Sooner or later, most SEO agencies get the same message from a client: rankings dropped, and the client wants to know if disavowing links will fix it. In early September 2026, a real exchange between a site owner and Google's Search Liaison, John Mueller, gave agencies a clean, citable answer. Mueller confirmed the disavow tool "does have effects, but it has its place & time" - and the specific case behind that quote is worth knowing before the next client asks.
The Case Worth Knowing
A site owner had bought guest posts and links through Fiverr, a freelance marketplace where manipulative links are sold in bulk. After disavowing a batch of them, rankings did not recover, and the owner asked Mueller whether the tool works at all. Mueller's answer reframed the situation: he confirmed the tool has an effect, but also stated plainly that disavowing a handful of links will not sink a site out of search. The real problem was never the tool - it was that the purchased links created risk from the start, and disavowing them afterward does not erase that.
When It Makes Sense to Recommend Disavow to a Client
- The client has a confirmed manual action in Search Console for unnatural links, with Google pointing directly at the backlink profile.
- The client - or a previous agency - built links at scale through marketplaces or bulk guest posting, and wants a clean break before rebuilding.
- The site is facing an active negative SEO attack: a sudden burst of obviously spammy links from clearly toxic domains.
When to Push Back on a Client's Disavow Request
- Rankings dropped with no manual action and no real anomaly in the link profile - the likelier cause is content, technical SEO, or a recent algorithm update, not links.
- The client wants to disavow "just in case" without evidence of toxicity. Google already ignores most low-authority links automatically.
- Disavow is being proposed instead of fixing why manipulative links exist in the profile at all - without addressing the source, the same pattern returns.
How to Frame This for a Client
Explain that a link profile built on purchased guest posts or link marketplaces makes a ranking drop a matter of when, not if, and that disavowing those links after the fact treats a symptom rather than preventing the underlying issue. That framing tends to land better with a client than a purely technical explanation of what the tool does.
For more on building links without manipulative signals, see our guide to link building for marketing and SEO.
A Practical Process for the Team
- Check Search Console for a manual action first - without one, disavow is unlikely to solve a current ranking problem.
- Export the full backlink profile and look for genuine anomalies: a sudden spike from one domain type, obviously spammy sources, anchor text the client never built naturally.
- Keep the disavow file narrow - specific domains or URLs with proven toxicity, not the whole profile as a precaution.
- Submit through the official tool and set expectations with the client that recrawling takes weeks, not days.
- Address the root cause in parallel - stop any ongoing purchase of questionable links and shift the strategy toward earned links.
Turning This Into a Standard Client Response
Rather than handling each disavow question fresh, it is worth turning this case into a short standard explanation the whole team can reuse: what the tool does, when it genuinely applies, and why a ranking drop is more often unrelated to links entirely. Having that ready in advance saves time on every future client conversation and keeps the message consistent regardless of which account manager fields the question.
Watching for This Pattern Across the Portfolio
Agencies managing several client accounts should treat a link-buying history - whether from the client's own past decisions or a previous vendor's work - as a flag worth checking proactively, not just responding to when a client asks. A quick audit of any account with a known history of purchased links, even one with currently stable rankings, can surface risk before it turns into a ranking drop and an anxious client message.
FAQ
Can recommending disavow backfire on the agency? The tool itself will not penalize a site, but disavowing genuinely valuable links by mistake can reduce their positive effect - a reason to build the file narrowly and with evidence.
How should we set client expectations on timing? Google has not published a fixed timeline. Recrawling and any visible effect typically take weeks, which is worth stating upfront to avoid a follow-up "has it worked yet" message too soon.
Is it ever worth disavowing preventively for a cautious client? Generally no - Google does not recommend routine preventive disavowing, and it is better to redirect that effort toward auditing why questionable links exist in the first place.
What should the agency say if disavow does not resolve the ranking drop? Point the client toward more likely causes - content changes, technical issues, or a coincidental algorithm update - rather than continuing to expand the disavow file.
Is this guidance different for clients outside Poland? No, the underlying logic applies globally - the market only affects who is asking, not how the tool itself behaves.
Is it worth building a template response for the whole agency to use? Yes - having one consistent, pre-approved explanation ready for this exact question saves time on every future client conversation and keeps the message accurate no matter who on the team fields it first.
Bottom Line
Google's disavow tool works exactly as described, but only for a specific, proven toxic-link problem, not as a general fix for a ranking drop. When a client asks, check for a manual action first, look for real anomalies, and be honest if the actual fix is addressing how the link profile got risky in the first place.
