{"id":141152,"date":"2020-05-21T13:10:15","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T13:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=141152"},"modified":"2020-06-01T13:25:21","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:25:21","slug":"what-are-pbns-and-should-you-use-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/05\/21\/what-are-pbns-and-should-you-use-them\/","title":{"rendered":"What are PBNs and should you use them?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"well\">\n<h3>30-second summary:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are a\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">huge part of the SEO industry and wh<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ilst getting backlinks is still a key driver in<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0the Google search algorithm, PBNs will always be the source of debate and interest amongst SEO practitioners.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PBNs have different uses and interpre<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">tations but can be used to point links to your site, sell links, or just simply add your home page links on them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Will you get penalized if you use PBNs? Should you consider using it? Read on to find out what experts and Tudor Lodge Consultants say.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are a\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">huge part of the SEO industry and wh<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ilst getting backlinks is still a key driver in<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0the Google search algorithm, PBNs will always be the source of debate and interest amongst SEO practitioners.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you have ever bought a domain or run a website that ranks on Google, you are probably accustomed to getting ema<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ils from PBNs on a daily basis\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and they will tend to offer you a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0list of links that you can buy. The emails you receive will typically be called:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;High Quality Guest Posting&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;Guest Posting Service&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;High DA Quality Sites&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But should you be paying to add these links to your website? And what is the damage?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Content created in collaboration with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tudorlodgedigital.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tudor Lodge Consultants<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What Are PBNs?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PBNs are very simply blogs or old websites with domains\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">that have<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> expired, but still, have a lot of value due to gaining thousands of historical backlinks.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Anyone can buy these domains once they expire or sometimes they are bought via an online auction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But it is the ability to use this expired site, maybe re-design it, add some fresh content, and then start adding or selling links from this site to boost your SEO rankings or for commercial gain.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Example<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">XYZ.com suddenly expires but has generated thousands of backlinks over the years. Now the site is available to buy, I will redesign it, add some new content, and start pointing links to my own sites and then start selling the links to other people too.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-141153\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pbn.jpg\" alt=\"PBNs\" width=\"569\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pbn.jpg 569w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pbn-300x156.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 569px) 100vw, 569px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Source: Growtraffic.com\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Pe<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ople will sell links on PBNs<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0anywh<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ere from $10 to $1,000 per link and when you are looking to justify or scale your SEO spend, it is easily measurable to know what you get for $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Equally, a PBN can just be a news site or blog that purposely sells links for income.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Prior to 2014, buying links from PBNs was a quick and highly successful way to rank any website, in any industry across finance, money, fashion, insurance \u2013 you name it.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">However, over the last few years, Google has started to penalize any PBN site and who they link to, considering this a quick gaming of the system and anti-Google guidelines. Get on the wrong side of Google and you are looking at a serious penalty in your rankings or total blacklisting altogether. Wake up one morning with a penalty and your business model changes overnight.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Different\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">uses<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> of PBNs<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PBNs have different uses and interpre<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">tations, but can be used in the following ways:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">1. Point links to your site<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Take an expired<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0domain, set up a new website and start writing articles and include links to your own websites.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">2. Sell links <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You can sell links to other SEO companies or practitioners \u2013 however, this is considered malpractice and anti-Google guidelines.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">3. Just add them to your homepage<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You can purchase multiple PBN sites, re-design them and just ad<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">d your links on every homepage (which\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">is considered the<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0highest trust flow).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Will my website improve if I use PBNs?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In the world of grey hat or black hat SEO, using PBNs can\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">theoretically\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">improve your website\u2019s search results.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Certainly in the short-term, an influx of links from websites with high DAs will give you an instant boost.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For many SEO businesses and online companies, PBNs is the way they conduct an SEO strategy and essentially do business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If they can stay clear of penalties, PBNs are attributed to ranking some of the top search positions on Google \u2013 certainly for industries that attract shady techniques such as loans, web hosting, casinos and pornography.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Will I get penalized if I use PBNs?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you are using PBNs to acquire links, you are walking on a constant tightrope and\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">risk\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">of getting penalized by Google. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You may not<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">be automatically downgraded \u2013 but all it takes is one Google update or algorithm shift for this to change overnight.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Presumably, if you did nothing but<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0by links from PBNs for\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">years and years, at some point, you will face a penalty and then need to look at removing them to restore your rankings.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In some respect, more experienced<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0SEOs are able to balance PBNs with a clean approach \u2013 and this might include creating natural content, a strong user experience, generating clean and natural links and also doing regular link disavows.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-141154\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pbn-runs-a-risk-of-a-google-penalty.jpg\" alt=\"PBNs run a risk of a Google penalty\" width=\"612\" height=\"249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pbn-runs-a-risk-of-a-google-penalty.jpg 612w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pbn-runs-a-risk-of-a-google-penalty-300x122.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Source: DP TECH Group<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What the experts say<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Seb<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Atkinson, Head of SEO at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.knowyourmoney.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"dofollow noopener noreferrer\">Know Your Money<\/a> explains, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;PBNs are seen as a quickfire way to buy links and boost your rankings &#8211; but this is very much an old technique and today is likely to attract penalization. Your best approach is to create unique, interesting content that provides real insight into a topic, making it genuinely link-worthy so people can naturally link back to it.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ian Sims, Director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.badgerloans.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"dofollow noopener noreferrer\">Badger Loans<\/a> commented, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Working in the payday and short term loan space, I am inundated daily by emails with people offering me links from PBNs. I tend\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">to stay clear of this because although\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">it might give me a quick boost in rankings, a potential penalty could be very costly for our business. I get annoyed when I see other sites ranking on page 1 and they have clearly used this approach \u2013 but I know that\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">their success may be short-lived<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Andrew Speer<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, Consult<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ant for <a href=\"https:\/\/fundourselves.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"dofollow noopener noreferrer\">Fund Ourselves<\/a> explains<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I have worked in SEO for almost a decade and originally PBNs were a proven source of link-building and the status quo. It wasn\u2019t until algorithm updates like Panda and Penguin that started to reward clean content and link-building and with this PBNs have gone out of favour with Google, despite still being used by tonnes of people across the US and the world. But if you were to start learning about SEO today, this is something that you would stay clear of for sure.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Conclusion?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There is an argument that using PBNs\u00a0as part of your link building strategy could be successful for more experienced SEOs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But in reality, Google is known to changing their goalposts and revelling in such a high-risk strategy is unlikely to go down well with investors, clients and business partners.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It may not be if you get a Google penalty, but when.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our conclusion?\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Stay away from PBNs.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202fThe &#8220;will I get penalized&#8221; section suggests PBNs could be used by experienced SEOs but the conclusion doesn\u2019t really support this.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Maybe the main downside of PBNs could be highlighted more, for example, you will always have a risk of a penalty on your site as Google is known to move the goalposts over time. This could be a risk that your investors\/clients\/business partners are not comfortable with.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Will you get penalized if you use PBNs? Should you consider using it? Read on to find out what experts and Tudor Lodge Consultants suggest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1092,"featured_media":141157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,27488],"tags":[27398,37,2778,27847,1119],"content_type":[],"class_list":["post-141152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo","category-sponsored","tag-backlink-building","tag-google","tag-google-search-algorithm","tag-private-blog-networks-pbns","tag-strategy"],"acf":{"tad_independentcommercial":false,"tad_content_format":false},"post_info":{"name":"idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com","title":"","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/personal-blog-network.jpg","category":"SEO","timeago":"6y"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141152"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=141152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}