Buy private blog network are a very common strategy for building backlinks, but many SEOs don’t understand the risks. While some PBNs work, others aren’t as effective and are a complete waste of time.
Do PBNs work in 2022?
Private blog network is a collection of high authority websites that all link back to your money site, with no apparent relationship or affiliation between the websites in the PBN. These links are often derived from expired domains that have high levels of backlink equity, which can be passed to your money site to boost your ranking.
Google views PBNs as unethical and isn’t likely to let them pass through their algorithm, which means your rankings could be harmed in the long run. Using PBNs is also a violation of Google’s Webmaster Quality Guidelines and can result in harsh penalties.
How to Spot a PBN
A good way to spot a PBN is to look at its traffic data. Typically, private blog networks have low or no traffic, even if they’re posting content for link-building purposes.
Another way to identify a PBN is by looking at the website’s editorial direction. These websites usually have random, unorganized content on a variety of topics. Some websites may post content about food and travel, while others focus on science, medicine, technology, etc. If the website has no clear editorial direction and posts content on a variety of topics, it’s probably part of a private blog network.