The disavow tool lives at its own page inside Google Search Console, and Google's guidance says most sites should never use it. File one only after a manual action for unnatural links, or when you know links were bought. Everything else, Google already ignores.
What the disavow tool actually does
A disavow file is a plain .txt list of domains and URLs you upload at search.google.com/search-console/disavow-links. Google keeps that page out of the main Search Console navigation on purpose. Uploading a file tells Google to ignore the listed links when it evaluates your site. The links stay live. Nothing is removed from the web, and the linking sites are never notified.
Google's position: most sites should skip it
Google's documentation is blunt about who the tool is for. Two groups: sites with a manual action for unnatural links, and sites that expect one because links were bought or built at scale on their behalf. That is the whole list. Scraper sites, junk directories, and foreign blogs that copy your menu pages do not qualify. Google's systems discount that noise automatically, and the company has repeated for years that the average site has no reason to touch the tool.
The two situations that justify a file
First, an actual penalty. Open the Manual Actions report in Search Console and look for the unnatural-links notice. If it is there, a disavow plus a reconsideration request is the documented way out. Second, a known paid-link history. If a previous owner or a cheap SEO vendor bought placements, ran a private blog network, or blasted forum profiles, filing preemptively is defensible. Absent one of those two, the file can only hurt, because disavowing links that were quietly helping removes value Google was counting.
A worked example: the dispensary with a PBN past
Picture a dispensary that changed hands in 2023. The new owner opens Search Console and finds a manual action dated before the sale. The Links report shows 400 referring domains, and about 300 are near-identical WordPress blogs with names like green-health-tips dot info. That pattern is a private blog network the old owner paid for. The fix: export the referring domains, flag every network domain, build a file of domain: lines (domain:green-health-tips.info, one per line), upload it, then submit a reconsideration request that explains the history and the cleanup. Recovery takes weeks, not days, but this is the exact case the tool exists for.
Filing without causing new damage
Three habits keep a disavow from backfiring. Use domain: lines rather than individual URLs, because spam networks rotate URLs faster than you can list them. Ignore third-party toxicity scores — those numbers are invented by audit tools, not supplied by Google, and disavowing everything a tool flags is how sites end up disavowing real newspapers. Keep a dated copy of every file, because each upload replaces the previous one entirely. And remember the file applies per property, so a separate subdomain needs its own.
Key takeaways
- The disavow tool sits at its own Search Console page, deliberately outside the main menu.
- Google says most sites should never file one. It exists for manual actions and known paid links.
- Use domain: lines, keep a dated copy, and remember each upload replaces the last.
- Toxicity scores come from audit tools, not Google — never disavow from them blindly.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the disavow tool?
At search.google.com/search-console/disavow-links. It is a standalone page tied to your Search Console properties, not an item in the regular menu. You pick a property, upload a .txt file, and the new file replaces whatever was there before.
Do spammy scraper links hurt my cannabis site?
Almost never. Cannabis sites collect scraper and aggregator links constantly, and Google discounts them without your involvement. Unless the Manual Actions report shows a penalty or you know links were purchased, leave them alone.
Should I pay for monthly toxic-link cleanup?
No. Recurring link-cleanup retainers sell fear of a problem Google handles automatically. A one-time review makes sense after buying a site or firing a shady vendor. As a monthly service it is billing for busywork, and sometimes it disavows links that were helping.
Want this done for your brand?
We build cannabis & CBD search visibility with full transparency, for dispensaries, brands, and MSOs.
Get a free cannabis SEO audit ›