What Is Negative SEO? How to Spot and Stop an Attack on WordPress
Negative SEO is when someone tries to hurt your Google rankings on purpose. Learn the common attacks, real examples, how to spot one on WordPress, and when disavowing actually helps.
Spurn for WordPress Turn backlink exports into a clean disavow file.
Spurn collects spam domains and links from any backlink export. You review them, keep them as dated sets, and export a file in Google's format.
- Free
- No account
- Nothing sent to outside services
See it in action
Screenshots
How it works
From export to upload in five steps.
Spurn lives under Tools → Spurn. Only admins can open it.
01 · Paste
Add your export
Paste a list or drop a .txt, .csv or .tsv file. Spurn picks out the domains and links.
02 · Review
Check what's new
Repeats are dropped. New entries show with tick boxes. Risky ones start unticked.
03 · Save
Keep it as a set
Each batch is saved with the date, its source, and a reason if you add one.
04 · Export
Build the file
Download a disavow file in Google's format. Meters show it against Google's limits.
05 · Upload
Send it to Google
Upload it in Google's disavow links tool, then mark the upload in Spurn.
What it does
Everything included, free.
Reads messy exports
Plain lists, Ahrefs and Semrush exports, CSVs and old disavow files. UTF-16 files, smart quotes, bullets and links like example[.]com work too.
Drops repeats
Anything already on your list is skipped. So is a subdomain or link that a listed domain already covers.
Understands subdomains
It uses the Public Suffix List. A shared host like blogspot.com or pages.dev never hides the separate sites on it.
Flags risky entries
Shared hosts, your own site, big platforms, unknown endings and very long links start unticked. You decide.
Dated sets
Every batch keeps its date, source and reason. Edit, copy or delete a set. Removals and deletions can be undone.
Google-ready export
One click builds the disavow file, with optional comments per set. A plain list is there for Bing and other tools.
Upload tracking
Mark each upload to Google. Spurn shows what you've added since the last one.
Compare with Google
Paste the file Google already has. See what's missing on either side and import the difference in one click.
Built for big lists
Tested with 105,000 entries. It saves in small batches and adds nothing to your site's public pages.
Who it's for
For site owners and SEOs who disavow.
A good fit if
- ✓You have a manual action for unnatural links in Search Console.
- ✓You know of paid or spammy links to your site that you can't get removed.
- ✓You already keep a disavow file and want to know what's in it, when it was added, and why.
- ✓You work from Ahrefs, Semrush or Search Console link exports.
You may not need it if
- —Your site has no manual action and no links you know are bad. Most sites never need to disavow.
- —You want links removed for you. Spurn builds the file. You upload it to Google yourself.
Before you disavow
Google says most sites don't need the disavow tool. Google can usually tell which links to trust without help. Used the wrong way, disavowing can hurt how your site does in Google Search.
Google's advice is to disavow only when you have many spammy or paid links to your site, and they caused a manual action or likely will. Review every entry first. That is why Spurn has a review step and starts risky entries unticked.
Questions
Common questions, answered directly.
Does Spurn upload my file to Google?
No. Google doesn't offer an API for disavow files. Spurn builds the file, and you upload it in Google's disavow links tool. The Upload tab walks you through it.
Does Spurn send my data anywhere?
No. All processing happens in your browser and your WordPress database. There's no account and nothing is sent to outside services.
Which exports can I paste in?
Plain lists, Ahrefs and Semrush exports, Search Console link exports, CSV and TSV files, and existing disavow files. Paste the text or drop a .txt, .csv or .tsv file. UTF-8 and UTF-16 both work.
Why does a link from http and https count twice?
Google's documentation doesn't say that http and https versions of a link are the same. So Spurn keeps them as separate entries to be safe. Disavowing the whole domain covers both.
How big a list can Spurn handle?
It was tested with 105,000 entries. Google's own limits are 100,000 lines and 2 MB per file, and Spurn shows meters for both before you download.
Can I try it before installing it on my own site?
Yes. The "Try it live" button above opens a real copy of Spurn in your browser through WordPress Playground, with a small sample list already added. There is nothing to install and no account to make.
What happens to my data when I delete the plugin?
Deleting Spurn from the Plugins screen removes its database tables and settings.
Get Spurn
Free, with no account.
Get it from the WordPress.org plugin directory, or search for Spurn under Plugins → Add New Plugin in your dashboard.
From the blog
Guides on disavow and spam links
Meet Spurn: a free WordPress plugin for a cleaner disavow file
Spurn is a free WordPress plugin that keeps a dated record of every domain and link you disavow, flags risky entries before they reach Google, and exports a clean disavow file.