What Are PBN Links?
PBN (Private Blog Network) links are the type of backlinks that come from a group of privately owned websites to provide outbound links to the website outside of this group or network.
The aim is to enhance the visibility and ranking of the main website by linking back to it. The main website is often called a "money site" or the target website.
Why do people get PBN links?
The only purpose behind obtaining PBN links is to improve search engine rankings and establish the authority of the main website.
The process involves using the interconnected group of websites to pass link juice (aka authority) to the target website so that it may appear popular and credible to search engines.
Here are some targeted reasons for which people opt for PBN links:
Manipulating search engine rankings
PBN links are thought to manipulate the search engines so that the search engine ranks the website well.
When there is a network of websites, the money website may have a lot of backlinks which can trick the search engine into believing that the site has authority and must be ranked.
Faster results
PBN links provide a quick way to gain backlinks as opposed to the SEO strategies that may take a long time to do so. This way, it is thought to be a quick strategy to gain good rankings.
This is the strategy that suits website owners who can take risks no matter what.
Control over link placement
The website owners using PBN links to rank their websites can decide where to place the link within the entire content.
They can insert the link where they want and can target the desired keywords alongside using the proper anchor text.
How PBN backlinks are generated?
There are two ways you can do it:
Building your own PBN
Building one's own PBN is creating a network of websites that one manages and has full control over.
To hide the site from search engines, the website owners need not interlink the websites so that they may not be detected as a network.
This strategy lets you place backlinks to your websites from the PBN network you own.
However, this process is risky since the search engines are sophisticated enough to detect that the backlinks are part of the same interconnected system.
Buying PBN backlinks
Another way of getting PBN links is to approach individuals who offer PBN backlinks that you can buy. The problem you may face doing so is that these networks are not concerned about hiding them.
Hiding their connection is important because without this search engines may detect and penalise the entire network of websites.
This is the reason why buying PBN networks can be risky and seen as a scam.
Should one build PBN links?
If you use PBN links to get a lot of backlinks to your website, you are into black hat SEO because it is not something that search engines like Google encourage.
It is because such practices harm your websites and efforts in SEO and you may face penalties in the form of a ranking drop or deindexing of your website.
Therefore, it is recommended that you focus on natural link-building rather than engaging in anything spammy.
However, if you are interested in understanding the pros and cons of building PBN links, here is an overview:
Pros
PBN links provide a quicker way to gain backlinks and establish one's website as authoritative thereby improving rankings.
PBN links are different from natural backlinks because they provide you with control over their placement and anchor text.
You can obtain a lot of backlinks without struggling a lot.
Owning PBN means spending less than the other paid link-building techniques.
Cons
PBN is a black hat SEO technique that can be detected by Google and results in penalties by a drop in ranking or deindexing.
Buying PBN links from external sources can end up being ineffective.
If you buy links from expired domains they can cost you a lot.
Using PBN links to establish a site can make it difficult to sell in the future since it will not be credible and authoritative.
PBN links are temporary backlinks with temporary benefits.
Relying solely on PBN links for establishing your website will give a weak foundation to your business that will, sooner or later, end up at a loss.
Conclusion
Getting PBN links is a black hat SEO strategy that can be detected and your site can be penalised.
PBN links can provide short-term benefits in terms of ranking, authority, and visibility but they will not give you long-term benefits.
It will harm your SEO strategies because no matter how much struggle you do if you get caught up, every effort will be in vain.