That email from Google is one every site owner dreads: the “Unnatural Links Warning.” Seeing your rankings plummet is a tough blow, but this warning is your clear path forward. It’s a mandate to clean up your site’s backlink profile and rebuild its good standing.
Consider this your essential PostPack Guide. We’ll walk you through the proven steps to diagnose the issue, remove the harmful links, and submit a successful reconsideration request to get your site back on track.
Red Alert from Google: The True Cost of an Unnatural Links Warning
An unnatural links warning means Google has detected some suspicious backlinks pointing to your website. These are links that look like they were built to manipulate search results rather than earned naturally. In simple words, Google thinks some of your backlinks break their quality rules.
According to Google Search Central’s spam policies, buying or manipulating backlinks violates their webmaster guidelines.
Google Doesn’t Trust Your Backlinks: Here’s Why
Google’s job is to show honest, relevant search results. When it finds websites gaining unfair advantages through link schemes or paid backlinks, it sends a warning. The goal is actually to protect the audience from poor content and maintain fair competition.
Here are the most common reasons:
- Buying backlinks from low-quality or irrelevant websites
- Using private blog networks or automated link builders
- Repeated anchor text targeting the same keyword
- Excessive guest posting for backlinks only
- Links from spammy directories or comment sections
Even if you didn’t create those links yourself, your website can still get affected. Sometimes old SEO practices or harmful competitor attacks trigger this unnatural links warning.
How to Know Which Links Are Bad
Once you receive the warning, the first thing you should do is check your backlinks. Focus on links that look strange or irrelevant.
Here’s how to spot them:
- Links from websites with unrelated topics
- Repeated links with the same anchor text
- Foreign or spammy sites with no real content
- Links from website footers or sidebars on every page
These patterns often tell Google that your backlinks are unnatural.
Steps to Fix an Unnatural Links Warning
The recovery process takes time, but it’s absolutely worth it. Follow these steps carefully.
1. Audit All Backlinks
Just download your full backlink list from Google Search Console. Sort them by relevance, authority and quality. Mark the ones that look suspicious.
If you’re dealing with a full-scale SEO penalty, not just a link warning, you’ll benefit from reading our complete guide on recovering from backlink penalties
2. Request Removal of Bad Links
Reach out to the owners of those websites and politely ask them to remove your links. Keep a record of your communication because you’ll need it later for your reconsideration request.
3. Use the Disavow Tool
If some links can’t be removed, you can ask Google to ignore them by uploading a disavow file. This tells Google, “Please don’t count these backlinks.”
4. Submit a Reconsideration Request
After the cleanup, go to Google Search Console and submit a reconsideration request. Explain that you found and removed unnatural backlinks, and provide proof of your cleanup effort.
5. Wait for Google’s Response
Google usually reviews requests within a few weeks. If they see real effort, they remove the manual action, and your rankings will slowly improve.
Recovering After an Unnatural Links Warning
Getting the penalty removed is only the beginning. The next step is rebuilding trust and improving your link profile naturally.
Here are safe and smart ways to build links after recovery:
- Publish detailed, helpful guides that others want to reference
- Collaborate with bloggers through quality guest posts
- Share unique research or statistics to attract organic mentions
- Engage with journalists for natural PR coverage
- Encourage customers or partners to mention your brand
When you focus on earning links instead of creating them, you build long-term authority.
Types of Links and Their Risk Levels
| Link Type | Risk Level | Recommendation |
| Paid backlinks | Very High | Avoid completely |
| Comment backlinks | High | Use only if relevant |
| Guest post links | Low | Safe when content is useful |
| Directory listings | Medium | Choose quality directories |
| Editorial mentions | Very Low | Best for long-term SEO |
| PBN links | Very High | Never use |
Preventing Future Warnings
Once your site is clean, your goal is to stay clean. Here’s how you can prevent another warning:
- Keep checking backlinks every month
- Never buy backlinks or participate in link exchanges
- Use natural anchor text variations
- Publish original and shareable content
- Focus on quality, not quantity
Good SEO is not about shortcuts. It’s about patience, consistency, and trust.
People Also Ask
1. I just got an Unnatural Links Warning. What does this actually mean?
2. Will my website disappear from Google completely after warning?
3. I never built spammy links. Why did I get this penalty?
4. Can’t I just use the Disavow Tool and be done with it?
5. What if Google rejects my Reconsideration Request?
6. Once the penalty is lifted from my website, will my rankings bounce right back again?
Summing Up
An unnatural links warning doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It simply and truly means it’s time to step back, clean up the mess and rebuild smarter. Many top websites have been in this exact spot and they’ve bounced back even stronger.
So, if your site is under the same warning, take it as your chance to reset. Remove the harmful links, improve your link strategy, and focus on genuine SEO growth. And when you’re ready to rebuild with safe, high-authority backlinks, Postspack’s link insertion service is a great place to start.
