How to Find and Exclude Spam Links in Ahrefs: The Soft Disavow Method

You open Ahrefs to clean up your backlink profile.

You expect to find a scary red “toxic backlinks” report.

You expect a disavow button.

You expect the tool to tell you which links are bad and let you remove them from your dashboard with one click.

Then reality hits.

Ahrefs does not behave like Semrush.

There is no big “Toxic Score” panic meter.

There is no obvious built-in disavow workflow sitting front and center.

And if you have used older SEO tools or watched outdated tutorials, you may ask the same question many site owners ask:

Where did the disavow button go in Ahrefs?

Here is the answer:

Ahrefs has taken a very different stance from tools that label backlinks as “toxic.” Instead of pushing users toward automatic disavow lists, Ahrefs gives you raw backlink data, advanced filters, traffic signals, referring domain metrics, anchor text, and link context so you can make better decisions manually.

That is frustrating if you want a quick button.

But it is also safer.

Because in modern SEO, you usually do not need to tell Google to ignore every ugly backlink. Google is much better at ignoring spam than it used to be. In many cases, your best move is not a hard disavow.

It is a soft disavow.

That means you clean up your own reporting, filter out obvious junk, separate low-value links from meaningful links, and only touch Google’s disavow tool if there is a serious reason.

In this guide, you will learn how to find and exclude spam links in Ahrefs using a safer soft disavow workflow.

What Is the Soft Disavow Method?

The soft disavow method is a reporting and analysis workflow.

It does not mean uploading a disavow file to Google.

Instead, it means using Ahrefs filters to hide, exclude, or separate links that are probably not useful for your internal analysis.

You are not telling Google to ignore them.

You are telling your SEO dashboard:

“Do not let these junk links distort my view of the backlink profile.”

That distinction is important.

Hard Disavow vs. Soft Disavow

A hard disavow happens when you create a .txt file and submit it through Google’s disavow tool.

That asks Google to ignore specific links or domains.

A soft disavow happens inside your workflow.

You use filters, exports, tags, spreadsheets, and saved views to separate low-quality links from links that deserve attention.

Here is the difference:

Method	Where It Happens	What It Does	Risk Level
Hard Disavow	Google Search Console Disavow Tool	Asks Google to ignore links/domains	High if used carelessly
Soft Disavow	Ahrefs, spreadsheets, reporting dashboards	Excludes junk links from your own review/reporting	Low
Manual Removal	Contacting site owners	Attempts to remove links from the source	Medium effort, low SEO risk
Ignore	No action	Lets Google handle obvious spam	Often safest for random junk

For most websites, soft disavow is the better first move.

Why Ahrefs Does Not Push a Toxic Score Workflow

Ahrefs has publicly criticized the term “toxic backlinks,” arguing that it is a label created by SEO tools, not a direct Google classification.

That does not mean bad backlinks cannot hurt you.

They can.

Paid links, private blog networks, spam campaigns, manipulative anchors, hacked links, and link schemes can create real problems.

But random ugly backlinks are not automatically an emergency.

This is why Ahrefs leans toward manual review instead of automated panic.

The Ahrefs philosophy is closer to:

• Look at real backlink data.
• Check whether linking sites have traffic.
• Review referring domains.
• Analyze anchor text.
• Look for patterns.
• Use judgment.
• Do not disavow just because a tool says a link looks bad.

That approach requires more thinking, but it also reduces the chance of disavowing legitimate links.

When Should You Use Ahrefs to Exclude Spam Links?

Use this workflow when:

• Your backlink report is full of obvious junk.
• You want cleaner client or internal reporting.
• You want to focus only on meaningful backlinks.
• You are analyzing link quality.
• You are preparing a backlink audit.
• You want to separate real links from noise.
• You are trying to understand whether a traffic drop is link-related.
• You want to avoid unnecessary disavow mistakes.

This workflow is especially useful if your site has picked up lots of scraper links, junk directories, foreign spam, AI-generated pages, or weird low-traffic referring domains.

When Should You Not Rely on Soft Disavow Alone?

Soft disavow is not enough if:

• You have a manual action in Google Search Console.
• You or an old agency bought manipulative links.
• You used private blog networks.
• You participated in large-scale link exchanges.
• You have a clear unnatural link pattern.
• You are preparing a reconsideration request.
• You have a large exact-match anchor spam problem.
• You know the links were built to manipulate rankings.

