What is PBN in SEO?
Private Backlink Networks, or PBN, are websites owned by the same person or entity. The sole purpose of these websites is to artificially build backlinks to other websites, either by trading links (link exchanges) or selling links. Some people might even run PBNs for their own money websites.
Google takes a very dim view of PBNs because they try to game the system and achieve high rankings by deceit rather than merit. The internet is littered with networks that have been identified and torpedoed by Google. Nothing bad happens, the domains are usually de-indexed from Google and any backlinks a website had from the PBN are discounted.
Years ago it was possible to set up PBNs quite easily, but today it is much harder. It is a risky, short-term strategy that can have a high ROI if done right, but you will always be waking up each morning wondering whether today is the day that your PBN gets found out and neutralized.
Because of the cost and high ROI PBNs are especially popular in undesirable categories like cryptocurrency, cannabis oil, forex, gambling, VPNs, and supplements. These industries have very high margins so a lot of money can be made on each sale.
A PBN and website might only be viable for a few months before it is identified and neutralized by Google but that’s enough time to make significant affiliate commissions.
Today, most SEOs, even those that were very involved with building PBNs, advise against this strategy to build links as the investment could be used on long-term SEO content.
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