To Try Or Not To Try PBNs: A Link Building Guide – There are lots of ways on how one can build quality links. After all, link building is essential for Search Engine Optimization. Because of this, webmasters are always looking for ways on how to improve their link-building strategies. Some are looking for new ideas, while others focus on a proven link-building approach to ensure success. However, there are those who choose to build Private Blog Networks instead.
PBNs have always been a controversial method for link building. When you do a quick search on the internet, you’ll get mixed results. Some claims PBNs are a waste of time, while others say it is worth the investment. Would you dare try this gray-hat SEO method or not?
To better understand if private blog networks are for you, here are some PBN facts you need to know.
PBNs are a network of expired domains.
Private Blog Networks consist of domains that are either expired or soon-to-be expired domains. But why would anyone buy expired domains? The reason is simply that such websites still have SEO juice to offer. Although expired, these domains are still authoritative websites with a history of quality backlinks. The higher the number of trustworthy sites that are linking to your money-making page, the better.
One can gain instant authority from PBNs.
Search engines still recognize PBN domains as credible sources online. This means that they consider backlinks from such websites as of good quality. With authoritative domains linking to your website, your money-making site gets to leverage the PBN domain’s authority.
Good Read: How To Increase Domain Authority
PBNs are not for beginners.
Building and creating PBNs is not an easy task. If you don’t fully understand how PBNs work, how to build one as well as the pros and cons of private blog networks, then PBN is not for you. It would be best to work on your research first before taking the risk.
PBN domains give you control over your backlinks.
Since you’re technically the owner of websites with your backlinks, you get to choose how and when to use these domains. For example, you got hit by a link penalty. You have the power to remove the bad links easily to resolve the problem. This is the type of control that many digital marketers crave for their SEO.
Recommended Read: Types of Google link penalties to avoid for your website
The use of PBN has its penalty risks.
PBNs are a gray-hat SEO method, meaning it dwells between white and black hat SEO strategies. Because of this, one needs to be careful when building a private blog network. You don’t want to take the risk of getting caught by Google and the search engine giant nailing on your money-making site.
One can use PBN for monetization.
Some choose to use their PBNs by trading guest posts with other bloggers. Trading guest posts allows webmasters to gain quality links and to drive traffic to and from each domain. The more targeted traffic you get, the better your chances of increasing your conversion rate. Other choose not to trade posts, but to sell links. This helps you add revenue to your bank.
PBNs requires a good amount of investment.
Not only does it take a considerable amount of money to buy, build, and maintain PBNs, but it also requires time, effort, and patience. Building a PBN is not an overnight charade. One can do so, but Google will surely catch you in no time.
PBNs works best for high-competition niches.
Businesses considered as high-competition ones such as pharma and casinos find it hard to get natural backlinks. PBNs help such niches acquire a good number of quality links that is usually hard to get when using typical link-building strategies. One can use PBNs for just about any topic, making hard-to-acquire links possible for high-competition niches.
Competitors may report your site to Google if they suspect it is as part of a PBN.
Let’s face it – one good way to get ahead of your competitors is by spying on them. This is what competitor analysis is all about. Whether you like it or not, there is a big chance that your rivals are also spying on you. If they suspect your site to be part of a PBN, they may send a spam report to Google. This is why building PBN needs to be done the right way.
These are just some of the facts one needs to know when it comes to PBNs. While there are risks associated with PBN usage, the benefits are what makes webmasters use this as part of their link building strategies.
Are you thinking of building a PBN for your website this year? Then there are a few of the best PBN tips to keep in mind.
- Research on the domains before buying. Make sure the domains you’ll be spending money on are related to your niche, has good Majestic Trust Flow and good domain authority. Check if the domain already received a penalty or not.
- Take advantage of citation cleanup service. Companies who offer such services do not only focus on citation audit, citation cleanup, and citation building services. They also work in checking your backlinks for quality. You get to check if the backlinks on your PBN domains still adds value to your SEO.
- Use a variety of IP address, hosts, and site structures for each domain. We mentioned earlier that PBN building takes time, patience, and effort. One needs to be careful building and using PBN to avoid getting caught by search engines. This includes using a different hosting, site structure, and Internet Protocol addresses for each site.
- Check the quality of the contents of your domains. Using spinning tactics and duplicate articles are always a no-no. Ensure all the contents you’ll be using are not plagiarized, spun or duplicates as you can get penalized when caught.
Private Blog Networks can help you improve your rank in search engines, drive traffic, and make conversions. No one can deny that even with the risks, you can get excellent benefits for your SEO. Just be careful and minimize the risks so you can enjoy the perks minus the penalties.