Creating a PBN...got some questions

[vexxatu]

Hey guys,

I am a long-time reader of these forums, just decided to create an account recently to get more interactive since I'm trying to do some real work myself. With that said, I plan on creating a PBN by myself and while I read a lot of threads on what are the best practices, I still have some concerns and questions.

I started creating the sites on a pretty low frequency, to avoid making mistakes and to consolidate each site (with content, looks etc). All the sites are WP and each on popular shared hosting providers (siteground, dreamhost..etc)

- Each site is built in WP and has a premium theme installed. I know the general advice is to go to 1 unique theme per PBN but I figured since organically, premium themes are used by thousands, it will not hurt to use the same theme on 3-4 times, on different domains. I have at this moment 10 premium themes which I rotate. Is that a good practice?
- Some say that using a 301 redirect plugin is advisable to redirect all those backlinks of the expired domain to the root domain...some say you should leave it as it is. I'm not sure what's the correct approach here.
- I know the PBN sites must be "blasted" with some SEO and since I want the network to last, I can't throw any spam at them. Besides social signals, what do you guys recommend per PBN site?
- I know this is a broad question and depends on many factors, but as a starter PBN network, how many sites do you think I should start with to have some impact on medium competition kw? I was thinking 20 but I fear the number is too low.
- How often should I "refresh" a PBN site. My plan is to add a new article per week per PBN site. Is it too often (and more work) or should I add content bi-montly or less?
- I know that it should be a backlink ratio towards the money site. I choose to go the safer-ish way, with 15-20% keyword, 20% naked, 20% brand etc. Do you guys use the PBN only for the kw and the rest from social signals, web 2.0 etc or do you do this ratio mainly from the PBN?
- Do you think I should build a web 2.0 network also to link to the PBN sites? (or buy them) or it's not worth it?
- Do you edit/create each PBN site with a VPN active or it doesn't matter? I don't have any analytics (evidently) and i'm not using Chrome or any Google services to avoid any footprints.
- How do you guys check the health of the PBN? (since you don't add WMT or any analytics).
- Lastly, how do you guys get your domains faster? I'm using Hammerhead (paid) and expireddomains but it's a hassle to find good domains weekly.

I appologize for the long post but I prefer it like this than posting 10 threads with 10 different questions

Also thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[jordanbc]

I'm new to PBN's also, so I am watching this thread closely.

 

[marios_521]

it will not hurt to use the same theme on 3-4 times, on different domains

Sure, but it may hurt it you have backlinks from sites with the same 3-4 themes.

Besides social signals, what do you guys recommend per PBN site?

Web 2.00s is the most used practice here. I think you have to think about it.

I was thinking 20 but I fear the number is too low.

Better go with quality and building it up based on your results.

How do you guys check the health of the PBN? (since you don't add WMT or any analytics).

You can use a random stats plugin in WP and a rank tracker to check rankings.

 

[SpoonFeeder]

- Each site is built in WP and has a premium theme installed. I know the general advice is to go to 1 unique theme per PBN but I figured since organically, premium themes are used by thousands, it will not hurt to use the same theme on 3-4 times, on different domains. I have at this moment 10 premium themes which I rotate. Is that a good practice?

You should be fine using the same themes on multiple sites. Also, installing the free theme will work just fine.

- Some say that using a 301 redirect plugin is advisable to redirect all those backlinks of the expired domain to the root domain...some say you should leave it as it is. I'm not sure what's the correct approach here.

Look at the backlink ratio for the root domain vs the sub-pages. If the root domain ie., domain.com got more backlinks than the domain.com/somepage then it's ok to leave it as it is but if any of those sub-page got higher PA than the root domain, then it makes sense to redirect it. The point here is to not raise any red flags thus leaving it as it is.

- I know the PBN sites must be "blasted" with some SEO and since I want the network to last, I can't throw any spam at them. Besides social signals, what do you guys recommend per PBN site?

It's not a must but can. You can send them angela paul as well as profile links.

- I know this is a broad question and depends on many factors, but as a starter PBN network, how many sites do you think I should start with to have some impact on medium competition kw? I was thinking 20 but I fear the number is too low.

