Red de blogs privados (PBN)

What is a Private Blog Network (PBN)?

A private blog network (PBN) is a group of websites created solely to build backlinks to another site. The sites in the private blog network are typically owned by the same person or entity and are intended to trick search engines into believing that the site receiving the link is more popular than it really is.

Bloggers often create private blog networks by purchasing expired domain names belonging to sites that previously ranked on Google.

Since search engines use backlinks to determine a site’s authority and rankings, it is common for bloggers to buy up these domains and update them with backlinks pointing to their sites. That way, the sites pass link juice to their main site and increase their rankings.

That said, private blog networks violate Google Search Essentials guidelines. Google considers them a link scheme and could demote or deindex sites that use them. However, bloggers using private blog networks typically put much effort into hiding their ownership to avoid Google’s penalty.

Why Bloggers Create Private Blog Networks

Links are one of Google’s ranking factors. They are considered a vote of confidence given from one site to another. They also pass link equity from one URL to another. This makes them crucial for sites looking to rank on Google results pages. 

High-ranking sites typically have multiple high-quality backlinks pointing them to them. However, link building is hard and time-consuming, and some bloggers cannot or do not want to wait to get these links naturally.

So, these bloggers create private blog networks to artificially inflate the quality and quantity of the links pointing to them. Search engines will think these links are organic and rank the sites appropriately on their search results pages.

While the specific method differs, one common method is to buy up expired domains that previously ranked on Google and update them with links to their main site. In return, search engines would treat the links as natural links and increase the rankings of the main site on their search results page.

Aside from increasing a site’s backlinks, private blog networks also allow bloggers to manipulate various signals that search engines use to analyze the relevance of the URL. For example, bloggers can use keyword-rich anchor texts, which increase their chances of ranking for those keywords.

However, bloggers usually hide the fact that they own the sites involved in the private blog network. This ensures that search engines cannot identify, discredit their links, and issue penalties against them. 

Importance of Private Blog Networks

Private blog networks are not important to SEO. They violate Google Search Essentials guidelines, which Google expects bloggers to follow to ensure their content continues ranking on its results pages.

Google considers private blog networks link spam and penalizes websites that use them to boost their rankings. When this happens, Google reduces the traffic that reaches the site or removes it entirely from its search results pages.

While private blog networks can work and drive traffic to their owners’ sites, the benefits could be temporary, as Google may uncover them sooner or later. The consequences may also last longer than the blogger expects or is willing to handle.

Bloggers who are also uncovered would also have to switch to white hat SEO link building techniques. So, it is recommended to use white hat link building methods from the onset as it avoids the issues that come with a private blog network.

While they may be slower in getting you traffic and backlinks, they are more sustainable and provide long-term benefits, including the ability to drive traffic to your site long after Google has penalized and demoted sites that use private blog networks to increase their backlinks.                                                          

Difference Between Private Blog Networks and Link Farms

A private blog network is similar to a link farm. However, there are considerable differences between them. One significant difference relates to how they link to the sites within them.

While the sites in a link farm link to one another, the sites in a private blog network only link to the main site the blogger wants to rank. The main site that they link to does not link back to them. The other sites within the private blog network do not link out to one another either. This contrasts with a link farm where every site links to the other.

The sites in a private blog network are also more selectively curated and relevant to the sites they link to. In contrast, the sites in a link farm are not always related to one another. The sites in a link farm are also typically owned by multiple people, while those within a private blog network are usually owned by the same person or entity.

That said, Google considers both link farms and private blog networks a form of link spam since they are created to manipulate search rankings. So, both will cause Google to issue penalties against the sites involved.