Client is Disavowing their OWN URLs

[Chips Ahoy McCoy]

I am conducting research on a potential client to determine if they are a good fit for me. The client has recently submitted a disavow file which blocks 400 domains and around 2,000 URLs. A significant number of the URLs they've blocked belong to the client's own website and contain parameters that lead to a single adult site at the end of the URL.

Example: clientsite.com/?URL=siteinquestion.com/result/type%of%adult

All of these URLs 301 redirect to the clients root domain. When going directly to the parameter URL it leads to what you would think, however, there are no backlinks to the client's site when reviewing the source code. Additionally, in Ahrefs the domain in question is not present in the client's backlink profile.

What do you think happened? Were they hacked? Also, I don't see a point of adding these URLs to a disavow file. Would you agree?

[engine]

That all seems a bit of a mystery, and a concern.

It's quite possible there was a url injection at some point, and this may be the result.

If someone has already submitted a disavow file, someone knows about it. I'd ask them.

[not2easy]

Spammy sites create an appearance of 'backlinks' using URL resources that do not exist. When you see these 'links' in GSC it is best to ignore them rather than spending time to create disavow lists. They disappear in short order and Google recognizes them for spam/junk and sees them for what they are.

The disavow list is for backlinks you bought and now regret so submitting a list of links you did not create is not worth the time.

Previous discussions here and at other reliable sources tell us that the use of the disavow list has been discouraged for several years - unless the list is links you created - or when Manual Actions are relative.
See:

[webmasterworld.com...] (2022)
[searchenginejournal.com...] (2019)
[seroundtable.com...] (2017)

[tangor]

Is g actually believing disavow files any longer? Been awhile, but wasn't there a change regarding the use of disavow a year or so back?

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Disavowing your own site is a bad idea. You own the site, fix it.

[TessCompton]

It's possible the client's website was compromised or hacked, leading to these unwanted adult-themed URLs. If these URLs don't appear in the client's backlink profile, it might not be necessary to include them in the disavow file. However, it's essential to investigate the source of these URLs, remove any malicious code, and ensure the website's security to prevent future issues.