There is a tactic to exploit an apparent loophole in search engine algorithms and it has for years been one of the “secret weapons” for gaining organic visibility. As for now we are talking about Private Blog Network; means a network of websites that are on the surface are unique, separate and independent. But the reality turns out to be all managed and controlled by a single person.
Creating a PBN or posting on these networks was a foolproof way to quickly gain a large number of backlinks in the starting days of SEO. As the time has passed Google has raised the bar and now this strategy falls under those deemed black hat SEO as it is obviously manipulative.
Do you know? Why it is a topic of great interest to those who get involving in the digital marketing and SEO? In short, we will give a clear and concise definition of what is a Private Blog Network (PBN) on this page.
What is PBN in SEO?
A private blog network (PBN) improves its organic search visibility as it is a network of websites created solely to link out to another website. The main purpose of the “feeder” sites will pass link equity back to the main site. That will boost its authority and then its ranking power.
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It becomes a black-hat SEO tactic. Using PBNs is seen as an attempt to manipulate the algorithm. Even Google takes this action as a link scheme that violates its webmaster guidelines.
PBN Network Terminology
You will often see when learning about PBNs because they have their own set of terms. Here are some quick and simple definitions to make you understand everything easily:
As we just mentioned the money sites are the main websites you are trying to boost in the rankings. It is the main site where they want the traffic and conversions.
PBN sites are that websites in the network that create the backlinks leads to the main website. There are some different categories of these sites:
Tier 1 PBN sites are usually developing on the expired domains that already have some authority. These sites give the strong backlinks and their primary purpose is to pass link equity to the money site.
Tier 2+ PBN sites basically develop on the newer or less authoritative domains. Sometimes they might be linking directly to the money site. But mainly they always used to strengthen the Tier 1 PBNs.
Additional Terms Are:
There is a cheap PBN strategy that is using low-quality sites built on spammy domains is called churn and burn. The main goal is getting quick results with an acceptance that the sites will likely be penalizing eventually.
Also Read: What is Cloaking in Seo? Types & Risks | How to Work It
Shell websites are using sometimes as a part of PBN. They seem to be real but they are actually owning by the PBN operator for the sole purpose of linking out.
How to Build Private Blog Network? With Example
However, PBN networks include commonly a large group of websites that get interlinking with each other. Link juice is going to pass between the sites by linking between the sites. It will help to increase the ranking of main website that links with.
Before PBNs were always one-page websites that offered little value to users. The main purpose of them was to create a link for the main site. Nowadays due to search engines cracking down on manipulative link-building methods like PBNs. They could be much and more complex.
Modern PBNs normally have the multiple pages and include a lot more content than they used to. PBNs are created to look almost real and very hard to identify from real sites by following the guidelines of Google.
While this can reduce the risk of using a PBN but still it is against the search engine guidelines using them.
Private Blog NetworksPros and Cons
There are many benefits and drawbacks of using PBN networks. Below shown each one; you can check them one by one.
Also Read: What is Cost Per Mille (CPM) Formula? How to Calculate It
Pros Are:
Control: You will have the full-on control over the content, links and SEO strategies with a PBN.
Quick Results: They can provide the faster SEO results by quickly building backlinks in some situations.
Targeted Backlinks: You can make niche-specific backlinks that are basically related to your main site’s content.
Cons Ares:
High Risk: It is against the terms of service of search engines by using the PBNs to manipulate rankings. It is a high risk strategy.
Maintenance: It needs penalty of time, effort and the resources to set up, manage and maintain.
Cost: It can be costly buying the domains, hosting and creating content for PBN sites.
Why Marketers Use PBN Networks?
PBN network allows you to better steer your performance by giving you the better control over your link building efforts. Here are 2 types of advantages of using PBNs:
Easier Link Building
It is not easy to building link. It takes too much time and a lot of efforts to get engaging in email outreach, digital PR, reclaiming links and building resource links. There is a little possibility that the work you have put in will result in higher rankings.
Also Read: What is Cost Per Click (CPC)? How to Calculate with Formula
If the strategy of PBN is good then you can get multiple authoritative backlinks in a small amount of time with little effort easily. For an example like if there are three PBNs generating five links then each means fifteen secured backlinks for your site.
Better Control of Anchor Text
Anchor text doesthe help in search engines to understand the context of web pages. So they can be ranking for the right keywords. It is difficult to define the anchor text of backlinks with common link building strategies. You can create links with keyword rich anchor text that will make you help to boost your central ranking of site for target search terms with PBNs.
Private Blog Networks Challenges
When you use a trusted PBN hosting service like Easy Blog Networks is most of these can be avoiding. Many people out the risks of using the private blog networks.
If you don’t follow the completely search engines practice then search engine may ignore your backlinks or worse, demoting your ranking of site. There are some risks to look out for:
Links Can Be Ignored
Search engines will completely ignore them if they get suspect that the links you generate from PBNs are unnatural. This would not affect the ranking of your site but that could be a waste of time and resources.
Possibility of Penalty
In case when you are using PBNs without a good PBN hosting service then search engines can flag your website for using too many unnatural links. Even the search engines can demote a part of your page or your whole website or worse, remove it from the index completely.
FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions)
Verdict Up
As we have discussed about that they come with important risks that can jeopardize a site’s long-term standing in search engine results. However, PBNs can offer you quick results.
Without any doubt it is needed to weigh these risks against possible short-term gains. Especially like SaaS businesses that rely on trust and credibility.
Also Read: What is Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)? Formula & Tips | How to Calculate
If you want to get ensure long term success without compromising integrity then opt for more organic and transparent SEO strategies.