PBNs used to be valuable, but aren’t nearly as useful as they used to be.
In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), the companies with the highest-ranked pages in search engines are the ones that win. But in order to get your pages to rank higher, you need more links. And of course, you can’t just go out and spam links – you need to earn those links from reputable sources in your niche.
This is, and has always been, a difficult undertaking. Historically, one of the best (or at least most accessible) solutions has been to work with a private blog network, or PBN. A PBN is a network of affiliated websites designed to cover a wide range of topics and support relatively high authority. If you can get into this network, you can leverage its power to build several relevant, valuable links to your website, thus boosting its domain authority.
But there are a few major problems with PBN in the modern era.
- The Google crackdown. The first and biggest problem is that Google caught on to private blog networks and cracked down on them. Using sophisticated machine learning and pattern recognition, Google has ferreted out most blog networks and has hit them with massive penalties.
- Link relevance and value. Additionally, the modern world of SEO puts much higher emphasis on link relevance and value to end users, neither of which are strong suits in a PBN model.
- Competition. Finally, there’s more competition than ever before. SEO is rife with fierce competitors scrambling to get any link they can, so if you want to compete, you’ll need to execute more than just entry-level strategies.
Does this mean that PBNs are no longer worth using? Is this a totally dead strategy?
Not exactly. But you have to be much more careful and discerning than you used to be. A proper link building strategy focuses on relevance, quality, and value to end users – and your average PBN isn’t capable of supporting that.
Link building is a confusing topic. Trust us, we understand. That’s why we make it our mission to help dedicated marketers like you understand the nuances and execute the best possible work. If you’re ready for your free consultation, contact us today!
