How to Remove a Link from a Website Permanently

In the world of SEO, backlinks can be a double-edged sword. While quality backlinks can boost your search engine rankings and authority, spammy or irrelevant links can harm your website's credibility, traffic, and performance. Whether you’ve found a toxic backlink pointing to your site or need to remove an outdated or unauthorized link from another domain, it’s crucial to act quickly and smartly.

At DigeeSell, a top digital marketing agency in Dubai, we help businesses audit, remove, and disavow harmful backlinks to maintain their online reputation and stay compliant with Google's algorithm updates.

Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to remove a link from a website permanently.

Step 1: Identify the Link You Want to Remove

Before taking action, pinpoint exactly which link is causing harm. Use SEO tools like:

• Google Search Console

• Ahrefs

• SEMrush

• Moz Link Explorer

Look for links that are:

• From spammy or irrelevant websites

• Over-optimized with exact match anchor texts

• Coming from low-quality directories or PBNs (private blog networks)

• Part of a negative SEO attack

Pro tip from DigeeSell: Monitor your backlink profile monthly to catch unwanted links early.

Step 2: Reach Out to the Website Owner

If the link is hosted on an external website, the first step is outreach. Contact the webmaster or site owner via their contact page or email and politely request the link's removal.

Step 3: Disavow the Link via Google (if Removal Fails)

If the website owner doesn’t respond or refuses to remove the link, use Google’s Disavow Tool as a last resort. This tells Google not to count those links when evaluating your site.

How to Disavow a Link:

1. Create a .txt file listing all the domains or URLs you want to disavow.

2. Go to Google Disavow Tool

3. Select your property and upload the file.

Caution: This is an advanced SEO step. If used incorrectly, it can negatively affect your rankings. If you’re unsure, consult an expert at DigeeSell.

Step 4: Monitor Results

Removing or disavowing a link doesn’t produce instant results. Use Google Search Console to monitor:

• Crawl errors

• Manual penalties

• Performance recovery

• Indexing issues

Depending on how serious the toxic backlink was, it might take a few weeks for the changes to reflect in your rankings.

Additional Tips from DigeeSell

• Avoid future link penalties by building only white-hat, high-authority backlinks.

• Set up alerts to notify you of new backlinks using tools like Ahrefs Alerts or Google Alerts.

• Always vet websites before participating in link exchanges, guest blogging, or directory submissions.

• Don’t ignore low-quality links—they can gradually deteriorate your SEO health.

Let DigeeSell Help You Safeguard Your SEO

At DigeeSell, we specialize in SEO audit services, link profile management, and manual penalty recovery. If you’re dealing with spammy backlinks or negative SEO, our digital marketing team in Dubai can help you clean up your backlink profile and protect your online authority.

Whether you're a startup, local business, or large enterprise, we tailor backlink strategies to your specific SEO goals.

Get in Touch with DigeeSell

Want to remove toxic backlinks and improve your website’s SEO performance? Partner with DigeeSell, Dubai’s leading digital marketing agency, for expert link removal and SEO services.