Is 2018 going to be the year you make it big in the world of SEO? As you begin doing your research, you will come across plenty of search engine optimization tips and tricks. It can be hard to know which ones hold true and which ones are a bunch of rubbish. It becomes even trickier when you are trying to stay in the gray – avoiding black hat SEO strategies and sticking to only white hat SEO.
One of the popular search engine optimization techniques is using private blog networks (or PBNs). In this case, you would own several high authority expired domains and use them to link back to your money-making website. By having these sites point to your money-making site, your ranking in the SERP (search engine results page) will improve.
1. PBNs save time
The determining factor in your search ranking is the number and quality of backlinks it receives. This is why link building is such a critical part of your SEO strategy. Link building campaigns typically involve tons of blogger outreach. With PBNS, you have a shortcut and do not have to spend quite as much time developing relationships with webmasters.
2. Using PBNs for SEO gives you more control
When you are hoping to improve your search ranking, another key search engine optimization tip is to use applicable anchor text. The anchor text refers to the words that are used to hyperlink to the site. When you receive backlinks organically, this is wonderful. However, they may not use anchor texts that help your overall SEO. Whereas when you use PBNs, you have control over the anchor text.
Additionally, you can control the content used to link to your money-making site. Quality content always matters. Therefore, it is important for SEO purposes that the content that is used to link back to your site is valuable. This means you will need to write (or hire professional writers) for these sites to get the content you need.
3. PBNs used for SEO alongside other SEO strategies work best
Here’s where we say you should stay in the middle. PBNs, depending on how they are used, can be considered black hat SEO. This is especially the case if they are being used as the one and only SEO strategy. Google is smart, and with its continuously changing algorithm, it is important to stay up with the latest SEO trends. Instead of relying on PBNs alone, you should also use white hat SEO strategies. For example, spend time gaining organic backlinks, writing keyword rich meta tags, and mobile optimization.
4. Risks involved when using Private Blog Networks for SEO
It must be noted that Google has strict rules for black hat SEO strategies or unethical link schemes. If Google discovers the PBNs directing traffic to your site, then your main site will be penalized. And, a penalty from Google negates your hard work. Google can deindex PBNs.
Ultimately, it is up to you to decide if private blog networks are worth the risk in 2018. For us, we like playing it safe and taking a few strategic risks.