In the ever-evolving landscape of search engine optimization (SEO), one term that frequently crops up in discussions among digital marketers and website owners is PBN backlinks. PBN, short for Private Blog Network, has been lauded as a secret weapon for skyrocketing search rankings and condemned as a black hat SEO tactic that can lead to severe penalties from search engines like Google. In this blog post, we’ll delve into PBN backlinks, exploring what they are, how they work, their pros and cons, and ways to rank on Google with the help of PBN backlinks.
What Are PBN Backlinks?
The PBN backlinks are a type of link from a Private Blog Network. A PBN is a new site that creates backlinks to your main website.
PBNs are made up of expired domains that have been previously ranked in Google. The owner of the PBN will then use these domains to build links to their main website, which they want to rank higher on Google.
How Does PBN Work?
The owner of the PBN will buy expired domains with backlinks from high-quality websites. They’ll then create a new website on these domains and add content. After that, they’ll create backlinks to their main website from these new websites.
Why Are PBN Backlinks Shady?
PBN backlinks are considered shady because they’re not natural. If you have a backlink from a PBN, it’s not because someone thought your website was great and decided to link to it. It’s because you paid for it or traded something for it.
Pros And Cons Of PBN Backlinks
There are both pros and cons to using PBN backlinks. Let’s take a look at some of each.
Pros Of PBN Backlinks
- It helps you rank higher on Google if done correctly.
- PBN Backlink can give your website credibility if the websites in the network are high quality.
- It can be used to backlink your website, saving you money.
- PBN backlinks can be helpful if you’re trying to rank for a competitive keyword.
- It can help increase traffic to your website.
Cons Of PBN Backlinks
- They are considered shady and can be part of a link scheme.
- If done incorrectly, PBN backlinks can hurt your website’s ranking.
- They can be expensive if you buy pbn backlinks from someone else or yourself.
- They can be time-consuming to set up if you’re doing it yourself.
- It can be risky if Google’s website in the network gets deindexed.
- They can get your site penalized by Google.
How To Check Whether A Website Has PBN Links?
There are a few things you can look for that may indicate a site is part of a PBN:
- All of the backlinks are from the same IP address.
- They have the exact anchor text.
- They all go to the same page on the website.
- The backlinks are coming from websites with low PageRank. They are coming from websites with very little content.
Why Do People Use PBNs?
Link-building is time-consuming; getting backlinks from high-quality websites is not always easy. So, people will use PBNs as a shortcut to rank higher on Google.
- Helps To Rank On Competitive Keywords
They are helpful if you’re trying to rank for a competitive keyword. Ranking on competitive keywords immediately means that Keyword Difficulty(KD) is higher, and High KD means High Competition.
If you can’t get backlinks from high-quality websites, PBN backlinks can be an excellent option for ranking for competitive keywords.
- Link-Building Is Difficult
Link-building is complex; no matter how much effort you put into creating great, linkable content, you still have to depend on other website owners to link to your website. This means results are never guaranteed.
You could spend days/months on outreach campaigns and sending several hundreds of emails but still fail to land new backlinks.
- Anchor Text Can Be Manipulated
It gives you more control over your backlink profile and anchor text. You create the backlinks, so you can decide what anchor text to use.
This is helpful if you want to rank for a specific keyword or phrase. By manipulating the anchor text, you can tell Google what that page on your website is about, which can help your website rank higher for that keyword.
- They Are Quick & Easy To Set Up
If you have a PBN, setting up backlinks is quick and easy. You don’t have to go through the outreach process and wait for someone to link to your website. You can create a new blog post on one of your PBN websites and link to your main website.
How To Avoid PBN Backlinks?
The best way to avoid getting involved with PBN backlinks is to create high-quality content for your website. If you have great content, people will want to link to it naturally, and you won’t need to worry about paying for backlinks or being part of a link scheme. It would help if you also built relationships with other website owners and bloggers in your niche.
