- Bing Webmaster Tools is slated to withdraw the disavow links functionality in October 2023
- Bing’s asserts that its advanced A.I. can effectively differentiate between organic and unnatural links
- Site owners are strongly advised to uphold Bing’s directives regarding link-related misconduct
Bing’s announcement will impact those SEO’s who have been reliant on their disavow tool to clean up toxic links and negative SEO attacks. Originally released in 2012, Bing’s disavow links tools formed a part of Bing Webmaster Tools and was set up to allow site owners to negate the effects (good or bad) of any links they specify.
Much like Google, Bing set out to penalise sites engaged in dodgy link building practices, but (much like Google) struggled to differentiate between those links that were put in place by the webmasters as a shortcut to top rankings, and those put in place by jealous competitors out to “frame them” for the very same thing. Now (very much like Google) Bing claim to be able to tell the difference using advanced artificial intelligence (A.I.).
Bing claims that enhancements in their artificial intelligence technology have rendered manual link disavowal obsolete and that updated algorithms are now equipped with the capability to decipher the “context and intent” behind links on a case by case basis – counting only genuine links towards rankings, and automatically discounting those perceived as unnatural or untrustworthy altogether.
Despite this, Bing also signpost their guidelines in the same announcement, drawing webmaster’s attention to their policies on link schemes, spam and link buying.
Book a Free Acquisitions Workshop today
Need help getting rid of toxic links or don’t know where to start? Our Free Acquisitions Workshops offer invaluable insights, personalised action plans, and free resources, which will help to get your site cleaned up of any spam or negative links. Slots are filling up fast, so book today to avoid disappointment!