In those cases, you may need real link removal and possibly a hard disavow.

But even then, Ahrefs should be used to review the data carefully before you act.

Step 1: Start in Google Search Console Before Ahrefs

Before you touch Ahrefs filters, check Google Search Console.

Look for:

• Manual actions
• Security issues
• Sudden performance drops
• Top linked pages
• Top linking sites
• Anchor text patterns

If there is no manual action, do not assume backlinks are the cause of a traffic drop.

Organic traffic can drop because of:

• Algorithm updates
• Content decay
• Technical issues
• Indexing problems
• Competitors improving pages
• Lost internal links
• Search intent changes
• Tracking problems
• Seasonal demand changes

A backlink audit is useful, but it should not become your only diagnosis.

Step 2: Open Ahrefs Site Explorer

Go to Ahrefs and open Site Explorer.

Enter your domain.

Use the domain-level view if you want to audit the entire website.

Then go to the backlink reports.

The main reports you will use are:

• Backlinks
• Referring domains
• Anchors
• Best links filter
• New and lost backlinks
• Linked domains
• Top pages by links

Your goal is not to delete links.

Your goal is to understand the backlink profile.

Step 3: Start With Referring Domains, Not Individual Backlinks

This is important.

Do not begin by reviewing every individual backlink.

That can become overwhelming.

Start with Referring domains.

A referring domain is one unique website linking to you.

A single spam domain might create 500 backlinks.

If you start with individual backlinks, that one domain can make your profile look much worse than it really is.

Start at the domain level first.

Ask:

• Which domains link to me?
• Which ones have real traffic?
• Which ones are relevant?
• Which ones have reasonable DR?
• Which ones have suspicious anchors?
• Which ones look like obvious spam?
• Which domains create too many links?

This gives you a cleaner view.

Step 4: Filter for Low-Value Domains

Now begin your soft disavow filtering.

In Ahrefs, you can filter your backlink reports by different metrics and attributes. Your exact interface may change over time, but the logic remains the same.

Start by looking for domains with:

• Very low DR
• Very low or zero organic traffic
• Irrelevant language
• Irrelevant country
• Suspicious link patterns
• Too many links from one domain
• Strange anchors
• No real topical relevance

Do not automatically assume low DR equals spam.

A new niche blog, local community site, or small supplier website may have low DR and still be legitimate.

Low DR is a starting filter, not a final decision.

Step 5: Use Organic Traffic as a Reality Check

One of the best ways to judge a referring domain is to check whether it gets organic traffic.

A site with zero traffic is not automatically toxic, but it deserves closer review.

A real site usually has some signs of life:

• Organic traffic
• Real pages
• Real topical focus
• Real audience
• Normal navigation
• Natural outbound links
• A purpose beyond selling links

A spam site often has:

• No meaningful traffic
• Thin or spun content
• Random topics
• Many outbound links
• Weird anchors
• Auto-generated pages
• No clear audience

Use traffic as a filter to reduce noise.

But still use judgment.

Step 6: Apply the “Best Links” Filter

Ahrefs introduced a “Best links” filter to help users focus on higher-quality backlinks based on configurable criteria.

By default, this kind of filter may prioritize links from domains with stronger DR, meaningful traffic, and other quality signals.

This is extremely useful for soft disavow reporting.

Instead of asking:

“Which links are toxic?”

Ask:

“Which links are good enough to include in my core backlink report?”

This flips the process.

Rather than obsessing over every bad link, you build a clean view of your meaningful links.

Use the Best Links filter to create a report of backlinks that meet your quality threshold.

Then analyze the junk separately.

Step 7: Create Your Own Soft Disavow Rules

Every site is different, so your filters should not be universal.

A local plumbing company and a national SaaS company should not use the exact same backlink standards.

Here are sample soft disavow rules you can adapt.

Conservative Local Business Filter

Use this if you are auditing a local business.

Exclude from your main report:

• Obvious foreign spam
• Casino/adult/pharma domains
• Domains with no topical or local relevance
• Domains with zero traffic and auto-generated content
• Sitewide links with exact-match anchors
• Scraper pages
• Hacked pages

Keep for review:

• Local directories
• Chamber of commerce links
• Local sponsor pages
• Supplier links
• Community event pages
• Local blogs
• Trade association pages

For local SEO, low-authority links can still be relevant.

Do not filter too aggressively.

Content Site / Affiliate Filter

Use this if you run a blog, review site, or affiliate site.

