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[Journey/Case Study] Transforming a PBN into a Money Site Network

by Slate ORM
13 replies
Concept:

Short and sweet. I have a well-maintained 60-site PBN that, while great for blackhat tactics and wonderful for ranking boosts and reputation management link floods, has the potential to be far more.

Some of the domains in this PBN are 15-20 years old and are EMD's to terms with thousands of monthly searches. Others can be easily branded to do the same.

One at a time, I'm going to turn these PBN domains back into the powerhouses they once were in their prime, and release them into the wild to monetize.

My goal by the end of this case study/journey hybrid is a 60-site network for passive affiliate income streams. Only time will tell.

I hope you follow along. I will update this regularly with progress. If anybody has burning questions, I will answer those as well to the best of my ability.

Quick self overview:

27 years old, been doing various forms of IM for 12 years.

Run a six-figure annual revenue firm (hit $100k with this in 2015 and haven't looked back since) in my spare time in addition to a full-time job.

Focuses currently are individual ORM, client SEO, high-dollar content writing.

Looking to pivot more into subscription-based content, local SEO, semi-passive affiliate, and management of a few sites on topics I am passionate about.

Here we go!
#journey or case #money #network #pbn #site #study #transforming
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  • Profile picture of the author Karthik Reddy
    Absolutely looking forward to this case study, thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Slate ORM
    Grabbed some statistics for the 60 sites:

    Average DA is 11.87. Highest DA is 23.

    Average TF is 6.68. Highest TF is 19.

    Average CF is 6.77. Highest CF is 13.

    Average EBL is 57.20. Highest EBL is 574.

    Average Ahrefs UR is 5.55. Highest UR is 10.

    Average Ahrefs DR is 30.25. Highest DR is 44.

    Average Ahrefs backlinks are 100.32. Highest BL is 835.

    Average RD is 15.03. Highest RD is 52.

    Average number of keywords ranking in the top 100 already is 14.02. Highest is 77.

    My plan is to find relevant content from archived versions of their sites. I'll grab the content that matters and make the sites look beautiful.
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    • Profile picture of the author agmccall
      Originally Posted by Slate ORM View Post

      Grabbed some statistics for the 60 sites:

      Average DA is 11.87. Highest DA is 23.

      Average TF is 6.68. Highest TF is 19.

      Average CF is 6.77. Highest CF is 13.

      Average EBL is 57.20. Highest EBL is 574.

      Average Ahrefs UR is 5.55. Highest UR is 10.

      Average Ahrefs DR is 30.25. Highest DR is 44.

      Average Ahrefs backlinks are 100.32. Highest BL is 835.

      Average RD is 15.03. Highest RD is 52.

      Average number of keywords ranking in the top 100 already is 14.02. Highest is 77.

      My plan is to find relevant content from archived versions of their sites. I'll grab the content that matters and make the sites look beautiful.
      For those of us that are acronymically challenged could you tell us what all the acronyms stand for.

      thanks

      al
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      • Profile picture of the author writeaway
        Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

        For those of us that are acronymically challenged could you tell us what all the acronyms stand for.

        thanks

        al
        DA = Domain Authority (replacement among SEO circles for Google's Page Rank)-the higher the DA the more powerful the link from such a site

        TF = trust flow Majestic.com's internal ranking for page trustworthiness. Trust Flow is a number predicting how trustworthy a page is based on how trustworthy sites tend to link to trustworthy neighbors.

        CF = Citation Flow: Citation Flow is a number of predicting how influential a URL might be based on how many sites link to it.

        by EBL, I think he means OUTBOUND LINKS (OBL)

        The rest of the seo metrics can be found here https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-metrics/

        I'd love to see how OP finishes this journey

        I love it when people share journeys. They inspire others to step their game up.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gabriel
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    Originally Posted by Slate ORM View Post

    Concept:

    Short and sweet. I have a well-maintained 60-site PBN that, while great for blackhat tactics and wonderful for ranking boosts and reputation management link floods, has the potential to be far more.

    Some of the domains in this PBN are 15-20 years old and are EMD's to terms with thousands of monthly searches. Others can be easily branded to do the same.

    One at a time, I'm going to turn these PBN domains back into the powerhouses they once were in their prime, and release them into the wild to monetize.

    My goal by the end of this case study/journey hybrid is a 60-site network for passive affiliate income streams. Only time will tell.

    I hope you follow along. I will update this regularly with progress. If anybody has burning questions, I will answer those as well to the best of my ability.

    Quick self overview:

    27 years old, been doing various forms of IM for 12 years.

    Run a six-figure annual revenue firm (hit $100k with this in 2015 and haven't looked back since) in my spare time in addition to a full-time job.

    Focuses currently are individual ORM, client SEO, high-dollar content writing.

    Looking to pivot more into subscription-based content, local SEO, semi-passive affiliate, and management of a few sites on topics I am passionate about.

    Here we go!
    What is the the goal?
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    • Profile picture of the author Slate ORM
      Originally Posted by Gabriel View Post

      What is the the goal?
      I'd say by the end of 2018, I would like to have all sites ranking for at least twenty keywords, and be taking in $500 per month in revenue across all sites.

