In this guide, the focus will be on the entire process of building your own private blog network from scratch, how to go about upgrades, and using your existing network to end up with the desired results.
The introduction of this guide will shed some light on some primary definitions for newbies while advanced users will be able to read in-depth guides for each topic.
Additionally, to avoid confusion, obsolete tactics such as hosting on Cloudflare will not be explored. Instead, only the current and up-to-date strategies will be looked into.
Given how dynamic the SEO world is, it is a no-brainer that there is a myriad of changes every so often. In this light, we will ensure periodical updates of this guide across our platforms.
To get the best out of this guide, make sure that you go through all the chapters and read them keenly. In case of any queries or need for assistance to implement what has already learned here, feel free to reach us through our channels or comment section at the end.
This guide is broken down as follows:
- PBN Definition
- How a PBN Works
- Risks Involved
- Why PBNs Still Work
- Chapter 1: Planning your PBN
- Chapter 2: How to get PBN Domains
- Chapter 3: PBN Hosting
- Chapter 4: How to Set up your PBN
- Chapter 5: PBN Best Practices
- Chapter 6: Keeping off Footprints and Securing Your PBN
- Chapter 7: How to Generate Traffic to your PBN
- Resources
PBN, Definition
A Private Blog Network (PBN) is defined as a group of sites that are owned and maintained either by an individual or group and are used as a source of backlinks to a money site for the purpose of raising ranking on search engines.
From the above diagram, it is important to note that the Money site is the main website that needs to be ranked for keywords in order to make profits.
How a PBN works
PBNs come with authority that existed before they were acquired, this applies to both expired and auction domains. This is through the passage of contextual links from the body’s content, which raises the authority of your domain across your main site.
Risks involved
Any sort of link-building contravenes Google’s guidelines. However, the pros supersede any form of risk involved. Where it is well-executed, it will exponentially reduce all risks making your investment worthwhile.
Why PBNs still work
With each Google update, numerous people raise concerns about their websites getting deindexed even though, according to them, they had done everything right. Such complaints have led many to lose faith in PBNs.
Contrary to this, backlinks are essential for ranking after good On-Page SEO. In fact, they are a show of trust on Google. For instance, where leading sites link to you, it shows that your site has invaluable content.
As long as Google does not disregard links as a ranking signal, PBNs will always work.
Every so often, major Google algorithm updates hit the SEO world and to guarantee survival during such updates, it becomes prudent to ensure the safety of your network on all fronts.
Also, beware of certain security issues when building or maintaining a PBN
Chapter 1: Planning Your PBN
The first step to successfully determining the number of links one needs to rank for a certain niche is by first understanding the competition; whether they are using a blog network, are an authority in the niche, and the referring domains they have.
The next step entails making a spreadsheet with all the information which shows precisely how many sites need to be built in order to rank.
Under this chapter, the following is explored:
- Determining the number of links required to rank
- The cost incurred in build a good network
- Clustering sites and ensuring their safety.
- Niche relevancy and if it matters
Chapter 2: How to get PBN Domains
The importance of domains cannot be underestimated. Domains form the base of any network and it is important to make backlinks and spam checks with the seriousness they deserve as these determine the success or failure of one’s effort in making the PBNs.
Here, the following are covered:
- PBN domains
- Metrics (Trust Flow, DA, RD among others)
- Spam checks
- Domain age and its importance
- Backlink types and checks
- Expired, backorder and auction domains
Furthermore, there will be further discussion on ways to find PBN domains that are clean and can be added to your network.
Chapter 3: PBN Hosting
While hosting is the most integral element when building a proper PBN, it is unfortunate that many people go wrong in this area.
A majority of people spend a lot to acquire expensive domains but host them on cheap hosts which eventually leads to the loss of the whole network. To avoid such a scenario, it is important to avoid SEO hosting which leaves numerous footprints.
Hereunder, this chapter explores,
- Hosting Options to avoid
- Self-managed Cloud Server Setup
- Easy Blog Networks
- Premium cPanel Hosting for PBN
The in and out of PBN hosting will be covered under the 3 ways/methods that are up-to-date.
Chapter 4: How to Set Up Your PBN
The present times dictate that you need to add value to the users so as to remain indexed and benefit the sites you are ranking to with your PBN. That goes beyond owning a basic WordPress theme populated with spun text.
This chapter will cover the following:
- Wayback Restore vs WordPress
- Must-have Plugins
- Website Design, Structure, and Layout
- How to Restore Inner Pages- for Topical Relevance
- WordPress Design
- Content Strategy
- Social Profiles Strategy
This is where you will learn how to make your network profitable, generate traffic and how to structure your PBNs to pass manual reviews
Chapter 5: Best PBN Practices
Building a great PBN is great but knowing how to use it is the best way to guarantee positive results. This chapter will go over the following;
- How to link out to your money site
- Guidelines on Anchor text
- Testing PBN sites for positive results
- Using LSI keywords
The aforementioned strategies ensure the safety of your PBN and lead to positive results each time.
Chapter 6: Avoiding Footprints and Securing Your PBN
This chapter offers a complete checklist of 43 major PBN footprints and sheds light on how to solve them hence protect your network. In addition, this chapter covers the following items
- Registrar
- Hosting
- Setup, Plugin, and Back-end
- Linking out and Content
- General and Misc and Footprints
Chapter 7: How to Generate Traffic to your PBN
This chapter highlights methods of generating initial PBN and traffic for your websites to increase performance three times over. It also shows how to bridge the gap between a PBN and an excellent website.
- Use Long-Tail Keywords
- Harness The Potential Of Facebook
- Participate in Question & Answer Sites
Resources:
Serp Focus– Premium links and SEO content
Lion Zeal – Marketing Resource and PBN Services