A PBN (Private Blog Network) is a group of blogs or websites owned by the same person. But what is PBN link-building? When the owner wants to rank a specific website, they use these PBN sites to link back to it, hoping to push it higher in search results. But does this really work? And is that the only way people use PBNs?
Despite Google cracking down on them, many still rely on PBNs. But why? Especially when 93.8% of link builders focus more on quality than just getting tons of backlinks. Let’s break it down quickly and see what’s really going on.
Are PBNs Harmful? Understanding Their Impact
PBNs aren’t just for creating bad backlinks; they can also help take over Google’s search results. 16 companies control most of Google’s information.
Are they running PBNs? Why doesn’t Google penalize them? It’s because they’re not using PBNs in the traditional way to build backlinks.
Instead, they’re sharing helpful information and dominating the search results that way. Google doesn’t punish websites just for having bad backlinks because competitors could create those links to hurt your traffic.
These links won’t boost or harm your rankings. If Google ignores them, you’re just wasting time and money on them.
But Google considers this a link scheme that breaks its webmaster guidelines. Google might give you a manual penalty, or it might just ignore those PBN backlinks completely.
How to Create PBN Backlinks?
I wouldn’t recommend creating PBN backlinks in 2025 or beyond. Here’s why:
Back in 2006-2007, Google wasn’t as smart as it is now, so people could get away with creating or buying Private Blog Networks (PBNs) for backlinks. This trick worked back then. But on April 24, 2012, Google launched the Penguin algorithm specifically to catch and penalize these manipulative link practices.
If you still want to create your own PBN, know that it’s neither quick nor free. You’d need to:
- Buy 10-15 websites (which costs a lot)
- Publish content on all of them
- Wait about 6 months for them to rank on Google
- And even then, there’s no guarantee your PBN will perform well
Another option is buying backlinks from existing PBNs. But honestly, if you have money to spend, you’re better off buying normal backlinks that will actually help your website instead of potentially harming it.
The third method is getting “free” PBN backlinks from sites like:
- pbookmarking.com
- mbookmarking.com
- freewebmarks.com
- socialbookmarkingwebsite.com
- letsdobookmark.com
These sites look nearly identical, which is a clear sign they’re all run by the same person – a red flag for Google.
What is PBN Link-Building & How to Identify It in a Backlink Profile?
There are usually three ways to spot suspicious links. If a website sending links has very little real visitor traffic, this might mean it was just made to link to other sites.
You can also look at the IP addresses in Ahrefs’ Site Explorer to find websites using the same IP or part of the same network. Cheaper private blog networks (PBNs) often use shared hosting.
Sadly, you won’t always be able to find PBN links, since many PBN owners block Ahrefs from scanning their websites and recording the links on those sites.
Steps to Take After Identifying PBNs
If you notice something fishy in your backlink profile, you can ask Google to ignore those backlinks using the Disavow tool.
But keep in mind that sometimes when you disavow links, your traffic might still go down.
If Google takes manual action against your site, you’ll need to disavow those low-quality PBN backlinks and then submit a request asking Google to reconsider your site. Then you just have to hope Google gives you another chance.
Why Haven’t PBNs Disappeared?
41% of SEO experts think link building is the hardest part of SEO, but other SEO experts still use these techniques. I’d like to share something that actually happened to me.
Colleague: Hey Wahaj. I’m really frustrated because I need to create 10 backlinks today and can’t find good websites.
Me: I shared with him how to find the best websites for backlinks by searching these terms on Google:
- Free business profile backlinks
- Free citations backlinks
- Free business listing sites
- And more…
Colleague: OK, I’ll try this method.
After a few days, he came back
Colleague: Thanks Wahaj! I found lots of websites where it’s easy to create backlinks.
Me: Show me what websites you found.
He showed me the sites
Me: Wait, wait, wait! Stop using these. These are PBNs (Private Blog Networks).
Colleague: How can you tell?
Me: These sites all look the same and have almost no traffic. That means they’re probably all controlled by one owner.
Final Thoughts – Wahaj Ansari
Building backlinks isn’t hard. You need around 40+ good backlinks to get started and help your website rank better in search engines. Don’t use PBN Backlinks and avoid creating many backlinks all at once – Google sees this as low quality. If you want free backlinks, try business listings, profile creation, and image submissions. These types of backlinks will help you show up at the top of search results when people look for your brand name. Now what’s your take on PBNs? Share in the comments!