How PBNs are built
An operator buys expired domains that used to belong to real businesses and still have links pointing at them. They put up thin content, often on loosely related topics, and add links to the sites they want to rank, either their own or paying customers'. The old links make the domains look strong in SEO tools.
Why PBN backlinks are risky
Google's spam policies class links created to manipulate rankings as link spam. Its December 2022 link spam update said SpamBrain can now detect sites buying links and sites used to pass outgoing links, and neutralise them. In practice, PBN links are likely to stop counting, and a large pattern of them can lead to a manual action against the site they point to.
The money is the other risk. PBN backlink services charge for links that may already be ignored, and you can't see that from DR alone. Should you buy backlinks? covers the economics.
How to spot a PBN site
- A domain history that doesn't match the current content (check the Wayback Machine).
- Thin posts on many unrelated topics, each with links to businesses.
- No real audience: no comments, social following or branded searches.
- Several sites with the same template, hosting or contact details linking to the same targets.
Example
Twenty blogs on unrelated expired domains, all linking to the same three money sites, are a PBN.
Putting it into practice
Where to use it: White-hat link building checklist and Disavow file generator. For the longer version, read why cheap backlinks usually cost more than they look.