Bing Webmaster Tools is set to remove its disavow links feature in October 2023. Introduced in 2012, the feature helped webmasters avoid negative SEO attacks. However, with advancements in artificial intelligence, Bing can now differentiate between natural and unnatural links, eliminating the need for the disavow feature.
Bing Webmaster Tools: Major Updates Coming in October 2023
In a bid to streamline and simplify Bing Webmaster Tools, the removal of the disavow links feature and its associated API has been announced for October 2023.
Understanding the Disavow Links Feature
Introduced in 2012, the disavow links feature allowed webmasters to indicate which inbound links should not be considered in assessing their site’s quality and relevance. This feature was particularly useful in combating negative SEO attacks, where low-quality or spammy links were created or bought to harm competitors’ rankings.
“The disavow links feature was introduced in 2012 as a way for webmasters to tell us which inbound links they did not want us to consider when assessing their site’s quality and relevance.”
Why the Change?
With advancements in technology and heavy investments in artificial intelligence capabilities, Bing can now better understand the context and intent of links, as well as the trustworthiness of their sources. This development allows Bing to differentiate between natural and unnatural links, ignoring or discounting the latter without affecting the former.
“However, times have changed and so has our technology. We have invested heavily in developing and improving our artificial intelligence capabilities, which enables us to better understand the context and intent of links.”
What This Means for Webmasters
Webmasters can now focus more on creating high-quality content and building genuine relationships with other reputable sites in their industry, rather than spending time and resources auditing and disavowing links.
Continued Attention to Guidelines
Despite this change, Bing still recommends paying special attention to the “Abuse section” and examples in the “Things to avoid” section of Bing Webmaster Tools Webmaster Guidelines. Violations such as Link Schemes, Link Buying, and Link Spamming can lead to delisting from the Bing index.
Continued Control Over Link Profile Evaluation
Understanding that webmasters may still want some control over how their link profile is evaluated, Bing will continue to provide the Bing Webmaster Tools backlink report, displaying inbound link data for any website.
If you have any questions or concerns about this change, Bing encourages you to reach out through their help center or Bing webmaster tools support.
“We appreciate your ongoing feedback and support as we strive to provide you with the best possible service.”
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