PBN tools to build a PBN that works

What is a PBN?

A PBN (Private Blog Network) is a group of websites created for the purpose of improving a target site’s search rankings by way of backlinks. These sites often use expired domains so as to appear as legitimate sources but are in fact controlled to manipulate search results.

Today, PBNs extend beyond just WordPress blogs. They can also be commercial websites or e-commerce platforms.

In this article, we’ll explain how PBN tools help automate and scale networks while staying under search engines’ radar.

Do I need to build a PBN?

First off, it’s worth mentioning that PBNs are not necessary for most niches and can easily be substituted by other link building strategies like outreach, paid links, or organic promotion.

These niches include:

Local small business: For small local businesses (e.g., cafes, hair salons, and auto repair shops), it’s more important to focus on local signals and reviews rather than creating an artificial network of sites. Customers often search for reviews on platforms like Yelp, Google My Business, and other local platforms.

Recommended options: local business directories, customer reviews, collaborations with local bloggers, and partnership programs.

Healthcare and medicine: In this niche, authoritative and official resources, such as government websites, hospitals, and universities, tend to be more trusted.

Recommended options: publications on reputable medical platforms (e.g., WebMD, Medscape) create guides and infographics that mention your site as well as participate in both online and offline conferences.

Government and educational institutions: These sites enjoy a level of authority and high levels of trust.

Recommended options: create courses on educational platforms (e.g., Coursera, EdX), partner with other educational institutions, and attend conferences.

E-commerce with low competition: In low-competition e-commerce niches, it’s more effective to work on improving the user experience, navigation, content, and other SEO aspects.

Recommended options: affiliate programs, review articles, guest posts on niche blogs, and influencer marketing.

Entertainment and Pop Culture: In this niche, content spreads organically through social media, forums, and news portals. A PBN doesn’t have much of an impact here since the audience is looking for fresh and trending news.

Recommended options: discussions on forums and news platforms (like Reddit, Tumblr, 9GAG), viral content, social media, and influencer collaborations.

Technology and IT: In highly competitive and technically complex niches like tech and IT, PBNs can quickly be deemed low-quality sources.

Recommended options: publications on tech platforms and forums (e.g., Stack Overflow, GitHub, Hacker News), guest posts, and articles on popular IT blogs or portals (e.g., TechCrunch, Mashable), webinars, and open-source projects.

News and journalism: In the news niche, it’s especially important to acquire links from real, authoritative media, rather than creating them through PBNs. Organic links dominate here, through republishing, joint articles, and news aggregators.

Recommended options: publications on major news aggregators (e.g., Google News, Yahoo News), collaborations, writing expert articles for them, press releases, and working with bloggers to get natural mentions.

Creative industries (music, art, design): In these niches, content usually spreads through social media, platforms for showcasing work (e.g., Behance, Dribbble), and collaborations.

Recommended options: mentions in blogs and podcasts specializing in art and music, collaborations with other artists and platforms, and events.

Where using a PBN is worthwhile:

• All black-hat niches (you name it)
• All gray-hat niches: MLM, Forex, Virtual Adult Content, CBD, Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain, Gambling
• All highly competitive niches
• Regions with high link prices (Scandinavia, Germany, and other Tier-1 countries)
• Targeted high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency keywords in white-hat niches (lawyers, insurance, fintech, etc.)

Primary risks of PBNs:

Before we move on to our detailed instructions for PBN tools, it’s important to highlight the main risks associated with them:

• Risk of penalties: Search engines like Google actively target artificial link schemes. If your PBN is detected, your site could be hammered with penalties, including being removed from the search index.
• High maintenance costs: Building and maintaining a high-quality PBN takes a substantial amount of time and financial resources. This includes buying domains, hosting, and constantly coming up with new content.
• Scaling difficulties: Since each network requires unique content and structure, scaling a PBN may prove a tricky challenge.
• Short-term results: PBNs may offer temporary gains, but when it comes to long-term success, organic methods that comply with search engine guidelines are much more important.

How to build a PBN: PBN tools & instructions

The most effective methods for building a PBN from scratch involve purchasing expired domains or participating in domain auctions (though the latter often tends to be significantly more expensive). The primary goal of a PBN is to inject authority into your main site. If you purchase a new domain with no backlink profile, however, it won’t provide any benefit.

