Spam Backlink Checker: Toxic Links Triage & Disavow Decision

"I'm getting spam backlinks every day. Semrush shows them, Search Console doesn't. Should I care? Should I disavow?" This Actor answers that from your own backlink export, in seconds, for $0.001 per referring domain (1,000 domains = $1).

Google ignores most spammy links. Its disavow guidance says to consider disavowing only when you have a substantial number of spammy, artificial or low-quality links pointing to your site and they have caused a manual action, or likely will (for example, links you or an agency paid for or placed). Even then, try to get the links removed first. Many site owners still disavow by "toxic score" and cut good links by mistake. This Actor applies that guidance to your export and shows which domains (if any) deserve a closer look.

What you get

• One overall answer: NO (background spam, do nothing), MONITOR (a few manipulative-looking links or a spam spike) or ACT (you have a manual action, or you said you built placed links that could likely lead to one: review, request removal first, and disavow only what remains)
• A verdict per referring domain: OK, IGNORE, WATCH or DISAVOW_CANDIDATE, with the signals and a plain-English reason
• Negative-SEO spike check: new spam domains per week in the last 4 weeks vs the previous 22 weeks (needs first-seen dates)
• DISAVOW_DRAFT in Google's domain: format, written only for DISAVOW_CANDIDATE domains. It is a draft for manual review, never an automatic upload: check every line, attempt removal first, and upload only if the links are substantial and you have, or likely face, a manual action
• REPORT: a Markdown report you can hand to a client

Signals

SPAM_TLD, AUTOGEN_STATS (whois/"website worth" scraper pages), IP_HOST, JUNK_NAME, TOXIC_DOMAIN, TOXIC_ANCHOR (casino, pharma, adult, loans...), FOREIGN_SCRIPT_ANCHOR, HACKED_OR_SPAM_PAGE, LINK_SELLER_PAGE (links.html, partners, guest post, sponsored), KEYWORD_ANCHORS_DOFOLLOW, SITEWIDE, MANY_SUBDOMAINS, TOOL_TOXIC_SCORE (if your export has a toxic/spam score of 60 or more).

Input

Paste any of these into Backlink export (or give a public CSV URL):

• Google Search Console > Links > Export external links (Top linking sites or Latest links). It's free.
• Semrush Backlink Analytics > Backlinks export, or the Backlink Audit export with Toxic score
• Ahrefs Site Explorer > Backlinks export
• Moz, Majestic or any CSV with a source URL or domain column. Comma, semicolon or tab separated.

Add your brand terms so brand anchors aren't read as keyword anchors. Tick manual action or we bought/placed links only if true. Only those answers can mark a domain DISAVOW_CANDIDATE, and a candidate still needs your manual review: a few placed links without a manual action or real manual-action risk usually don't justify a disavow.

Output example (dataset row)

{"verdict":"WATCH","domain":"seo-links-hub.com","signals":"LINK_SELLER_PAGE, KEYWORD_ANCHORS_DOFOLLOW","why":"Keyword-rich dofollow or link-seller pattern. If you (or an agency) bought or placed it, ask for removal first; if not, Google usually ignores it.","links":2,"dofollow":2,"topAnchors":"best cheap power tools | buy power tools online","overallAnswer":"MONITOR"}

Pricing

Pay per event: $0.001 per referring domain triaged. An empty input charges nothing. Set Max referring domains to cap spend.

FAQ

Does it fetch the linking sites? No. It works offline from your export, so it's fast, cheap and doesn't touch anyone's site. (A CSV URL you provide is downloaded once.)

Why does Semrush show links Search Console doesn't? Search Console shows a sample of links Google recorded and leaves out much of the junk it ignores. Third-party tools list everything they crawl, so their toxic count is not a Google penalty signal.

Is this a Google ruling? No. It's a heuristic recommendation from the export. DISAVOW_CANDIDATE means "review manually", not "disavow now". Google's guidance is to disavow only a substantial number of problematic links that caused or will likely cause a manual action, after trying removal. Always review a disavow file before uploading, and merge it with any existing one, because a new upload replaces the old file.

Related Cygnix Labs Actors: Indexing Fix Planner (why Google won't index your pages), SEO Change Impact Checker, Redirect Chain Checker.