PBN Q&A: Ask me anything about how I build, manage (and rank with) PBNs

[Penumbra]

How much you earn daily on avg if its not secret.

 

[Zher0]

Thanks for all the answers so far, it's been really informative.

Also, what do you mean by flagged hosts?

 

[nglbh]

Can you explain how is it composed your money site, i mean do your through ads or something else?

thanks

 

[BreaknBrix]

There is plenty wrong with new members making an AMA thread.

It isn't as if the new member posted some great tutorial, he posted a "Ask Me Anything" thread, implying that he is some sort of expert (which may or may not be true).

It would be similar to me going to some medical forum and saying "Hi my name is Dr. Doofus, I am a heart/brain surgeon. I just joined here and have no credibility, but let me answer all your questions about heart and brain surgery techniques that you can use on your patients".

If you are willing to take business advice from an anonymous source on the internet that just joined the forum a few days ago, well I guess to each's own.

Oh puh-lease. The amount of questions the guy answered is longer than 98% of "tutorials" I see on BHW.

If he really wanted to be sneaky, he would just buy an aged account and use that. He didn't. He came on here trying to help people and so far he's doing a great job. I've learned quite a bit myself and am thankful for that.

I realize this forum gets a lot of spam but we do have mods on here who know what they're doing.

And I see a very scary phenomenon on BHW that makes me more paranoid than you:

1) There are lots of people who know their shit and do not post on BHW (fact).
2) When they do register on BHW, they immediately intimidate certain older members.
3) So they get accused of all types of shit and a fair % wind up just leaving the forums.

I have called out spammers before but I only do it when I have clear evidence that something shady is going on. I don't do it "just encase" because I don't wanna chase a potentially experienced marketer off BHW.

-BB

 

[slipperflip]

You are da man!!!! Thank you!

So I have a client with multiple money sites - all from different niches. What are your thoughts on using PBN sites to point to these multiple money sites? Could I point several links from the same PBN site to different money sites? Money sites are hosted in different places.

Thanks again!

 

[ThopHayt]

OP:

Could you give us a quick guide on how you search for and choose your PBN domains? Where/how you locate them and what metrics you believe are important. Thanks!!!

 

[soctal]

You have now have 3-4 posts on this thread, none of which actually address the topic. If the op has given out wrong or misleading answers, here's an idea; Give out the correct information! That would actually help people learn what is bs and what is not.

This.

I think in a recent rant I posted I included a phrase to the effect of: the single hardest thing about 'internet marketing' is knowing the difference between BS when you read it, and good advice/information.

 

[hatblackguy]

Which one is the best of these 4 hostings?
1) http://
2) https://
3) https://
4) http://
note: I cannot use different shared hosting at the moment. I know this is the best, so do not recommend this option.

Dude you shouldn't post links like these on open thread's you know better than that lol,
Btw not that this bothers me

also :ugh1: everyone keeps on asking the exact same question's over and over again why?

 

[alexodysglobal]

Can you please create your account on skype?

charlesmacneil55,

I already have a Skype account mate. PM'ed your my ID.

Thanks for sharing your experience..! (SORRY BHW doesn't allow me to use paragraphs for some reason...) __________________________________1. If I have a small PBN with 25 sites. Is it OK to use the same cheap hosts 2-3 times on them? ______________________________________________2. Do you think using URL of the moneysite as anchor text would help ranking more than just some other anchor? _________________________________________3. Do you use Image-links sometimes? ______________________________________________________4. If a domain has excellent links but has was dropped several times, BUT wasn't spammed or used as a PBN, would you buy it? ______________________________________________________5. what if archive is showing empty "errors" throughout for a domain I bought, from day 1? get rid of it despite the excellent backlinks?

parabellum2,

1. Every shared hosting provider allows a certain number of addon domains. The maximum we've hosted on the same IP is 3 domains. And we did it absolutely random. It's too risky to host more. I would better ask for a dedicated IP if they have an affordable solution. However, as of lately, we decided to do our best to keep no more than 1 PBN website per shared hosting account or per IP. If you're short of money or constantly search for ways to optimize the expenses of your PBN, then start with Host9's reseller account as most beginners do anyway and avoid hosting your 25 sites on the same IPs.

2. One of the reason I rarely use the naked URL of my money site or page as anchor text is simply because by doing an exact match search query in Google with my URL you can easily find my PBN website where the link is hosted on. But generally speaking, yes, it's healthy to have some naked URL as your anchor text. Definitely.