You can also build a network with new registrations for diversification purposes, but only if you have:

• An experienced team;
• A sufficient budget;
• A network of over 1,000 expired domains.

Buy expired domains

Now, let’s walk through the process of purchasing expired domains. There are a few key steps you’ll need to follow.

Step 1: Pick relevant keywords

• Match your business: Make sure the keywords are a good fit for the content or services you plan to offer.
• Be specific: Choose more detailed phrases, such as “handmade wooden furniture” rather than broad terms.
• Check competition: Avoid keywords that are too competitive in the marketplace.
• Think about intent: Focus on keywords that show strong intent, like “buy hiking boots.”
• Analyze search volume: Use tools like Keyword Search Volume Checker to find keywords with adequate search volume.

Step 2: Find expired domains

Use a tool like the Domain Expiration Checker to search for available domains based on your keywords. This saves you valuable time and effort and the first 7 days are offered for free.

Step 3: Review SEO value

Once you have a list of domains, assess their SEO potential using the Domain Authority Checker. Key factors include:

• Backlink count: Look for at least 25-50 backlinks to signal authority.
• Dofollow vs nofollow: Aim for a high percentage of dofollow links, around 70-80%.
• TLD backlinks: Links from .gov or .edu domains are strong credibility signals.
• Variety of referring domains: More referring domains from different IPs show good third-party endorsement.
• Overall Domain Rating: Using Ahrefs, a score above 30 reflects reasonable authority.
• Existing content: Check for any valuable text or images on the domain.

Step 4: Locate domains featuring archived content

Utilize the Expired Domain Search Tool to find domains with historical content related to your target keywords. This can help you secure domains that already align with your SEO goals.

Step 5: Check for toxic backlinks

Use the Spammy Backlink Checker to identify any harmful backlinks in the domain’s profile. A high number of spammy links may bring about search engine penalties and require extra cleanup.

Step 6: Set your budget

When planning your budget, account for both the initial purchase price and recurring renewal fees. Make sure to also consider the domain’s age, traffic history, and its potential for generating revenue.

Pro tip: Don’t just focus on the upfront cost – plan for post-purchase investments like content restoration and SEO enhancements. Even domains enjoying a strong level of authority often require updates, such as new content, modernized design, or fresh backlinks. A good rule of thumb is to set aside at least $100-$200 per domain to account for these improvements, especially if you’re working with expired domains that need a boost to regain their SEO standing. Without this extra investment, you might not unlock the full value of the domain.

Step 7: Migrate and optimize content

After buying the domain, you need to migrate it without leaving telltale signs that it’s part of a PBN.

What to avoid:

1. Shared hosting or IP addresses: Don’t use the same hosting provider or IP for multiple domains. Use different hosting services to avoid the domains being linked to each other.
2. Similar design: Don’t use the same website template, structure, or plugins across different sites. Give each website a different look and use unique content.
3. Repeated backlink anchors: Vary the anchor text in the links to your main site. Using the same phrases makes it easy for search engines to detect patterns.
4. Same registration details: Don’t use the same WhoIs data for all the domains. Consider completing a private registration or using different contact details for each domain.

Migrate content carefully: Use tools like Wayback Machine Recovery to restore old content, but update it. Don’t copy the original text word-for-word. Rewrite parts to make it relevant and be careful not to get penalties from search engines for duplicate content.

After migration: Monitor the site’s performance. If necessary, rebuild backlinks slowly. A sudden spike in backlinks or traffic may trigger a penalty.

Keep an eye on performance

Post-purchase, you need to keep track of its traffic and performance to make sure your domain is delivering value. Regularly review key metrics and update content to maximize the domain’s potential.

Create the right content

When writing content for Private Blog Networks (PBNs), focus on clarity, relevance, and purpose. Each article must serve a clear SEO goal without sacrificing readability. Here’s how to approach it.

Know your audience and purpose

PBN content must align with the niche of both the PBN and the target website. The goal is to build authority for the main site, but the content needs to look natural. Avoid publishing generic posts. Every article should address a specific topic relevant to the PBN’s niche, like travel tips for a travel blog or tech reviews for a tech site.

Even though the primary purpose of the PBN is to inject SEO value, the content still needs to engage real users.

Use keywords naturally

Focus on one main keyword per article. Avoid keyword stuffing; instead, use the keyword where it makes sense. Supplement it with related terms to create a natural flow. The goal is to make the content readable for humans, not just for search engines.