Exclude from your main report:

• Scraper sites
• Auto-generated RSS pages
• Zero-traffic spam blogs
• Irrelevant foreign domains
• Adult/casino/pharma spam
• Comment spam
• Profile spam
• Domains with no real topical connection

Keep for review:

• Niche blogs
• Editorial mentions
• Resource pages
• Podcast pages
• Guest post mentions
• Roundup links
• Forum links with real discussion

SaaS / B2B Filter

Use this if you run a software or B2B site.

Exclude from your main report:

• Irrelevant mass directories
• Exact-match anchor spam
• Zero-traffic link farms
• Auto-generated “software listing” junk
• Suspicious foreign content farms

Keep for review:

• Integration partner links
• Software review sites
• SaaS directories
• Industry publications
• Customer case studies
• Comparison pages
• Startup directories
• Podcast/interview links

The key is context.

A link that looks weak for one site may be normal for another.

Step 8: Use Anchor Text to Find Real Problems

Anchor text is one of the fastest ways to spot unnatural links.

In Ahrefs, open the Anchors report.

Look for patterns.

Natural anchors usually include:

• Brand name
• URL
• Product name
• Person name
• “Click here”
• “Learn more”
• Natural phrase snippets

Riskier anchors include repeated exact-match commercial keywords like:

• best SEO agency
• cheap backlinks
• personal injury lawyer near me
• emergency plumber Dallas
• buy crypto now
• payday loans online

If you see lots of exact-match anchors from low-quality domains, that deserves deeper review.

One weird anchor is not a crisis.

Patterns matter.

Step 9: Filter by Link Type and Attribute

Ahrefs lets you filter backlinks by link attributes and types, such as:

• Dofollow
• Nofollow
• UGC
• Sponsored
• Redirect
• Content links
• Image links

For soft disavow reporting, separate these link types.

Why?

Because not every link should be judged the same way.

A nofollow blog comment from a weak page may not matter.

A dofollow exact-match link from a link farm is more concerning.

A sponsored link may be fine if properly attributed.

A sitewide footer link with commercial anchor text may require review.

Filter by attributes to decide what actually deserves your attention.

Step 10: Use “One Link Per Domain” to Reduce Noise

If available in your report view, use a “one link per domain” style filter.

This prevents one spammy domain from dominating your export with hundreds or thousands of URLs.

For example:

• spamdomain.com/page1
• spamdomain.com/page2
• spamdomain.com/page3
• spamdomain.com/page4

That may look like a huge problem in a backlink count.

But at the domain level, it is one referring domain.

Review the domain.

Then decide whether to ignore it, monitor it, or include it in a hard disavow file if truly necessary.

Step 11: Build Three Reporting Buckets

This is the core of the soft disavow method.

Create three buckets.

Bucket 1: Best Links

These are the backlinks you want to show in your main report.

They may include:

• Relevant editorial links
• Real business mentions
• Local links
• Industry citations
• Partner links
• Resource page links
• High-traffic referring domains
• Strong niche blogs
• Reputable directories
• Press mentions

This is the backlink profile you care about.

Bucket 2: Ignore for Reporting

These are links you do not need to panic about, but you also do not want them cluttering your dashboard.

They may include:

• Scrapers
• Weak RSS copies
• Random low-traffic pages
• Irrelevant nofollow links
• Foreign junk domains
• Auto-generated pages
• Low-value directories

You are not disavowing these.

You are excluding them from your internal analysis.

Bucket 3: Escalate for Manual Review

These are the links that may require action.

They may include:

• Paid links
• PBN links
• Hacked pages
• Exact-match anchor spam
• Link farms
• Sitewide commercial links
• Manipulative guest post networks
• Links from domains you or your agency built unnaturally

Only this third bucket should be considered for removal or hard disavow.

Step 12: Export Clean Reports

Once you apply filters, export your reports.

Create separate exports for:

• Best links
• Low-quality/noise links
• Links requiring manual review
• Exact-match anchor risks
• Zero-traffic suspicious referring domains
• Sitewide or repeated domain links

This makes your audit easier to explain.

If you work with clients, this also creates clearer reporting.

Instead of saying, “You have 12,000 backlinks and many are bad,” you can say:

“We identified 246 meaningful referring domains, 1,800 low-value links to exclude from routine reporting, and 17 domains requiring manual review.”

That is a much better conversation.