You should be looking at your competitor's link profile here to gauge the network size.

- How often should I "refresh" a PBN site. My plan is to add a new article per week per PBN site. Is it too often (and more work) or should I add content bi-montly or less?

A minimum of 10 500 word articles is all that is needed to kickstart the network. After that, post it as you please.

- I know that it should be a backlink ratio towards the money site. I choose to go the safer-ish way, with 15-20% keyword, 20% naked, 20% brand etc. Do you guys use the PBN only for the kw and the rest from social signals, web 2.0 etc or do you do this ratio mainly from the PBN?

Your competitor's link profile will help here as well to estimate the kw ratio.

- Do you think I should build a web 2.0 network also to link to the PBN sites? (or buy them) or it's not worth it?

If the PBN is not getting the ranks you needed, only then should you build the web 2.0 network for your PBN., to get more JuicePower for the PBN.

- Do you edit/create each PBN site with a VPN active or it doesn't matter? I don't have any analytics (evidently) and i'm not using Chrome or any Google services to avoid any footprints.

That's being super paranoid. Unless your ISP is Google, You don't need a VPN/proxy while you login to your PBN.

- How do you guys check the health of the PBN? (since you don't add WMT or any analytics).

Google's index and your server log is your friend here.

- Lastly, how do you guys get your domains faster? I'm using Hammerhead (paid) and expireddomains but it's a hassle to find good domains weekly.

My bot will do that for me.

 

[patriotnews]

Each site is built in WP and has a premium theme installed. I know the general advice is to go to 1 unique theme per PBN but I figured since organically, premium themes are used by thousands, it will not hurt to use the same theme on 3-4 times, on different domains. I have at this moment 10 premium themes which I rotate. Is that a good practice?

I use a theme 1x. I use plenty of free theme as well, as cheaper premiums, as the look of my PBN isn't as picky of a point as it is with my money site.

Some say that using a 301 redirect plugin is advisable to redirect all those backlinks of the expired domain to the root domain...some say you should leave it as it is. I'm not sure what's the correct approach here.

I mix it up:
301 to homepage
301s to different pages
No 301s
Rebuild old pages under same urls

I know the PBN sites must be "blasted" with some SEO and since I want the network to last, I can't throw any spam at them. Besides social signals, what do you guys recommend per PBN site?

That is far from a MUST, in fact, why build a PBN if you MUST build backlinks to it. Don't build a link to a PBN site that you wouldn't build to your money site, and if it is a quality link, why not point it at your money site?

- I know this is a broad question and depends on many factors, but as a starter PBN network, how many sites do you think I should start with to have some impact on medium competition kw? I was thinking 20 but I fear the number is too low.

That boils down to your competitors, nothing more. You need more powerful links then they have.

How often should I "refresh" a PBN site. My plan is to add a new article per week per PBN site. Is it too often (and more work) or should I add content bi-montly or less?

How many posts do you put up before you link to your site?
I upload usually 20-40 posts, dripfed over a 1-3 month period: unless I am rebuilding the old site, then I just slam the whole site up and let it age for a bit.
Then I put up my link, and then drip posts mixed:
Weekly
Bi-weekly
monthly
Quarterly
Never

- I know that it should be a backlink ratio towards the money site. I choose to go the safer-ish way, with 15-20% keyword, 20% naked, 20% brand etc. Do you guys use the PBN only for the kw and the rest from social signals, web 2.0 etc or do you do this ratio mainly from the PBN?

I use a different ratio.
60% brand
20% naked
15% generic/lsi
5% keyword
I personally believe it is more important to simply get Google to my site, and let the google-bot figure out what my site is about

Do you think I should build a web 2.0 network also to link to the PBN sites? (or buy them) or it's not worth it?

Are you afraid your PBN isn't powerful? Why spend time/energy/resources if you feel it isn't strong enough?

Do you edit/create each PBN site with a VPN active or it doesn't matter? I don't have any analytics (evidently) and i'm not using Chrome or any Google services to avoid any footprints

I am not paranoid of Google spying that hard.

