Forgetting to Upload Your Disavow File – Business 2 Community

Uh oh. Of all the mistakes to make when moving your site from insecure HTTP to totally safe HTTPS, forgetting to upload your disavow file is one of the biggest.

Whys that, exactly? Well, if you forget to upload your disavow file to the new HTTPS site, all those bad links you already disavowed will transfer over. Youre basically taking all the hard work you put in and flushing it down the drain. All because of one teensy little file.

We at SEO Inc. have inspected hundreds, if not thousands of backlink profiles over the years. Weve seen mistakes for just about every problem under the sun. But what is it about the disavow file that makes it so easy to get lost in the HTTP-to-HTTPS shuffle?

Join us in taking a long, hard look at why the disavow file is so often overlooked, and why overlooking it is so darn irresponsible.

Forgetting to upload your disavow file is astounding to us because of how important it is to your websites success.

Your disavow file is a critical part of link detox. Detoxifying your link profile rids your site of unwanted links spammy, artificial, or low quality. Its a painstaking process, and one we have performed hundreds of times, removing 21 manual penalties and countless algorithmic penalties. Clients who have benefited from our link detox services have seen their rankings return.

Ultimately, thats what a link detox is designed to do: restore your rankings. Think about it you get a bunch of crummy links pointing at your site, and Google slaps you with a penalty. Obviously, you dont want your site to be associated with a bunch of spam, so you start thinking about disavowing them.

(Warning!! Indiscriminately disavowing links without doing the full required work could be damaging to your site! Make absolutely certain youre disavowing the worst illegitimate links. In a worst case scenario, contact a professional.)

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But if you dont add your disavow file to your shiny new HTTPS site in Google Search Console, there is no layer of protection between you and all those crummy links you had already disavowed. All of the linking signals, both good and bad, will eventually transfer over to the HTTPS site.

When you forget to upload your disavow file, youre making a lot more work for yourself during a site move by having to find your most recent disavow file and import it to the new property. But whats even worse is that all those toxic links are now pointing to your new site.

So, yeah forgetting to upload your disavow file is a big deal.

The next question we need to answer is: why does it happen? How do we keep making such a gigantic mistake?

Too much on your mind thats what it all comes down to. When moving from HTTP to HTTPS, you have to juggle many different tasks to make the transition smooth, and lets face it the disavow area in Google Search Console isnt the most accessible section.

Google offers a thorough guide on how to prepare your new site for a move, but wed like to share some specific mistakes weve seen that have led to some bumpy website moves.

Preserving your links is a high priority when moving your site to HTTPS. If you neglect this, you could end up with a bunch of broken links that will not only frustrate users but will sever valuable sources of precious link juice. 301 redirects ensure that your old links send users (and search engines) toward the right places.

Heres how to use 301 redirects in the best way for SEO.

Google Analytics is one of the most powerful tools a webmaster can wield. But if you dont update it for your HTTPS property, youll miss out on all the data for your new site. When ROI is on the line, thats a mistake you cant afford to make.

Old links pointing to the HTTP page that are then redirected to the HTTPS version will lose some link juice or pagerank. Make sure to link to the correct versions.

The irony is that all the things weve mentioned above are usually kept front-of-mind over the disavow file. Is it any wonder that, with so many critical pieces to include, something even as important as the disavow file gets forgotten?

To help you out, here are a few reminders when moving your site over.

Our advice: Know your domains. Big blogging sites like WordPress and Blogspot that link back to you should be judged on a page-by-page or subdomain basis. Dive into the links you find and see if the sites actually link back to you legitimately or if they deserve to get disavowed.

Mistakes happen. Theyre unavoidable especially when youre attempting a huge, multi-step process like moving a site from HTTP to HTTPS. But failing to upload your disavow fail should not be one of them. Not anymore. Theres simply too much at stake to forget.

Add a reminder to your smartphone calendar. Write DISAVOW FILE on a sticky note and slap it onto your monitor. Heck, print up this blog post and read it every day. Do whatever it takes to remember, so long as you remember.

Just do not forget to upload your disavow file. When your new HTTPS site is flourishing with nothing but healthy, carefully curated links, youll thank us later.

John Caiozzo is a SEO, PPC, and WordPress expert based in Carlsbad, CA. John provides companies with custom tailored digital marketing strategies to drive more traffic and conversions to their websites. When he's not working or blogging about internet marketing you can find him hiking, biking, and skiing in Southern Viewfullprofile