The Ultimate PBN Guide

[WickednDivine]

Good knowledge sharing and stuffs shows your gig efforts.

 

[janist]

How much are you paying for a server on Cloudways? The cheapest PHP server I can find is DO but it's $11/mo - crazy for a 301

Same server directly on DO is $4/mo but I'm not sure how to set up the server and enable the PDO_SQLITE extension so that I can use Archivarix with it

Anyt tips mad appreciated

Dont think $11 is not pricey for a managed server, imo.
If you only want to 301, just use a cheap droplet on DO and install wordpress (1-click) Archivarix has a plugin afaik?

 

[rifmedia]

Thank you so much

 

[enowrawedgrace123]

Please, I have a few other questions. Maybe I got overwhelmed by reading and did not pick up the answers.

1. Do I have to build a PBN each time I'm working on a brand new money site, since it is advised to maintain 1 OBL per PBN?


2. What I picked up from reading about avoiding footprints from hosting is that I have to set up a hosting and registrar account for each PBN, and also a hosting and registrar account for each money site. Is this correct?
If yes, do I also have to make sure they are set up with different providers, or can I just go with the same provider but different accounts?


3. Will a site that had good traffic at some point and a decent link profile qualify for a PBN if it is no longer indexed by Google?

 

[janist]

Please, I have a few other questions. Maybe I got overwhelmed by reading and did not pick up the answers.

1. Do I have to build a PBN each time I'm working on a brand new money site, since it is advised to maintain 1 OBL per PBN?


2. What I picked up from reading about avoiding footprints from hosting is that I have to set up a hosting and registrar account for each PBN, and also a hosting and registrar account for each money site. Is this correct?
If yes, do I also have to make sure they are set up with different providers, or can I just go with the same provider but different accounts?


3. Will a site that had good traffic at some point and a decent link profile qualify for a PBN if it is no longer indexed by Google?

Those were all answered in the thread. And probably answered 2-3x through the thread again.

TO quickly shoot answers:
1.) no
2.) one digital ocena account is enough for 100-200 PBNs, just stick to one droplet per PBN domain and youll be fine. They have $4 / mo options now.
3.) If a site is deindexed, its dead. If that is site:domain.com is not returning any results.

 

[PBNLegends]

Awesome guide! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing this valuable information!

 

[orderlinks]

Hello,

Your guidance has been extremely helpful.

I am preparing to work in Google's SEO field for East Asian countries.
However, I feel that there might be something wrong with my PBN.

The PBN sites themselves are ranking quite well.


However, when I link them to my money site, there is no change in the rankings at all — even after several months.


What could be the reason for this?

A few concerns are that they used rather aggressive anchors (a practice common in some Asian countries), utilized PBN hosting, and deployed a few default themes like Twenty Twenty without any customization.

 

[Henny10]

Hello,

Your guidance has been extremely helpful.

I am preparing to work in Google's SEO field for East Asian countries.
However, I feel that there might be something wrong with my PBN.

The PBN sites themselves are ranking quite well.


However, when I link them to my money site, there is no change in the rankings at all — even after several months.


What could be the reason for this?

A few concerns are that they used rather aggressive anchors (a practice common in some Asian countries), utilized PBN hosting, and deployed a few default themes like Twenty Twenty without any customization.

Yo, read the guide

 

[orderlinks]

Hello,


Thank you for your comment.
I’ve read the guideline advising against using the “default theme.”


However, I’m curious whether this is actually affecting the nullification of link juice in my specific case, or if something else might be causing it.

 

[wtfgame999]

Hey guys, I got an expired domain and downloaded the old site from Wayback Machine. The files still have Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, GDPR scripts, and even traces from the old CMS (like powered by...)


Does it actually make sense to delete all of that stuff? Or should I keep some of it so the rebuild doesn’t look too clean or suspicious to Google? What’s your take on this?

 

[wtfgame999]

Thanks for the detailed guide. I'm just curious about this question (not answered). I have 5-6 expired and recreated domains with original content from Web Archive. But you suggest to rewrite the entire content. Why should we write completely different content instead of original content that already has some backlinks, indexes, and has been around for many years?

Also, I use Cloudflare Pages instead of options like DO/Vultr for hosting. Each PBN has a separate Cloudflare account, separate NS records. Zero footprint. And it's free. Why don't you suggest this?

I’ve HEARD that using Cloudflare (along with a VPS) can work well — even for hosting up to 100 websites across different Cloudflare accounts. But is the Cloudflare static page setup really worth it? Isn’t it harder to update and optimize for SEO?

 

[Hard SEO]

Hi, thank you for the amazing guide.
It's honestly surprising to see someone on BHW who can explain PBNs this clearly — most people here just call themselves "experts" lol.

Until recently, I had no real interest in PBNs, but after failing with many other SEO methods, I've come to realize that PBNs are probably the true core of SEO when done right.
I've burned through a lot of budget doing SEO the wrong way, so now I want to start over properly.

I hope you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions I have:

1. Based on your domain selection criteria, what is the average indexing rate you've seen?
2. I understand that getting niche-relevant expired domains is ideal, but they're extremely rare. What are your thoughts on using domains from unrelated niches and building them out as news-style PBNs?
3. What's your opinion on PBN-specific hosting services that mask IPs using Cloudflare or similar tools?
4. How do you feel about using Gologin + residential proxies to create Google accounts and then verifying each PBN site in GSC just once?
5. When managing over 500 PBNs, what kind of hosting setup would you recommend? For example, services like Vultr often have account or resource limits that make bulk setup difficult.
6. After publishing content on a new PBN, how long do you usually wait before placing a link to your money site?

