What is a PBN, how do they work, and are they still a viable option for ranking?

The problem isn't link networks, the problem is buying links on spammy public link networks that drop links from dozens of irrelevant niches on junk articles.

If it looks like spam, it's spam.

What you have heard about Google smiting those that use them almost always fall into two categories:

1. Public Blog Networks - These are easily found because they are Public, as in publicly announced and available. Google finds these just as easy as you do, can join them themselves, and de-index the entire network, taking along with them their respective linked-to sites. Not good. Public is not Private. Keep that in mind.

2. Private Blog Networks - These almost never get found or taken down, if done correctly. People who do them incorrectly are the ones that get caught and taken down. People who do them correctly almost never do.

I can't speak for Spencer Haws (never heard of him), but I and everyone here can vouch for the two Mikes. Take heed or ye shall be smitten and will forever burn in eternal flames of hell (just keeping in with your comment that PBN's are the spawn of the devil.. which they are.. bwahaha lol!)

They work fantastically well. That's why Google has been trying to discourage their use.

There are different ways you can build them to make them safer and less likely to feel Google's wrath.

But to answer your question, yes they work.

Thank you both for your answers. lol. Do either of you know, MikeFriedman and jinx1221, what a good source would be to learn about creating my own PBN? Maybe a tutorials, blog, site, etc,.? Anything to teach me how to do this properly? Thanks!

Building PBN(s) is still a good way to get a great boost for your rankings. However, you need to set them up in the right way.

Here are some notes on that:

1. Your websites must be relevant and of high quality.
2. Must be full of quality original content.
3. Very low outbound links (less than 5).
4. Must link out to authority websites.
5. Must contain relevant images and videos.
6. You must not use the same keyword over many websites.
7. The websites of the private blog networks must not be hosted on the same server. They must be hosted at different A class servers. (Yes, A and not C).
8. You must not connect the sites of the PBN together in any way, shape or form.

There are many other notes that you need to pay attention to as well, a full guide can be found at my signature area.

Overall, focus on your quality content and invest in social media marketing. A good balanced decent marketing technique is the best way to drive good traffic for your website.

Hope that helps!

As others have stated, private PBNs work best--but only if you don't leave footprints for Google to catch ya.

Something else that's been working wonders for me lately? Web 2.0 properties, frankly, if "done" right, just like PBNs. Good, relevant content, low outbound links, etc, etc.

I built a couple of PBNs in Tumblr that I use regularly and so far everything seems good. Been using them for a couple years now.

I knew a guy who built a massive one with WordPress sites and he did pretty well for a while with that. Still might; I don't know because I don't talk to him anymore.

Another tip is Anonymity. Create a fake persona for each PBN you build. No Google webmaster tools. No Google analytics. Use a plugin like spyder spanker to hide your site from Majestic, ahrefs bots

You want these sites to fly under the radar as much as possible.

Hi,

PBN's have worked magic for me over the last several months but you need to be careful how you create them, add content and build links from them. Google has started to de-index PBN's and many people have been "HIT" hard after the the algo rolled out. However, there is a safe strategy you can use to make sure you stay on the good side of things.

I've written a pretty lengthy posts about PBN best practices and I'll share the things you need to keep in mind when building them.

Now obviously these are things to change however keeping in mind the obvious like creating different email addresses, don't use same affiliate links as banners or within content. If you can use a proxy and change location when registering domain or web 2.0 properties, etc.

With the obvious in mind...

1) Write high quality content relevant to your “targeted” website. Content should be in-depth well over the normal threshold of 500-600 words. I usually write content 900-1500 words. If you have trouble writing content this long then spread out the process over several days writing 200 words per day.

2) Frequency should be no more than “2” posts per week. However make sure to follow the linking strategy mentioned in the next step.

3) DO NOT link out every post. You need to have websites look as real as possible which means NOT having your content always linking to your “targeted” website. You CAN link out to other relevant authority websites within your content. DO NOT exceed more than “1” external link to a relevant source.

4) Every 4th piece of content published should be linked to your “targeted” website. Include no more than “2” links going to “2” separate pages. When building links it’s important to mix around the keywords between “anchor” and “related”.

5) Make sure to keep working on the design of your website so it looks as real as possible. For example, add a Home, About Us and Contact Us page. Next, add some menus relevant to your niche making it more realistic. It’s not important to do this all in one day but when you have time…work on the design!

@AskAnAffiliate Great advice man!

When building out your PBNs do you make sure that the backlink footprint on the old domain matches the content on the target site?

By that I mean that the existing backlinks to the old domain are relevant to the target site content and thus the content placed on the PBN.

Hi,

Yes! This is very important!

When I purchased domains, I do a thorough check to make sure that the domain had a history of relevance to my "target" website. For example, if my website is about "health& weight loss" I
ll make sure I target a High PR, PA and DA which is relevant to my "target" website. I can use some tools like AHREFS to track the link profile of the domain I'm planning on purchasing.

Now,

It doesn't have to be spot on but can be relevant to my "target" website. If the domain is in the same niche or close, I can create content and go from there. However, do some more checks before like to see if domain has been blacklisted or forwarded to another domain by the person who owned it before. Many times people will forward there old domain to a new one which means much of the juice or relevance will be redirected to their new website.