Include internal links to other articles on the PBN to distribute link equity. Use outbound links to reputable sources when relevant. This adds credibility and helps the content appear more legitimate.

Diversify content types

A good PBN includes a mixture of different types of content. Write blog posts, how-to guides, news articles, or opinion pieces—whatever fits the niche. For example, a health-focused PBN may feature posts about workouts, nutrition tips, or health product reviews.

Stick to a manageable length. Articles between 500 and 800 words work well. You can use longer articles occasionally if the topic so requires, but don’t just write for the main purpose of hitting a certain word count.

Prioritize readability

Compose the text so that it is easy to read. Use short paragraphs, subheadings, bullet points, and relevant images. This improves the user experience and helps keep visitors on the page for longer. Headlines should be clear and direct. Start with a strong opening line to keep readers engaged.

Add in the outlinks

Do not interlink satellite sites: One of the most important rules in managing a PBN is to avoid interlinking the satellite sites to each other. Google’s algorithms are built to detect unnatural linking patterns, particularly in cases of link farms and PBNs. Most of Google’s patents focus on analyzing websites’ link graphs to identify these networks. If satellite sites are linked together, it poses the risk of a detectable pattern that increases the risk of the entire network being penalized. Instead of attempting to connect your satellite sites, each one should be functioning independently, linking only to the target (money) site. This keeps the link graph clean and reduces the chance that Google will wise up to your network.

Link only to the main site: The core strategy should entail pointing all the authority generated by satellite sites directly to the primary website. Ensure that each satellite site is linking back to your main site in a natural and logical way. The links should appear inside content that aligns with the niche of the money site, making the link placement appear organic to both users and search engines. This method sticks to the PBN’s primary purpose, which is to boost the authority of the main site without raising any red flags in the link profile.

Choose anchor texts wisely: To avoid detection, you need to vary anchor text across the satellite sites. Google’s algorithm can easily spot over-optimized or repetitive anchor text. For example, if every link uses exact-match keywords, it will create a manipulative and unnatural feel. Instead, use a combination of branded terms, partial-match keywords, and generic phrases (e.g., “learn more,” “click here”). This creates a more organic-looking link profile and reduces the likelihood of penalties being given. The goal is to mimic natural linking behavior as closely as possible.

Expand your network instead of risking it: The best way to go is to invest the time and effort into building 20–30 new sites rather than jeopardizing your entire network due to interlinking. Expanding your network provides more opportunities for diverse links and reduces the risk of detection.

Launch your PBN without getting busted

Avoid leaving footprints: Key strategies

Footprints are patterns that link your sites together, rendering it easier for search engines to detect your network. Here’s how to avoid leaving them:

• Use different registrars and hosting providers: Don’t register all your domains with the same service, and don’t host them on the same servers or IP addresses.
• Vary your design and structure: Don’t use the same website theme or plugins across multiple sites.
• Different accounts for everything: Use unique accounts for registrars, hosting, and site management. Do not leave behind any pattern that could suggest there’s a connection between your sites.

Protecting your PBN from bots

Search engines and competitors often use bots to detect PBNs. Block these bots to protect your network:

• Block unwanted bots using .htaccess: Modify your .htaccess file to block known bots that scan for PBN patterns. You can find a list of bots to block, like the one at bananza.net/robots.txt.
• Monitor your traffic sources. Be on the lookout for suspicious visits from unknown IPs or bots. If you see a spike in bot traffic, take action to secure your sites.

Give your sites an authentic look

Your PBN must look like a collection of legitimate, independent websites. Here’s how this can be done:

• Unique content. Every site in your network should have high-quality, unique content. Avoid surface-level or duplicated content.
• Vary your anchor texts. Use a mix of branded, naked, and long-tail anchor text to create a natural link profile.
• Diversify your link building strategy. Don’t over-optimize links. Spend time gradually building backlinks and ensure they look organic.

Stay subtle

PBNs work best when they remain undetected. Avoid aggressive or spammy tactics. Here’s what you should do:

• Cut back on automation tools: Automated link building and content creation tools can leave footprints that search engines easily pick up on. Stick to manual methods whenever possible.
• Build links slowly: Don’t rush link building. Gradual growth looks more natural and less suspicious to search engines.