How do you guys check the health of the PBN? (since you don't add WMT or any analytics).

Is it indexed? Is it showing as a link in my money site wmt? I'm good.

Lastly, how do you guys get your domains faster? I'm using Hammerhead (paid) and expireddomains but it's a hassle to find good domains weekly.

I use reputable brokers

 

[Nargil]

- Each site is built in WP and has a premium theme installed. I know the general advice is to go to 1 unique theme per PBN but I figured since organically, premium themes are used by thousands, it will not hurt to use the same theme on 3-4 times, on different domains. I have at this moment 10 premium themes which I rotate. Is that a good practice?

Mix it up. Free themes are good as well. There are thousands of themes available, don't focus on the themes that have full articles on homepage. This is imo one of the biggest footprints if you overdo it.

- Some say that using a 301 redirect plugin is advisable to redirect all those backlinks of the expired domain to the root domain...some say you should leave it as it is. I'm not sure what's the correct approach here.

There are people who are not fans of 404 to homepage redirects. Some claim they have been penalized for that, some claim that those are counted as weak 302s. Never seen proofs of either really. If 90% links point to homepage, do nothing. If links are spread out across a few internal pages, recreate those. If links are all over the place, consider using redirect. Be careful though, fact that I haven't seen any poof does not mean it's not true. I am not too worried about that, especially if you use it only on a small percentage of sites.

- I know the PBN sites must be "blasted" with some SEO and since I want the network to last, I can't throw any spam at them. Besides social signals, what do you guys recommend per PBN site?

Oh that's so not true. Unless you know PERFECTLY what you are doing, do not build any tier 2 to your PBN. As you said, you can't build spam links to PBNs. Alright. So you want to build quality? Okay. If those links are so good, then why not pointing them to money site directly? Social signals are fine, but get good enough domains and this won't be necessary at all. I strongly do not advise any tier 2 linkbuilding.

- I know this is a broad question and depends on many factors, but as a starter PBN network, how many sites do you think I should start with to have some impact on medium competition kw? I was thinking 20 but I fear the number is too low.

Take it one step at a time. Get your feet wet with 10 - 15 domains, then gradually increase the number. Don't take more than you can chew and SEO won't run anywhere.

- How often should I "refresh" a PBN site. My plan is to add a new article per week per PBN site. Is it too often (and more work) or should I add content bi-montly or less?

Not necessary at all. PBNs are, despite what many people here believe, set and forget. Build up the site, schedule 10 - 15 articles over the year and you are set.

- I know that it should be a backlink ratio towards the money site. I choose to go the safer-ish way, with 15-20% keyword, 20% naked, 20% brand etc. Do you guys use the PBN only for the kw and the rest from social signals, web 2.0 etc or do you do this ratio mainly from the PBN?

10-20% keyword will get you into trouble, unless you are in some super spammy niche. Most of the time I use 60% brand, 30% url, then spread out the rest. I am playing anchors super safe with exact being under 1%. With every Penguin update, Google puts less and less emphasis on anchor texts as a ranking factor. If your onsite SEO is good enough, you really don't need to tell Google what your site is about via anchors.

- Do you think I should build a web 2.0 network also to link to the PBN sites? (or buy them) or it's not worth it?

Not necessary at all.

- Do you edit/create each PBN site with a VPN active or it doesn't matter? I don't have any analytics (evidently) and i'm not using Chrome or any Google services to avoid any footprints.

If you do not feel safe, then just use Firefox. If you are too paranoid, then use a separate install of Firefox Portable with different proxy each for every site. Not that much trouble.

- How do you guys check the health of the PBN? (since you don't add WMT or any analytics).

What health? Make sure you are not using crap domains and you will be perfectly fine. And once you set it up and link to your money site, don't remove the link unless something bad happens. Google hates backlinks being deleted.

- Lastly, how do you guys get your domains faster? I'm using Hammerhead (paid) and expireddomains but it's a hassle to find good domains weekly.

Hit me up anytime

 

[vexxatu]

wow, thanks for all the advice, BHW members never fail to impress me with their help-ness

I use reputable brokers

Any reputable brokers that you can recommend?

