discuss further.

Rob

[blrs12]

"As for the "clean up" before the re-working of the site - this doesn't matter from a technical perspective, but it will probably be easier to keep organized."

So working on this does not matter and it would not make a difference for the website? The traffic drop was three years ago. Disavow submission (the only one, so far), was a year and a half ago. There was no attempt to delete any links then. I just have a feeling that cleaning everything up (at least trying) would be the best way to start. It just feels like painting on a wallpaper, without taking it down, or building a brand new $200,000 house on a rotten foundation, and tons of garbage. Not all links will be deleted, as it may be difficult or impossible to do, but thats what the disavow file is for. Attempting to do everything the right way (meaning, try to delete the links, and reduce the number of urls in the disavow file) should be the best way to go...

[TheWebMastercom]

If you are doing a link cleanup I highly recommend cognitiveseo.  It takes all links from Moz, ahrefs, majestic as well as allowing webmaster tools imports.  You can categorise your anchor texts, and it will run its own system and recommend links to disavow which you can manually review.

On top of that, it will also create the disavow file for you.  Saved me a alot of work when I got hit by some negative seo.