An SEO glossary of terms every marketer should know in 2026
A practical, current glossary covering the essential SEO terminology every marketer should be comfortable with, from foundational concepts to 2026-specific terms.
6 min read
Removal and disavowal are two distinct approaches to dealing with an unwanted backlink, with meaningfully different levels of certainty and effort required — understanding when each is appropriate avoids wasted effort on the wrong approach.
Removal: contacting the site directly
The most certain approach is contacting the linking site's owner or webmaster directly, requesting they remove the specific link. This requires more effort and does not always succeed (some sites are unresponsive or defunct), but when it works, it eliminates the link entirely and unambiguously.
Disavowal: asking Google to disregard it
As covered in our disavow tool guide, disavowal is a request to Google to disregard a link when evaluating your site — it does not remove the link itself, and Google treats it as a strong signal rather than an absolute guarantee.
Removal deletes the problem. Disavowal asks Google, politely and without full certainty, to pretend the problem does not exist — the two are not equally reliable, even though both can genuinely help.
A practical decision process
- Attempt direct removal first, particularly for a small number of clearly identifiable, contactable sites.
- Use disavowal for links from sites that are unresponsive, defunct, or too numerous to individually contact.
- Reserve significant time investment for links you have genuine reason to believe are actively causing harm, not every imperfect link found in an audit.
Documenting your removal attempts
If you eventually need to submit a reconsideration request following a manual action, documented evidence of genuine removal attempts (emails sent, dates, responses received) strengthens your case considerably compared to relying on disavowal alone.
Frequently asked questions
How successful is direct link removal typically?
Success rates vary considerably depending on the site — established, actively maintained sites tend to respond more often than low-quality or abandoned ones, which are frequently the source of the most problematic links anyway.
Can I disavow a link and still attempt removal afterward?
Yes, the two are not mutually exclusive — you can disavow immediately for safety while continuing to pursue removal in parallel for a more definitive resolution.
Does Google verify that disavowed links were genuinely problematic?
No, Google generally trusts the disavow request without independently verifying every listed link — this is exactly why over-disavowing genuinely harmless links is a real, if often overstated, risk worth avoiding.
If you are dealing with a problematic backlink situation, contact our team for guidance on the right approach.
The takeaway
Always attempt removal first, and disavow only as a fallback — a genuinely removed link is cleaner and more certain than a disavowed one, which Google treats as a request, not a guarantee.
Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.
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