3. Nope, just text links only. I do it old school and it works great. I'm thinking about running a test and linking images with relevant alt text (my keywords basically) though. Will post an update when the results of that test are available so we can all learn from it.

4. Yes, I would definitely buy it. The way I see PBN domains is just web platforms for laundering the link juice of a dying domain to my money site via the right anchor text. I wouldn't buy a dropped domain for my money site though. So if it has a clean backlink profile, clean history, excellent links, then definitely go for it!

5. I would take the risk and buy the domain. I recently purchased an expired domain with good links which showed just error pages in WayBack Machine. However, later I realized it was a members-only WP site (they even blocked search bots from indexing it) that still gets 40-50 hits per day from Pinterest. Guess what? I removed it from my PBN, added AdSense and transformed into into a money site. Doesn't earn much, but it's free traffic. Sometimes you have to go for it, wisely

6. I also want to hire a VA to help me. What do you pay your VA? Does he work for you full time? Where can I find a good one? Thanks!!

parabellum2,

I have a very loyal VA in the Philippines. I pay him $100 USD per week at the moment. Yes, the guy works for me full time. Google 'Online Jobs Philippines', I can't post links mate.

Which one is the best of these 4 hostings?
1)
2)
3)
4)

note: I cannot use different shared hosting at the moment. I know this is the best, so do not recommend this option.

moonlighsunligh,

I've deleted the URLs since it won't allow me to post the reply even with your links in quotes.

OK, so I wouldn't host my PBN sites with any company that promotes its services as 'SEO hosting', even if they have different A, B, C class IPs for every site you host with them. The problem is their clients are all PBN owners. So they will host everyone's sites on the same servers. Now, if someone has a large enough PBN network to trigger a manual review from one of Google's employees, they will probably check all websites hosted on that IP and de-index everything without looking back. SEO hosting may be a little bit cheaper, but I prefer to stay on the safe side.

How much you earn daily on avg if its not secret.

Penumbra,

I earn enough to keep my family happy.

Thanks for all the answers so far, it's been really informative.

Also, what do you mean by flagged hosts?

Zher0,

You're welcome mate. I believe all mainstream SEO hosting companies, like the famous SEOhosting d.o.t.c.o.m, which is basically the same HostGator company reselling hosting on different C Class IPs to be flagged hosting. They all belong to a larger group 'Endurance International'. Basically same servers in most of the cases. Any web hosting service tagged with SEO hosting will sooner or later trigger Google's attention and your PBN investment may vanish if your network gets busted. Google is the ultimate control freak and has the pontential to go after every blatantly self promoted as SEO hosting company.

Can you explain how is it composed your money site, i mean do your through ads or something else?

thanks

nglbh,

I've lately increased my portfolio by buying several good earning AdSense websites. I also monetize several of my websites with CPA leads in the home improvement niche. I also sell links to big companies. They contact you directly once you rank high enough to drive their attention.

You are da man!!!! Thank you!

So I have a client with multiple money sites - all from different niches. What are your thoughts on using PBN sites to point to these multiple money sites? Could I point several links from the same PBN site to different money sites? Money sites are hosted in different places.

Thanks again!

slipperflip,

If you have a small network, this is your only option. You can choose which site to post to when you have a bigger PBN mate. Just create different categories if the domains are too niche specific. I try to keep my PBN domains as generic as possible and I have only 1 category. SEO Power also mentioned a nice trick on how you can easily re-purpose any content to be able to link to any money site. Check post nr #7 in this thread.

 

[alexodysglobal]

OP:

Could you give us a quick guide on how you search for and choose your PBN domains? Where/how you locate them and what metrics you believe are important. Thanks!!!

ThopHayt,

You just inspired me to write a guide on this topic, since I see many beginners finding it really difficult. I need 24 hours or so to prepare a really detailed guide on how to search for domains. It should be ready by tomorrow

 

[parabellum2]

Thanks for the awesom answers, man I really appreciate it! Another question regarding VA: How does he register and pay new hosting accounts for you? Do you just give him your PayPal login and he pays with that? (This was the main reason I couldn't hire a VA 2 days ago)

 

[rayee]

May i ask

1. How many hostings/domain registrar do you have?
2. Can you provide code to hide the network?
3. Do you use spider spanker?
4. Do you send SPAM as tier 2 to your PBN? Some say yes, some say not to not destroy your PBN


Greatly appreciate the advice.