If you use PBN backlinks, ensure you know what you’re doing. If you are, it could hurt your website’s ranking. Monitoring your backlink profile is essential to ensure you’re not getting too many backlinks from PBNs.
Ways To Rank On SERP With The Help Of PBN Backlinks
- Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is the process of writing content for another person’s blog. It is one of the most potent link-building strategies, providing a two-way benefit: By contributing to someone else’s blog, you get a backlink to your website, and the other person gets free content.
Only contribute to well-known and reputable blogs in your niche to ensure you get high-quality backlinks from guest blogging. Also, ensure your guest post is high quality and relevant to the blog’s audience.
- Creating Share-Worthy Content
If you want people to link to your website, give them a reason. This is where share-worthy content comes in. Your content must be attractive, informative, and well-written if people want to link to it.
To create share-worthy content, start by identifying the topics your audience is interested in. Once you know what they want to read about, develop a catchy headline that will make them want to click through to your article. Then, back up your headline with great content that provides value and solves a problem for the reader.
- Writing Testimonials
A testimonial is a written or video endorsement of a product or service. When you write a testimonial for another business, they link to your website.
To get a backlink from a testimonial, start by finding businesses you’ve used and been happy with their products or services. Then, contact them and let them know you’d be glad to leave a testimonial on their website. In most cases, they’ll gladly give you a backlink.
- Asking For Backlinks / Link Outreach
You can also ask other website owners and bloggers for backlinks. Link outreach is one of the most effective ways to get high-quality backlinks.
When you’re doing link outreach, find websites relevant to your niche. Then, contact the website owner or blogger and let them know you have an article they might be interested in. If they like what they see, they’ll most likely link to it.
- Submitting Press Releases
A press release is a company or organization announcement about something newsworthy. When you submit a press release, you can usually include a backlink to your website.
Start by finding a free or paid press release submission site to submit a press release. Then, please create an account and follow their instructions for submitting your press release. In most cases, you’ll be able to include a backlink to your website in the body of the press release.
The five strategies mentioned above are the most reliable and result-oriented ones. You can also try other methods, such as blog commenting, forum posting, etc., but the quality of backlinks matters more than the quantity.
So, focus on getting high-quality backlinks from reputed websites only. Using PBN backlinks is not advisable, as it might result in your website being penalized by Google.
FAQs
Q1. Are PBN Backlinks Safe?
Ans. No, PBN backlinks are not safe. If you use them, your website could be penalized by Google. Additionally, they’re considered part of a link scheme, which goes against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
Q2. How Can I Remove PBN Backlinks?
Ans. If you have PBN backlinks pointing to your website, you’ll need to reach out to the webmaster of each site and ask them to remove the links. You can also use Google’s Disavow Tool to disavow backlinks from PBNs.
Q3. Does PBNs Link Violate Google’s Webmaster Guideline?
Ans. PBN backlinks can get your website penalized by Google. They’re part of a link scheme against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. PBN backlinks also violate Google’s Quality Guidelines because they’re not editorially placed or given based on the quality of your content.
Q4. How Much Does It Cost To Set Up A PBN?
Ans. The cost of setting up a PBN depends on how many websites you want in your network and how much you’re willing to spend on each website. You must buy each site’s domains, hosting, and content. The cost can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
Q5. Are PBN Backlinks Legal?
Ans. There’s no clear answer on whether or not PBN backlinks are legal. They’re not explicitly mentioned in any laws that we’re aware of. However, they violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, which could lead to your website being penalized by Google if you use them.
Conclusion
You know how PBNs are used to create backlinks, their pros and cons, and how to avoid them. Creating backlinks is essential to SEO, but focusing on quality over quantity is necessary.
Creating backlinks blindly can do more harm than good to your website. So, Before building backlinks, ensure you know the types of backlinks and their effects on SEO. Also, watch Google’s updates to ensure your backlinking-building strategy aligns with their guidelines.
Do you have any questions about PBN backlinks? Let us know in the comments below! We would be happy to answer them.