Can an AI generate PBN for me?

AI is not yet capable of creating fully functional PBN websites from scratch. Early attempts, like the Pix2code project, aimed to solve this but didn’t succeed.

Here’s what AI can do for you in this domain:

Content generation

AI tools like Rush Analytics AI Text Generator already have a well-established track record in generating quality content. Advanced language models such as ChatGPT-4, Claude, and Gemini can come to your services too. The things they excel at include:

• Writing engaging blog posts and articles
• Producing contextually relevant content for various niches
• Outperforming budget copywriters when used effectively

Image generation

For visuals, AI models such as MidJourney, DALL-E, Flux, and Ideogram can generate custom images or illustrations under prompt instructions. While these tools are still in their fledgling phase, they can be a great asset for creating visuals without you having to hire a graphic designer.

How much does it cost?

Let’s explore the typical expenses involved in setting up a basic PBN of 10 websites.

SEO tools and services
Properly managing your PBN will require you arm yourself with essential tools like Ahrefs, Spamzilla, and ChatGPT. These services are indispensable for SEO analysis, excelling at finding expired domains and generating good content. The combined cost for these tools would be:

• Ahrefs: $119
• Spamzilla: $37
• ChatGPT: $20

Total for tools: $176

Domains
Domains vary widely in price, starting at around $25, but this cost can escalate based on the domain’s age, authority, and niche. For 10 websites, you’re looking at around $300 for the domains alone.

Hosting
Hosting is another ongoing expense, but for a basic setup, you can find plans starting at $2 per site per year. For 10 different sites, this would amount to $20 annually.

Content and website management
Expect to spend at least $50 per site on content creation and web mastering, which would total $500 for 10 sites.

In summary, launching a PBN of 10 sites could cost you around $100 per website minimum. This is a basic estimate and may vary depending on the quality of the domains, hosting, and additional features you choose to invest in.

Risks that come with PBNs

If you’ve read this far, you already know that Google can detect the entire network. Now let’s consider the potential consequences you might face in such a scenario:

• Manual penalties: If Google detects manipulative link building practices, your site may be hit with a manual action. This could lead to individual pages, or even your entire site, ranking lower or being completely removed from search results.
• Notification: If your site is affected, Google will notify you via the ‘Manual Actions’ report in Google Search Console. This report will outline the specific issues that need to be addressed.
• Recovery process: To get the penalty lifted, you’ll need to take corrective actions. This typically involves removing or disavowing the problematic links and then submitting a reconsideration request. However, even if the penalty is lifted, your pages may not return to the rankings they were previously at.
• Loss of rankings: There’s no guarantee that after fixing the issue, your pages will regain the original positions they once held in the search results. In many cases, they may continue to rank lower.
• Ineffective link building efforts: If Google deems a backlink unnatural, it may completely ignore it, rendering any time or resources spent on building such links all for naught. Google’s algorithm can now more easily identify unnatural links, especially with the extensive data it has collected from disavow files submitted over the years.

FAQs

• Can I build a PBN by myself without any link building team?

  The visibility check is a measure of how frequently your website or You can, but it requires a solid budget, experience, and tools. You need to handle everything: buying expired domains, hosting, creating content, and avoiding detection. Automation tools like Ahrefs, Spamzilla, and Jasper can help with SEO, domain finding, and content creation, but building a network without a team can be rather time-consuming.

• How many sites should a PBN network feature?

  A solid PBN typically features at least 10-20 sites, but larger projects may require 50 or more. It’s crucial to avoid interlinking sites, as this can create detectable patterns and lead to penalties from Google.

• How do I choose the domains for my PBN?

  Select expired domains with strong backlink profiles. Use tools like Domain Expiration Checker to find domains, then analyze their SEO value using Domain Authority Checkers. Look for domains with at least 25-50 backlinks, a high percentage of dofollow links, and diverse referring domains. Steer clear of domains with spammy backlinks.

• Do I need to SEO-optimize my PBN sites?

  Yes. Each site needs to have unique content relevant to the target niche, natural keyword usage, and properly structured links. Internal and outbound links should be added carefully to maintain the appearance of an organic, independent site.

• Can domains be located on the same IP?

  No, placing domains on the same IP address creates a footprint that search engines can easily detect. Use different hosting providers and spread your sites across various IP addresses to keep your risk to a minimum.