 

[parabellum2]

1. Do you have some tricks to find good (sounding) brands for your moneysites? ___________________________2. Do you use your KW in the brand name for moneysites? ___________________________3. Do you "separate" your PBNs from each other? E.g. these 100 PBN sites will be used for XYZ moneysites, and these other 100 PBN sites will be used only for YYY moneysites. The idea behind it is not to have the complete PBN deindexed, if one PBN site is reported/manually checked by Google. ___________________________4. What happens if a PBN site gets reported -> the whole PBN then becomes useless? Thanks!!

 

[SEO Power]

1. Do you have some tricks to find good (sounding) brands for your moneysites? ___________________________2. Do you use your KW in the brand name for moneysites? ___________________________3. Do you "separate" your PBNs from each other? E.g. these 100 PBN sites will be used for XYZ moneysites, and these other 100 PBN sites will be used only for YYY moneysites. The idea behind it is not to have the complete PBN deindexed, if one PBN site is reported/manually checked by Google. ___________________________4. What happens if a PBN site gets reported -> the whole PBN then becomes useless? Thanks!!

1. Just think creatively and you'll be able to think up a nice brand name. http://fastcompany.com/1702256/how-pick-perfect-brand-name

2. You can if you want, but then it would no longer be a brand name. Rather, it would be a phrase match keyword. However, you can pick one word from your keyword phrase and include it in your brand name. E.g.

Keyword: best bicycles
Brand name: BicyclesHQ

3. You can do it that way if you can afford twice or three times the number of expired domains you actually need.

4. No, until Google takes action against it.

 

[bbleo]

same wordpress theme on all sites may harm my network ?

 

[bbleo]

one more:
should we interlink all blogs or we must try to avoid interlinking ?

 

[alexodysglobal]

Thanks for the awesom answers, man I really appreciate it! Another question regarding VA: How does he register and pay new hosting accounts for you? Do you just give him your PayPal login and he pays with that? (This was the main reason I couldn't hire a VA 2 days ago)

You are welcome parabellum2.

This particular VA has been working for me for years so I kind of trust him. Yes, we have several PayPal accounts he has access to. Nevertheless, you can easily just transfer enough funds to his own PayPal account for him to buy hosting or just create one for this purpose. After all, we aren't talking about big amounts of money, unless you buy 20-30 yearly hosting accounts at once.

May i ask

1. How many hostings/domain registrar do you have?
2. Can you provide code to hide the network?
3. Do you use spider spanker?
4. Do you send SPAM as tier 2 to your PBN? Some say yes, some say not to not destroy your PBN


Greatly appreciate the advice.

rayee,

1. We have several different real personas, email accounts and PayPals that we use to buy hosting. The same goes for registrar accounts. I've created several different accounts with GoDaddy, Namecheap & Name. However, these are real people, family and close friends.

2. Using the exact same .htaccess or robots.txt code on every website in your network may create a footprint. I've pasted a piece of code on page 2 of this thread. There is also a big list somewhere on this forum that you can use to block all bad bots including the most famous link crawlers. If you want mine, please Skype me.

3. Yes, I use SS on most of the sites, but not all. I do my best to randomize as much as possible. Some have SS installed, some sites have bad bots blocked manually via .htaccess and some don't have any protection at all. This keeps things a little bit more natural.

4. No, I don't spam my PBN, I believe that would expose it too much. However, I haven't personally tested to see if it's more efficient having a bunch of low quality GSA links as tier 2. I consider the tier 2 links the original incoming links to the PBN domain I buy.

1. Do you have some tricks to find good (sounding) brands for your moneysites? ___________________________2. Do you use your KW in the brand name for moneysites? ___________________________3. Do you "separate" your PBNs from each other? E.g. these 100 PBN sites will be used for XYZ moneysites, and these other 100 PBN sites will be used only for YYY moneysites. The idea behind it is not to have the complete PBN deindexed, if one PBN site is reported/manually checked by Google. ___________________________4. What happens if a PBN site gets reported -> the whole PBN then becomes useless? Thanks!!

parabellum2,

1. I just browse around the web for ideas or simply use my imagination. There are many cool tools out there that may help you come up with catchy brandable domain names. Just Google "brand name generator" or something similar

2. I try to avoid using any keywords I strive to rank for in the domain names of my money sites unless it makes sense. EMDs or PMDs scream affiliate marketers and spam in the SERPs so I try to avoid that. Anyway, it's up to you. I just feel like offering something people searching for information can trust more - a brand. For a health niche website on "how to lose weight" i would buy the domain theslimmingqueen.d.o.t.c.o.m for example.

