The site's visibility is zero. I need your help!

[Venom_F]

I couldn't choose a section for this question for a long time. Perhaps this is the best one.
Here's the problem - I haven't worked on the site for about 2.5 years. In May 2023, someone posted a bunch of spam links to my site. This can be seen from the graph in the screenshot. And the site's visibility began to fade until it went almost to zero.
A few weeks ago, I finished adding new materials to the site (movies, TV series with the ability to watch online). I added new sections to bring it back to relevance. But nothing helped and the site's visibility remains at zero.
There are no manual actions taken in the Google Search console. No warnings or errors. It's just that nothing changed on the site and it suddenly crashed.
Could this be the effect of spam links?
I was already thinking about canceling all these links using Google tools. But Google itself says that links should only be canceled if there are manual actions taken in the Google Search console.
Has anyone encountered this? Advise me what to do?

 

[Jokey_]

From what I’ve seen, negative SEO spammy backlinks usually doesn’t tank a site by itself unless there are other issues. If there are no manual actions in GSC, it’s more likely an algorithmic filter or just outdated/low quality content compared to competition.
You could still disavow the spam links as a precaution it won’t hurt. But I’d also look at updating content quality, internal linking, and technical SEO crawlability, Core Web Vitals, indexation). Sometimes when a site stays inactive for years, competitors overtake and Google stops giving it trust.
So I’d suggest: disavow as insurance, but focus on content and technical improvements.

 

[MaxGuard]

Should've disavowed those spam links way sooner. That's the first step and then try to figure out next steps.

 

[metersaver]

Spam links might have played a part but if visibility dropped to zero it is more likely tied to algorithm changes and the niche you are in. Disavowing spam links could help a bit, but focusing on rebuilding trust with fresh quality content and strong internal linking usually makes more difference. It may just take some time for Google to reassess your site.

 

[Venom_F]

I will add that the structure of the site did not change. Nothing changed. And in the middle of this period, visibility simply went to zero. Internal interlinking is arranged quite standardly, but effectively (automatically). Therefore, there is no point in redoing anything.

 

[Venom_F]

I was also thinking about which links to exclude. I don't want to manually go through all 600. I'll probably exclude everything with DR<10
What do you think about this?

 

[Glad]

I’ve been in a similar situation with one of my old sites. Spam links definitely can have a long-term negative effect, even if you don’t see manual actions in GSC. Sometimes it just looks like your site “died” in the rankings. What helped me was not only cleaning up toxic backlinks but also focusing on getting fresh, high-quality traffic sources. For example, I tested MGID for driving some relevant traffic back to my site, and it actually helped me to show Google that my site is alive and active again. It’s not a magic fix, but combining disavow + new quality content + external traffic signals eventually gave results.

 

[proxygo]

A site visibility of zero means your pages aren't ranking
high enough in search engines like Google to be seen by users,
often because they aren't indexed, are blocked,
or lack quality content and technical SEO

 

[Venom_F]

A site visibility of zero means your pages aren't ranking
high enough in search engines like Google to be seen by users,
often because they aren't indexed, are blocked,
or lack quality content and technical SEO

The thing is that about 2.5 year ago all those pages were OK, and contet was OK for Google.

 

[GreyFrogEX]

Disavowing them was indeed a good option to start with, out of interest - how much time did it take you to notice them and take care of them?
How can you do a smart filtration of all of them using Semrush? always found it very complex and manual to do it with large amounts of them?

 

[techsavvyguide]

Patience is key - SEO recovery after spam or inactivity can take several months.

 

[Venom_F]

Here is more information about what has happened (ahrefs). Maybe I really should use Google's disavow tool to clean up my backlink profile?
Due to this graph - there is a connection between a "link blast" and organic positions decrease. Honestly, I haven't been posting any content for the last 2.5 years. Except last 3 months - I've poster lost of content (rewrites done by AI). But pls, don't tell me that this is an issue

 

[henrybrown14]

Try improving internal linking and site structure to help google crawl and index your new sections.

 

[Venom_F]

Try improving internal linking and site structure to help google crawl and index your new sections.

Site structure is the same as before. Internal linking logic is typical for this niche. I don't know what to change or improve.

 

[Mason Perry]

Spam links can hurt, but if there's no manual action, focus on building fresh, high-quality content and organic backlinks.

 

[jennaporter65]

Updating content is good, but rebuilding trust after spam takes time.

 

[loganphelps1]

Try cleaning up spam links and improving internal structure, Google may need time to re-evaluate.

 

[Kwabena Asante]

"Spam links can slowly erode visibility without manual action. If the links look really toxic, you can disavow them, but be careful. Keep updating content, fix on-page stuff, create clean links, and wait for Google to recrawl."

 

[Carrington Bruce]

"If the site has been inactive for years + is experiencing spam links, visibility may decrease without any manual action. Only discard if the links are clearly toxic. Update content, fix on-page issues, create clean links, and wait for Google to re-crawl."

 

[James M Johson]

"If the site has been inactive for years + has been getting spammy links, the rankings may drop without manual action. Only cancel if the links are clearly toxic. Keep updating the content, fix the technical issues, build clean links and wait for Google. Recovery takes time.


-