      If I am able to hit this number, in Q1 2019 I plan to dump/sell off the lowest ranking 50% of sites, following the Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule).
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  • Profile picture of the author Slate ORM
    My process for each of the 60 sites is going to be as follows:
    • Analyze what keywords the site is currently ranking for.
    • Set a main keyword to target for the site, and five longtails.
    • Go to the Wayback Machine version of the site and grab as much of the old content as applicable. Google sees this as new and unique.
    • Modify the home and about pages, both content and design, to meet my needs.
    • Perform onsite SEO via Yoast, WPMU Hummingbird, WP Smush, WP Super Cache.
    • Use Yoast and Hemingway to get all articles (most sites have between 20 and 40 articles) to "green light" status for both SEO and readability.
    • Modify meta description/title and focus keyword for all pages onsite.
    • Add content, etc to tags, categories, and images (I don't leave stones unturned). Ensure all images are unique and relevant to the page/post content.
    • Run final check on all pages of site, add in any ancillary pages that might be necessary.
    • Add website to Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics, add sitemap and force crawl.
    • Create Twitter and Facebook pages for website. Interlink.
    • Schedule out social media update with post once per week in Hootsuite.
    • Add in Google AdSense or Amazon relevant tagging where applicable.
    • Configure Google Analytics data into aggregated Google Sheet for one-stop traffic data.
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  • Profile picture of the author Slate ORM
    Got the first site done. It's looking good. 32 posts on-site, the posts have been dripping in for almost a year now. I fixed the SEO and keyword information for all posts in Yoast until everything was in the green. This site is beautifully optimized, and is already ranking for 87 keywords.

    Note above where I said "Average number of keywords ranking in the top 100 already is 14.02. Highest is 77." This site was the 77 one. It's 87 already. The two big keywords I'm aiming for with this site are 900 and 2400 exact searches per month. I'm at spots 29 and 23 for those already and rising.

    I forgot to mention that another three to four of these are all set in terms of design, just need some solid SEO for the posts. Onwards and upwards!
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  • Profile picture of the author Gabriel
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    How long are you spending in each process?
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    • Profile picture of the author Slate ORM
      Originally Posted by Gabriel View Post

      How long are you spending in each process?
      Thanks for your question!

      I have a goal to get one of the sites to my definition of 100% each week, with some weeks getting two done. So once the year ends, have all 60 sites in some form of completion.

      Then, in the first few months of 2019 I will dump half.

      If you're referring to time spent on each step of the process:
      • Analyze what keywords the site is currently ranking for. Probably 10-15 minutes with Ahrefs.
      • Set a main keyword to target for the site, and five longtails. Another 10-15 minutes in Ahrefs/Google search for monthly related searches.
      • Go to the Wayback Machine version of the site and grab as much of the old content as applicable. Google sees this as new and unique. I have a virtual assistant doing this as a task for February for all sites.
      • Modify the home and about pages, both content and design, to meet my needs. An hour or two per site.
      • Perform onsite SEO via Yoast, WPMU Hummingbird, WP Smush, WP Super Cache. I will outsoirce this as well, batching them together month by month when the sites are where I want them design wise.
      • Use Yoast and Hemingway to get all articles (most sites have between 20 and 40 articles) to "green light" status for both SEO and readability. This is the most time intensive process for me.
      • Modify meta description/title and focus keyword for all pages onsite. This is short and sweet, probably 10-20 minutes depending on how many pages are onsite.
      • Add content, etc to tags, categories, and images (I don't leave stones unturned). Ensure all images are unique and relevant to the page/post content. This is performed in the Yoast/Hemingway process above.
      • Run final check on all pages of site, add in any ancillary pages that might be necessary. Another half hour or so.
      • Add website to Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics, add sitemap and force crawl. I will outsource this as well.
      • Create Twitter and Facebook pages for website. Interlink.I've changed the process so this will occur in batches as well, and so will everything below..
      • Schedule out social media update with post once per week in Hootsuite.
      • Add in Google AdSense or Amazon relevant tagging where applicable.
      • Configure Google Analytics data into aggregated Google Sheet for one-stop traffic data.
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  • Profile picture of the author Slate ORM
    Quick update. I didn't do much in February, choosing to focus on a growing client network for content and SEO. I've got another 3-4 sites almost complete and turned into money sites, though. Here are some current statistics updates:

    1/21: Average DA is 11.87. Highest DA is 23.
    2/28: Average DA is 11.32. Highest DA is 23. Slight drop. Not concerned.

    1/21: Average TF is 6.68. Highest TF is 19.
    2/28: Average TF is 6.53. Highest TF is 19. Again slight drop. Again not concerned.

    1/21: Average CF is 6.77. Highest CF is 13.
    2/28: Average CF is 6.7. Highest CF is 13. See above.

    1/21: Average EBL is 57.20. Highest EBL is 574.
    2/28: Average EBL is 63.87. Highest EBL is 571. Solid EBL increase.

    1/21: Average Ahrefs UR is 5.55. Highest UR is 10.
    2/28: Average Ahrefs UR is 5.52. Highest UR is 11. Mostly the same.

    1/21: Average Ahrefs DR is 30.25. Highest DR is 44.
    2/28: Average Ahrefs DR is 2.5. Highest DR is 23. Damn algorithm change got me good.

    1/21: Average Ahrefs backlinks are 100.32. Highest BL is 835.
    2/28: Average Ahrefs backlinks are 92.95. Highest BL is 852. Slight drop. Not super worried.

    1/21: Average RD is 15.03. Highest RD is 52.
    2/28: Average RD is 14.88. Highest RD is 46. Lost a few. No biggie.

    1/21: Average number of keywords ranking in the top 100 already is 14.02. Highest is 77.
    2/28: Average number of keywords ranking in the top 100 already is 18.57. Highest is 98. The one that went from 77 to 98 is the one I have completed to 100%. This is the metric that matters to me.

    Onwards and upwards!
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  • Profile picture of the author newton
    I've often thought about doing something similar with my own PBN's. So, curious to see how this works out for you. Good luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
      Originally Posted by newton View Post

      I've often thought about doing something similar with my own PBN's. So, curious to see how this works out for you. Good luck.
      Looks like the orginial poster stop either late Febuary or March. Happens a lot sadly, if he is still working on it he may have forgot about this thread.
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