10-20% keyword will get you into trouble, unless you are in some super spammy niche. Most of the time I use 60% brand, 30% url, then spread out the rest. I am playing anchors super safe with exact being under 1%. With every Penguin update, Google puts less and less emphasis on anchor texts as a ranking factor. If your onsite SEO is good enough, you really don't need to tell Google what your site is about via anchors.

What health? Make sure you are not using crap domains and you will be perfectly fine. And once you set it up and link to your money site, don't remove the link unless something bad happens. Google hates backlinks being deleted.

Hit me up anytime

I might hit you up since getting good domains is a bit of a hassle for me. As for the keyword ratios and Penguin you are right, I'll play it safer.

 

[vexxatu]

Are you afraid your PBN isn't powerful? Why spend time/energy/resources if you feel it isn't strong enough?

Being a newbie in the PBN game I'm afraid of many things. My PBN is far from anything at this point since it's the first I'm building using guidelines found around here. Not saying it isn't...but since I created my first 10 sites a week ago, I didn't had the chance on testing them linking to the money site. I'll let them boil for a bit for 3-4 weeks then add some juice./

 

[freekerza]

Try to create each of the blogs as a money site where you could rank every post that you publish. Use different themes, different hosts and different registrars fr domains.

 

[speter178]

Great tips, very useful!
- Do you put link(s) to your money site (+ to some authority sites like wikipedia) in every blogpost you publish?
- Any tips registering domains/hostings? Random name? Can I pay with same Paypal everytime?
- Can I use content from expired domains?
Cheers!

 

[patriotnews]

Do you put link(s) to your money site (+ to some authority sites like wikipedia) in every blogpost you publish?

No! I repeat, NO!

Any tips registering domains/hostings? Random name?

Registering a domain and buying hosting for a PBN is no different than when doing it for a money site, only difference is you should wear rubber gloves and a ski mask when doing it for your PBN.

Can I pay with same Paypal everytime?

I do.

Can I use content from expired domains?

Yes, it is a style of rebuilding an old site. Many people do it.

 

[marios_521]

you should wear rubber gloves and a ski mask when doing it for your PBN

What do you mean?

 

[Anzd787]

Yes, it is a style of rebuilding an old site. Many people do it.

where is better rebuild old site or make new to my niche ?

 

[patriotnews]

What do you mean?

I mean don't be too paranoid of Google, at the end of the day they are an advertising company that has a popular search engine, not the NSA.

 

[patriotnews]

where is better rebuild old site or make new to my niche ?

I can't answer that.
I mix mine up, sometimes when it is great for context,other times when it can make sense. Like I wouldn't restore a grandma's blog on quilting to sell dildos...ok, that one might work, but you understand what I mean.

 

[vexxatu]

My bot will do that for me.

Is that a custom bot or something I can buy? Don't want to be intrusive, only if you can share this info

 

[Nargil]

Is that a custom bot or something I can buy? Don't want to be intrusive, only if you can share this info

No bot ever can determine whether the domain is clean or not. You can pre-filter them, sure, but it has to be done by hand.

 

[vexxatu]

No bot ever can determine whether the domain is clean or not. You can pre-filter them, sure, but it has to be done by hand.

I agree, at the end you have to hand pick them. However, expiredomains, while an ok service, it's a bit hard to work it, I was wondering if this bot eases the job.

 

[Nargil]

I agree, at the end you have to hand pick them. However, expiredomains, while an ok service, it's a bit hard to work it, I was wondering if this bot eases the job.

They can merely lower the workload if you need to go through hundreds of domains, but they will not provide more precise results than hand check. Not even close.

 

[SpoonFeeder]

I agree, at the end you have to hand pick them. However, expiredomains, while an ok service, it's a bit hard to work it, I was wondering if this bot eases the job.

I built the bot for my own use as finding expired domains and filtering the best ones will become super-boring task if you're to build 50+ PBN sites per week. The bot just does the 90% of the work and the remaining 10% still needs to be done manually. Yeah, the bot is not for sale.