Private Blog Networks (PBN): Myths & Risks
“No PBNs!” “PBN-free backlink services.”
What’s the deal with PBNs? What are they? Why are some people so strongly against them? Are they really that bad for your website’s SEO strategy?
In this article, we’ll take a look at what Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are, the myths and risks associated with using them, and whether or not you should use them.
What is a Private Blog Network (PBN)?
A PBN is essentially a network of websites that are owned and maintained by an individual or company. These sites usually have similar web hosting accounts, IP addresses, and content that may be related to the individual or company’s own website.
The goal is to link out from the PBN sites to the individual or company’s main website in order to increase their visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs).
How does a PBN work?
SEOs use PBNs by building new websites or buying old domains with existing authority, and then linking to the website(s) they want to boost. This tactic gives them full control over their link building efforts, allowing them to point links with the exact anchor text they want, whenever they want, to whichever page needs a boost.
While this may sound like a great strategy, it's important to note that PBNs are a clear violation of Google's Webmaster Quality Guidelines and can result in harsh penalties. Despite this, people continue to use and discuss them.
The short answer: PBNs are a no-no.
We strongly advise against using PBNs as a link-building tactic, as they are a clear violation of Google's Webmaster Quality Guidelines.
Google's link spam guidelines state that any links intended to manipulate search rankings may be considered link spam, and PBNs clearly fall within this category.
Links from PBNs are not earned, but rather are placed by someone on behalf of your site in an attempt to manipulate search results. PBN websites offer no real value and are designed solely to "beat the system."
The best way to earn high-quality, relevant links is to create unique, valuable content. That, and find a reliable, white-hat link-building service that gives you exposure naturally through guest posts and link insertions.
PBN links are not editorially placed links resulting from great content, but rather a way to artificially impact search rankings. That’s why PBNs are not a sustainable long-term strategy.
Risks of Private Blog Networks: Penalization and Ignored Links
The first scenario is that your site may be penalized or lose rankings due to excessive manipulative link-building tactics. If this happens, your pages or entire site can be ranked lower or even omitted from search results. To recover from a manual action, you'll need to fix the issue and file a reconsideration request, but even if the reconsideration is successful, your page may not return to its original rankings. Disavowing pages affects rankings, so always follow Google's guidelines and proceed with extreme caution.
The second scenario is that the links may be ignored altogether by Google's algorithm if they are deemed unnatural, rendering them ineffective in positively or negatively impacting your rankings. In fact, Google has confirmed that it ignores links that are unlikely to be natural, and it now has a vast amount of data from disavow files to better understand the sources of unnatural links. If your links are not impacting your rankings, then the time and/or money you've invested in building them are effectively wasted.
Why people still use private blog networks for backlinks
Despite the significant risks involved, some SEOs still choose to use private blog networks (PBNs) to acquire backlinks. There are two main reasons why:
Difficulty and unpredictability of earning links: Earning quality backlinks is a time-consuming process, and even the most effective outreach tactics cannot guarantee a set number of links per month or quarter. Many people turn to PBNs because it appears to provide more control and certainty over their link-building efforts. However, we recommend avoiding this practice in favor of earning quality backlinks.
Desire for control and manipulation of anchor text: Anchor text plays a crucial role in helping Google understand the context of a page and improve its ranking. However, earning editorial links means you cannot always control the anchor text used. SEOs prefer keyword-rich anchor text, which is almost impossible to control through outreach. This is why some people turn to PBNs, as many PBN owners allow you to choose the anchor text for each backlink. However, this tactic is a clear violation of Google's guidelines and carries significant risks.
Busting Common Myths About Private Blog Networks (PBNs)
There's still a lot of confusion in the SEO community around private blog networks (PBNs), despite the significant risks involved. Here, we'll debunk four common PBN myths.
Myth 1: PBN Links Won't Help You Rank
While links from a private blog network can temporarily boost your site's rankings, it's a risky tactic. In the worst-case scenario, your rankings will plummet once Google discovers the unnatural activity. The increase is likely only temporary, and the risks outweigh the potential benefits.
Myth 2: Google Can Easily Identify PBNs
Google can identify private blog networks by looking for footprints across sites, such as shared IP addresses, same web hosting providers, domains purchased from auction sites, and blocking third-party link analysis tools. However, SEOs building PBNs work to prevent or eliminate these footprints as much as possible. Regardless, Google is getting better at identifying low-quality links, whether they come from a PBN or not.
Myth 3: All Paid Links Come from PBNs
While paid links can come from PBNs, not every site that sells a link or sponsored post is part of a PBN. Paying for links is against Google's official guidelines, whether they come from a PBN or not.
Myth 4: All Groups of Sites That Link to Each Other Are PBNs
It's natural for a business to own more than one website and link those sites to one another, often in the website's footer. This practice doesn't necessarily form a PBN and isn't a concern as long as it's done naturally and not in a manipulative way. A group of sites only becomes a PBN when the primary objective is to manipulate search results by building links.
So my site has links from Private Blog Networks (PBNs), now what?
If you suspect that your site has links from a PBN or other low-quality sources, it's essential to identify and take action against them.
Step 1: Identify Suspicious Links
Use a backlink audit tool, such as Semrush's Backlink Audit, to identify potentially harmful backlinks. Enter your domain and create a project,
Then, go to the "Audit" tab to see a list of potential link networks.
Click on "Review backlinks" to see all the potentially harmful backlinks. This list shows each backlink's source URL, target URL, anchor text, authority score, and toxicity score.
Step 2: Remove or Disavow Toxic Links
Google recommends ignoring toxic links. However, if you think a link is harming your site, you can try reaching out to the site owner and requesting they take it down. You can also disavow links, but this should be done with extreme caution. Disavowing links can be risky to your rankings, and we only recommend doing so if you've received a Google manual action against your site or think you will because you bought links.
If you do choose to disavow, look for the backlink source in the report and click on the “no” symbol.
Like this:
For all the links you want to disavow, go through the process and click on the "no" symbol to add them to the list. Once you have compiled the list, you can upload it to Google's disavow tool. Again, disavowing links should be done with extreme caution as it can have an impact on your rankings. So, be careful when disavowing links.
Looking for healthy and natural backlinks?
In conclusion, private blog networks (PBNs) are a link-building tactic that should be avoided due to the risks involved. PBNs violate Google's guidelines and can lead to penalties, plummeting rankings, and wasted resources. Instead, the best way to build high-quality, relevant links is to create unique, valuable content and use white-hat link-building techniques such as email outreach and digital PR.
At TalktheTalk Creative, we offer top-quality link-building and guest-posting services that can help improve your website's rankings and visibility. Our team of experts uses white-hat techniques to earn high-quality links from relevant and authoritative websites.
We believe in building sustainable, long-term results that align with Google's guidelines. So, if you're looking for effective and ethical ways to improve your website's visibility, get in touch with us today to learn more about our link-building and guest-posting services.