Thanks again — really appreciate your time and any advice you can share.

 

[janist]

Hi, thank you for the amazing guide.
It's honestly surprising to see someone on BHW who can explain PBNs this clearly — most people here just call themselves "experts" lol.

Until recently, I had no real interest in PBNs, but after failing with many other SEO methods, I've come to realize that PBNs are probably the true core of SEO when done right.
I've burned through a lot of budget doing SEO the wrong way, so now I want to start over properly.

I hope you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions I have:

1. Based on your domain selection criteria, what is the average indexing rate you've seen?
2. I understand that getting niche-relevant expired domains is ideal, but they're extremely rare. What are your thoughts on using domains from unrelated niches and building them out as news-style PBNs?
3. What's your opinion on PBN-specific hosting services that mask IPs using Cloudflare or similar tools?
4. How do you feel about using Gologin + residential proxies to create Google accounts and then verifying each PBN site in GSC just once?
5. When managing over 500 PBNs, what kind of hosting setup would you recommend? For example, services like Vultr often have account or resource limits that make bulk setup difficult.
6. After publishing content on a new PBN, how long do you usually wait before placing a link to your money site?

Thanks again — really appreciate your time and any advice you can share.

1) Indexing rate? 100%
2) That's fine
3) Don't like them.
4) No need. You dont need GSC on a PBN
5) Quite the opposite, I think vultr, DO and AWS are incredibly easy to scale
6) Currently, max 4 weeks until the full site is indexed

 

[Hard SEO]

1) Indexing rate? 100%
2) That's fine
3) Don't like them.
4) No need. You dont need GSC on a PBN
5) Quite the opposite, I think vultr, DO and AWS are incredibly easy to scale
6) Currently, max 4 weeks until the full site is indexed

Assuming you have around 500 PBNs and you’re using Vulture servers at $5 each, that would be $2,500 in server costs. Are you actually seeing enough returns to justify that? No matter how I look at it, the math doesn’t seem to add up.

 

[janist]

Assuming you have around 500 PBNs and you’re using Vulture servers at $5 each, that would be $2,500 in server costs. Are you actually seeing enough returns to justify that? No matter how I look at it, the math doesn’t seem to add up.

Yes, quite a bit more even, as we pay $1 per droplet for backups/screenshots.

But note, that some of that is for a PBN service we provide, not all are OBL = 1 domains.

 

[Hard SEO]

Yes, quite a bit more even, as we pay $1 per droplet for backups/screenshots.

But note, that some of that is for a PBN service we provide, not all are OBL = 1 domains.

So what’s the maximum OBL you maintain per site? Let’s assume it’s 10.
How much are you paying per domain?
You're offering 10 PBN posts for $99 per 3 months — obviously expecting a profit.

But based on simple math:
10 Vultr servers × $5 = $50/month
10 domains × $50 = $500 (even conservatively estimated)

That’s already $550 in base cost, not including:

• Theme customization or installation (labor or time)
• Dummy content to mask footprints
• Initial setup and ongoing maintenance

And if OBL is strictly capped at 10, your maximum revenue is $990 per batch.

So realistically, after subtracting domain costs, server fees, content work, and human labor, is this even profitable? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Panther28]

So what’s the maximum OBL you maintain per site? Let’s assume it’s 10.

But based on simple math:
10 Vultr servers × $5 = $50/month

You can check the marketplace, some SEO hosts are specialized in ip's, designed to save the hassle of using and managing servers to create sites. I've used @Diplomat service PP to run pbns before, and although I haven't used him recently, he's still always telling me what he's doing to improve the service. Maybe even the first Ai agent compatible PBN service?! lol His IPs are like half the price of a server, and you manage everything in a dashboard. Dude is a nuts programmer, you can be sure he's update date with much more technology than most people, as networking is his bread and butter. Its only him that can show me the exact router getting used, in 15 seconds, when I ask last week, "whats the fastest connection speed on the internet?" lol

Also, as for outbound links, it might sound unnafordable, but the best rule without a doubt, is one PBN to one money site. For resellers, it's obviously different, but if you're building your own, you want each part segmented for reduction in contamination, should something go wrong with one. Thats why some people prefer their own. PBN is a widely thrown about term but few people really follow the rules of them, that people like @janist and others set out.

 

[SeoDesignFusion]

Hi!
Read your thread, really well written.
Thanks!

 

[janist]

So what’s the maximum OBL you maintain per site? Let’s assume it’s 10.
How much are you paying per domain?
You're offering 10 PBN posts for $99 per 3 months — obviously expecting a profit.

But based on simple math:
10 Vultr servers × $5 = $50/month
10 domains × $50 = $500 (even conservatively estimated)

That’s already $550 in base cost, not including:

• Theme customization or installation (labor or time)
• Dummy content to mask footprints
• Initial setup and ongoing maintenance

And if OBL is strictly capped at 10, your maximum revenue is $990 per batch.

So realistically, after subtracting domain costs, server fees, content work, and human labor, is this even profitable? I'm genuinely curious.

Of course, initial costs for a PBN are quite high, but so are other links.

And consider that initial purchase prices of the domains are one-off, after that its just hosting + domain renewals mostly.

Content is cheap af, maintenance is easy.

 

[BlackHat Fuel]

Thank you so much you explained very well!