87% of the websites linking to our clients were junk. Is your site getting them too?

We checked the backlinks of 58 of our clients’ sites. Out of 72,707 websites linking to them, 87% were junk.

View full size

What does it mean, and why do we bother?

A backlink is simply a link from another website to yours. Google reads links a bit like recommendations: links from good websites help you show up higher in search, and links that look bought can get a site in trouble. So it matters who links to you.

Is it really a problem?

Google allows you to submit a list of spam backlinks in a special disavow file. But they say that most sites never need a disavow file. Its systems discount random spam on their own. You only need a disavow file in two cases: Google has already penalised your site because of these links, or the links look bad enough that it might.

Anchor text is the clickable words of a link, the part you actually click on. Usually it’s something neutral, like a brand name or “visit the shop”. On a typical client site we found:

View full size

Nearly all of these links came from four kinds of websites:

View full size

• SEO-seller sites on .shop and .store, with names like serpvexa.shop, quickseolink.shop or premium-seoexpress-outreach-provider.store.
• Fake “SEO checker” sites, such as dacheckerforfree.online or backlinkcheckertool.store.
• Numbered throwaway domains, such as 37486209.xyz or 11763859.xyz, registered by the hundred.
• SEO directory networks and link sellers, which share the same auto-generated page paths across dozens of domains.

What happens if you don’t submit a disavow file? Think of it as insurance. Google ignores most junk links on its own, but links that say your brand buys backlinks can get your site penalised. Then it can drop in search or disappear from it. The file is cheap to make, and the cost of a penalty is much higher.

A small first wave of low quality backlinks appeared in spring and summer 2026. Then, in September, sites gained 400–900 new spam domains in a few weeks, with the biggest bursts on 18–19 and 27–29 September.

View full size

4 client examples

The same wave looked very different depending on how strong the site was before it hit.

View full size

On the strongest site, spam was 72% of the profile. On the weakest, it was over 99%. The decision rule stayed the same for all four: protect every real link, and disavow only where the anchors create a paid-link footprint.

Spam link:

View full size

What clients asked us

The best questions came from clients who pushed back. Here are the ones we heard most, with our answers.

"Search Console shows only 85 referring domains. Why does your tool show 900?" Search Console shows a sample of the links Google knows about, not a full list. Many of these throwaway domains are never indexed at all. That is one more reason a disavow here is a precaution, not an emergency.

"There's no manual action. Do we really need this?" No, it isn't urgent, and holding off is a reasonable choice. We recommend it as cheap insurance on sites where the anchors name the brand as a link buyer. Whether to submit is always the client's call.

"Have you seen a ranking drop caused by these links?" We told clients the truth: we could not prove one. On most sites, traffic trends did not line up cleanly with the spam waves. We did not claim a link where the data didn't show it.

"Could disavowing hurt us?" Only if real links end up in the file. That is why every file came with a separate keep list and a check that no real domain was included.

"Can we build real authority instead?" Yes, and that matters more than any cleanup. For a tour operator, for example, that means local travel guides, partner hotels, travel journalists and review platforms that AI answers quote.

Should you disavow? A quick check

Spam backlinks alone are not a reason to act. Check these five things first:

• Manual action. Open Search Console → Security & Manual Actions. A link-related manual action means you should disavow now.
• Anchor text. Do hundreds of domains use your brand next to "buy backlinks", "PBN" or a fake testimonial? If yes, a disavow is a sensible precaution.
• Your real links. List the press, partners and directories you want to keep before you build any file.
• Traffic. Does a drop line up with a spam wave in Search Console data, not just in a third-party estimate?
• Monitoring. Who checks the profile next month? These waves repeat, and a file is only current until the next one.

We run this check for clients every month as part of our SEO work. If you want a second opinion on your backlink profile, get in touch and we'll send you a short report: what's spam, what's real, and whether you need to act.