3. Of course. This means safety down the road. Even though the total number of sites I got for my PBNs is a little over 500, I try to keep them in batches of 50 to 100 sites and very rarely post on all of them at once. If you can rank a page with just 20-30 PBN links, why abuse or risk all your network being smashed?

4. It depends how angry the competitor reporting your network is. I had a small network of around 30 websites de-indexed last year after dealing with an angry webmaster who lost his domain after forgetting to renew it in GoDaddy Closeouts and started threatening me via email. In the end he released his anger to the fullest and reported around 30 websites he was able to find to Google. They all got de-indexed. The problem was I posted 30 articles with naked URL links as the anchor text. He just did a query with the URL in Google and found all 30 of them. Well, there is no business without loss.

same wordpress theme on all sites may harm my network ?

one more:
should we interlink all blogs or we must try to avoid interlinking ?

bbleo,

Absolutely not, avoid using the same theme on your PBN sites at all cost. It's the most obvious possible footprint.

Same goes for interlinking, the biggest mistake ever. Ideally, there should be no connection whatsoever between your PBN sites.

 

[parabellum2]

This particular VA has been working for me for years so I kind of trust him. Yes, we have several PayPal accounts he has access to. Nevertheless, you can easily just transfer enough funds to his own PayPal account for him to buy hosting or just create one for this purpose. After all, we aren't talking about big amounts of money, unless you buy 20-30 yearly hosting accounts at once.

Perfect solution!

parabellum2, 2. I try to avoid using any keywords I strive to rank for in the domain names of my money sites unless it makes sense. EMDs or PMDs scream affiliate marketers and spam in the SERPs so I try to avoid that. Anyway, it's up to you. I just feel like offering something people searching for information can trust more - a brand. For a health niche website on "how to lose weight" i would buy the domain theslimmingqueen.d.o.t.c.o.m for example.

Got it!

3. Of course. This means safety down the road. Even though the total number of sites I got for my PBNs is a little over 500, I try to keep them in batches of 50 to 100 sites and very rarely post on all of them at once. If you can rank a page with just 20-30 PBN links, why abuse or risk all your network being smashed?

Got it!

4. It depends how angry the competitor reporting your network is. I had a small network of around 30 websites de-indexed last year after dealing with an angry webmaster who lost his domain after forgetting to renew it in GoDaddy Closeouts and started threatening me via email. In the end he released his anger to the fullest and reported around 30 websites he was able to find to Google. They all got de-indexed. The problem was I posted 30 articles with naked URL links as the anchor text. He just did a query with the URL in Google and found all 30 of them. Well, there is no business without loss.

Well it seems I misunderstood the whole process of having your PBNs reported. I thought if only 1 of your PBN sites gets reported, Google would automatically deindex ALL PBN-sites that are linking to the same money site. But as far as I understand only those particular reported sites get busted, isn't it?

1. Just think creatively and you'll be able to think up a nice brand name. http://fastcompany.com/1702256/how-pick-perfect-brand-name 2. You can if you want, but then it would no longer be a brand name. Rather, it would be a phrase match keyword. However, you can pick one word from your keyword phrase and include it in your brand name. E.g. Keyword: best bicycles Brand name: BicyclesHQ 3. You can do it that way if you can afford twice or three times the number of expired domains you actually need. 4. No, until Google takes action against it.

Thanks for the article, very insightful! And for your other answers as well..! I like the idea of no KW at all in the brand name.

 

[rayee]

How do you know when your PBN becomes ineffective or was reported? I do not connect them to web masters.

 

[TragikGod]

Thank you for your reply! I am not confused anymore.


You gave this code for htaccess


SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent .*rogerbot.* bad_bot
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent .*exabot.* bad_bot
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent .*mj12bot.* bad_bot
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent .*dotbot.* bad_bot
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent .*gigabot.* bad_bot
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent .*ahrefsbot.* bad_bot
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent .*sitebot.* bad_bot
<Limit GET POST HEAD>
Order Allow,Deny
Allow from all
Deny from env=bad_bot
</Limit>


Do you add anything into robots.txt along with this?