Step 13: Decide Whether a Hard Disavow Is Needed

After soft filtering, ask:

• Do we have a manual action?
• Did we build paid or manipulative links?
• Is there a clear link scheme?
• Are the suspicious links numerous and patterned?
• Are exact-match anchors being abused?
• Can we remove links manually?
• Would disavowing these domains be defensible?

If the answer is no, do not rush to Google’s disavow tool.

If the answer is yes, create a conservative disavow file.

Example Soft Disavow Workflow in Ahrefs

Here is a practical example.

Imagine your site has 8,500 backlinks.

That sounds scary.

But after using Ahrefs:

• You switch to referring domains.
• You apply a Best Links filter.
• You filter for domains with traffic.
• You exclude obvious scraper links.
• You review exact-match anchors.
• You find only 42 domains that actually deserve manual review.

Now your audit is manageable.

You did not delete anything.

You did not disavow anything.

You simply cleaned up the reporting noise.

That is the power of soft disavow.

What Not to Exclude Too Aggressively

Be careful with these.

Local Links

Small local websites often have low DR and low traffic.

That does not make them bad.

Examples:

• Chamber of commerce
• Local events
• Local blogs
• Sponsorship pages
• Community organizations
• Local directories
• Vendor pages

Niche-Relevant Blogs

A small niche blog may not have massive traffic, but it may still be relevant and legitimate.

If the content is real and the link makes sense, do not exclude it too quickly.

Partner Links

Vendors, suppliers, clients, software partners, franchise pages, and associations may all create unusual-looking links.

Review context before filtering them out.

Branded Mentions

A low-metric link with a branded anchor may be harmless or useful.

Do not judge only by DR.

When You Should Actually Disavow

A hard disavow may make sense if:

• You received a manual action.
• You bought links in the past.
• A past agency built manipulative links.
• You used PBNs.
• You joined link schemes.
• You see large-scale exact-match anchor spam.
• You cannot remove the bad links manually.
• You are cleaning up before reconsideration.

Even then, be conservative.

Disavow domains only when you are confident the links are harmful or manipulative.

Why This Method Is Safer Than Panic Disavowing

The soft disavow method protects you from two mistakes.

Mistake 1: Ignoring Link Spam Completely

If you never review links, you may miss real problems.

Mistake 2: Overreacting to Link Spam

If you disavow too aggressively, you may remove legitimate signals.

Soft disavow gives you the middle path.

You clean the data.

You reduce noise.

You escalate only what matters.

Internal Link: Read the Toxic Link Audit Pillar

This article focuses on Ahrefs and the soft disavow method.

For the full comparison of Semrush vs. Ahrefs, read:

The Ultimate Toxic Link Audit: Semrush vs. Ahrefs 2026 Edition

That pillar article explains why Semrush is better for automated toxic score workflows, why Ahrefs is better for raw backlink review, and when Mangools can be a budget-friendly backlink export alternative.

Suggested Visuals for This Article

To make this post stronger in WordPress, add:

1. Soft Disavow vs. Hard Disavow Table
   Show the difference between internal filtering and Google disavow.
2. Ahrefs Filtering Workflow Screenshot
   Site Explorer → Backlinks → filters → Best Links.
3. Three-Bucket Audit Graphic
   Best Links / Ignore for Reporting / Escalate for Manual Review.
4. Anchor Text Risk Chart
   Natural anchors vs. exact-match spam anchors.
5. Disavow Decision Tree
   Manual action? Paid links? Link scheme? If no, use soft disavow first.

Conclusion: Clean Your Reporting Before You Touch Google

If you are looking for the missing disavow button in Ahrefs, you are asking the wrong question.

Ahrefs is not built around panic.

It is built around data.

Instead of giving you a giant toxic score and pushing you toward a disavow file, Ahrefs gives you filters, backlink data, traffic signals, referring domains, anchors, and link context.

That makes it ideal for the soft disavow method.

Use Ahrefs to exclude spam links from your internal reporting.

Use filters to focus on links that matter.

Use traffic, DR, relevance, anchor text, and link context to separate real signals from noise.

Then only consider Google’s disavow tool if there is a serious reason, such as paid links, link schemes, or a manual action.

Do not let ugly backlinks clutter your dashboard.

But do not let dashboard cleanup become reckless SEO surgery.

Clean the data first.

Protect the site second.

Disavow only when necessary.

Have you ever used Ahrefs to clean up a messy backlink profile, or do you prefer tools that give you a direct toxic score?