However,

If no forwards or hasn't been blacklisted I move onto the next step which is planning my content and keyword variation. I basically follow the rules I posted above.

Thanks and let me know if I answered your question or if you have anymore.

Hi,

When I first started PBN's I followed the advice of pioneers in the industry. Once some of them got penalized, we decided to try different things over several months to see what produces the best results. My strategy has always been to be careful because getting a manual penalty will be a tough strike to recover from especially when your brand is at stake.

Anyway,

1) I suggest different length content so that the website looks natural and NOT all the same. For example, 500-600 words don't really do it for me or for Google. If you are trying to build authority, it's important to shake things up. Again, I said try different length content however I personally like going with longer content as it shows effort on your end.

2) Setting them up and never post again. Are you using auto posting software? If so, I would stay away, you've probably had success now but it could be problems going forward. If writing content is an issue, I would hire someone to get the writing done for me.

3) I meant linking to "1" relevant source per article. Again, I'm speaking from my experience and how I've done well using this formula. You have to remember, it's a slower process but safer process.

4) NOT linking more than once. Well, I link once every 4th or 5th article to again make a PBN website look natural. Again, from my experience, I've done very well using this strategy.

You have to remember, you have to keep building the authority of each website in order for a PBN to produce magic. I've kept producing consist manual content on each website and 1-2 twice a month, I add another website. I build through both expired domains and use web 2.0 properties.

This has done very well for me and I haven't been hit by any penalty.

Hi Mike,

Wow! That's a lot of external links within an article you claim is NOT that long. I just hope they are relevant links and back up whatever point your making within the content.

Next,

I have a few websites which have 7-8 published posts and growing each week. I've linked to external high authority blog's numerous times and many of these authority external websites have a pingback feature which automatically links back to my website. I agree they will be do-follow but great to trickle some traffic to my PBN website. With that said...

I don't think it would be an issue if I have a natural looking website to link back to my target website every 5th-6th article published on my PBN. It would be the same as linking to external relevant sources just like I’ve done numerous times before but this time it would be to my “target” website.

I just make sure I link to websites which are solid and reputable. I have always taken an approach to PBN which is to built high authority websites with loads of awesome content. Why? Simple, once there built they can be an asset for years and will keep growing as an asset. For course, that’s if they haven’t been penalized or removed!

Hi,

I've always kept mine to "1" external relevant source per article and "1" "target" link every 5th or 6th article.

It's a good way to keep things smooth.

There is an example, where this guy created PBN's (I'M AFRAID TO POST LINK HERE). He got "HIT" hard after the Google update. When you go to his website, you see nothing but 6-7 links on each page. Honestly, it looked so fixed and unnatural that I said I would never do that! Google killed him and dropped like 26 websites from his PBN.

Hi,

I think thats what they do however you'll never 100% know. For example, they have a automatic system in place to detect un-natural patterns and send a list of websites to manual checkers who go through looking for patterns. You need to understand..

Once you've been flagged, your always under the eye!

Funny reading this stuff while I've had site wide links to multiple domains (not all my own domains) for years on pages that still rank today. No slaps.

Hi,

I'm hoping some will provide feedback to this...

"Hi,

Quick question to everyone who has a PBN network...

What is the ratio your using between expired domains and Web 2.0 properties. I've started to focus more attention on WEB 2.0 properties as a fellow blogger has had success with them.

Any thoughts and feedback will be good."

Thanks for the reply however you need to remember right off the BAT they could be...

For example, I can buy an expired domain with an established DA & PA, links and relevancy. However with web 2.0 I would have an established DA, for example, weebly.com or blogger.com and would need to work on the PA and building links to each web 2.0 property.

The reason I asked was to figure out how effective they are in boosting rankings for targeted websites. Many people don't have a financial backing to buy high established domains and hosting each month.

I have heard many people have success but wanted to know if you guys mixed things up or focus on one over the other. I am currently testing both however feedback is always welcomed.

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback. This is EXACTLY the thought process I wanted to know about because again I am running a case study on effectiveness and trying to figure out which route to focus on.

Thanks again Mike!

NOPE! Not suggesting that at all. Google ranks pages individually which is why anything on a web 2.0 property will have a DA 80 or so (depending on web 2.0 property) and PA 0 when creating a new website. However, expired domains are better when they have an established history. I'm just asking effectiveness from people who have tried both and if recently one is better than the other or as effective (+) (-)

Thank you for your feedback!

Thanks for all the great information this is exactly what I was looking for about PBN I found the questions and the answers. lol...

Hi,

I'm sure they have system in place. I use Wordpress and have a plugin on one of my niche websites which tells me location and even IP address. I'm sure Google has a system in place to find the same information. They use it to ensure safety on their end.

With that said...

I just make sure to use a proxy because I want to keep each website separate. Many people have said it matters and others state that it doesn't. I just like keeping things separate. I'll use a proxy to setup GWT and whatever else I need.

It's that I rather be safe from the beginning!

They are a network of blogs aimed at linking out to your various domains.

If you can mask the footprint & can find good standing PA,DA domain & can put good content on them ,then PBN is a very good option now.

Along with PBN I prefer to be more social.