Google Disavow File Update

[dhidalgo1]

Is there any specific format to update the Disavow file? Also if I submitted the file a months ago, and need to update it now... should I leave the old 'excluded domains' or should I remove them?

Lets say this is what I have: How would you update it?

#explanation from to Google went here... and ended here.
"domain:exampledomainalreadysubmitted1.com"
"domain:exampledomainalreadysubmitted2.com"
"domain:exampledomainalreadysubmitted3.com"

Thanks for your input

[GregB123]

Hi Daniel,

I also submitted a Disavow file, then learned new things and updated the file to reflect the new knowledge.

You can only have ONE disavow file. So you simply create a new file (which may or may not contain many domains that were in the original) and then go to Google Webmaster Tools and delete the original file and upload the new one.

This article has good info on how you should create your Disavow file: http://moz.com/blog/google-disavow-tool

Especially this part from the article:

Google rejects many disavow files because of bad formatting, but webmasters usually never know. Guidelines state the file type should be .txt only and “must be encoded UTF-8 or 7-bit ASCII.”

Good luck!

[dhidalgo1]

Thanks Gregory,

When you Re-Submitted the file, did you include the old domains? I am unsure as to whether or not  keep the original domains into the updated file, as i haven't read anything against it or in favor for such method.

Daniel

[GregB123]

Yes. I did keep in most of the old domains that had been in the original Disavow file.

Since the things I learned after doing the original file showed that I had mistakenly disavowed a few domains that were OK, I did omit them from the new file. And I added some that had not been in the original.

Nobody but Google knows for sure, but my understanding is that a particular Disavow only has an effect while that particular file is active on your Google Webmaster account. So if you delete it or upload a new one, then you will eventually see the old effect disappear and be replaced by the effect of having no or a different disavow file.

I just wish the effect wasn't so slow on Google. The effect of disavowing linking domains in Bing Webmaster Tools seems to be very quick. But it's rarely needed there since Bing doesn't have nasty Pandas and Penguins to battle...