"I Have $$$$ To Invest": Starting A PBN With $500 Edition

Sherb

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PBN Q&A: Ask me anything about how I build, manage (and rank with) PBNsNote: My experience managing a PBN is minimal, but my experience managing Wordpress sites, BHW sellers, dealing with building budgets, researching cost compared to time spent, workplace efficiency and such is far higher. For a full breakdown of creating a PBN, I suggest @lightningblitz's thread https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/how-to-build-your-own-pbn-a-quick-guide-for-newbies.813358/, or the resources at the bottom of the thread.

Got $500 initial startup and want to start a PBN, but have no clue where to start, how to find expired domains, how to set up hosting, how to avoid footprints, etc? Have the startup funds but don't have the time to learn, execute, and go? I set up a ten site niche PBN in under 24 hours using the below, nothing is stopping you from doing the same. So here is the breakdown:

OBTAINING EXPIRED DOMAINS (RESEARCH)

Go to https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/nargils-expired-premium-pbn-domains-tf-da-referring-domains-based.833397/. Please note, I have no affiliation with @Nargil, I only PM'ed him for the first time last week, and he has no idea I'm making this thread. Get ten domains, averaging $10 each. Whether that's ten TF9+, five TF5+ and five TF14+ or whatever, just get ten of them. Use the 20% off coupon for bulk orders and you're looking at a total of $80. I suggest using the spreadsheet provided to grab domains that are in similar categories.

Total Cost: $80

OBTAINING EXPIRED DOMAINS (PURCHASING)

Now go to Namecheap. Purchase those ten domains. I chose Namecheap because you get free WhoIs for a year, no questions asked. I used whatever 10% off coupon they had at the time, and the total cost for all ten domains (most were dot-com, a couple were dot-net) was around $100, give or take a couple. Leave them be for now regarding nameservers and the like.

Total Cost: $180

HOSTING YOUR DOMAINS

I didn't want to screw around with new hosting accounts and all that junk, I just wanted to set it and forget it. I used @Nerevar's https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/easy-blog-networks-1-click-pbn-hosting-autopilot-maintenance-2-blog-approved.735693/ for this. Again, I have no affiliation, and I didn't even know he was a BHW seller until after I bought the service from the website outside BHW. Ten domains is $35 to host per month, $7 initially for the first seven days. For the sake of rounding, I'm considering the initial seven days and first month together as $40 for this. Get an account and follow the prompts. Literally all you have to do is tell it your domains, put in a few other things, and change your nameservers. They host on several different hosting providers and are built for PBN's.

Total Cost: $220

CONTENT CREATION

For this I'd suggest @BlogPro and his Monthly Blogging package on his https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/blogpros-ultra-high-quality-content-website-content-monthly-blogging-kindle-books-erotica.851891/. Again, no affiliation, and I've used his services on multiple occasions on the small and large scale. In my opinion, as far as content sellers with sales threads on BHW are concerned, he has the best quality per dollar spent by far. I'd suggest for a ten site PBN using the $235 per month package for 700+ words, and request articles between 500 and 1000 words, at an average of 700 words. This is 25 articles per month, so five of your domains can get two posts a month, and the other five can get three. It's as hands-off as it gets as well. Content, images, SEO, etc. And if his 20% off offer is still valid you can get the first month for around $190.

Total Cost: $410

REMAINING MONEY


Spend the remaining $90 on plugins, themes, etc that will help set your sites apart from one another. Pop an SSL on a couple domains ($9 per year on Namecheap). Buy a few logos on Fiverr for a few of the sites. Remember, the $500 is startup, and for the domains it covers a year, hosting and content creation it covers a full month of service. What happens after that is up to you.

There are threads out there for starting a PBN for cheaper, but this will get you started with high quality work. You can do the research and writing yourself, find a few cheap hosts, and grab some cheap-ass domain codes and build the above for $200 or less. But I value the time I would put into doing all of the above (probably 30 hours total for starting, setup, writing 25 articles, posting and SEO) at far more than $16 an hour, and I love the thought of set-it-and-forget-it ownership.

CONCLUSION AND RESOURCES

I'm sure there is plenty I'm forgetting here, and I didn't touch on security and making sure your PBN doesn't get deindexed, etc. There are plenty of other resources for you here on that topic. Here are some:
  • @lightningblitz: Jan 2016: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/how-to-build-your-own-pbn-a-quick-guide-for-newbies.813358/
  • @Nick Flame: Jun 2014: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/how-to-build-your-own-pbn-for-under-275-15-domains.678925/
  • @CRT: Oct 2016: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/a-step-by-step-guide-to-building-your-own-pbn-2016.885179/
  • @Final Infinity: Sep 2014: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/complete-guide-to-building-a-pbn.701008/
  • @alexthepbndude: Aug 2014: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/pbn-q-a-ask-me-anything-about-how-i-build-manage-and-rank-with-pbns.697565/
  • @t0mmy: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/tips-on-creating-your-very-own-pbn-the-right-way-that-stays-under-the-radar.799231/
Happy building!
SH
 
For content, you can also use expired content which is high quality and unique. And it's free if you find it your self.

Also if your on a low budget you can shop around for good deals on domain reg for $1-$7
 
For content, you can also use expired content which is high quality and unique. And it's free if you find it your self.

That can definitely be done, but I was going for more along the lines of: "But I value the time I would put into doing all of the above (probably 30 hours total for starting, setup, writing 25 articles, posting and SEO) at far more than $16 an hour, and I love the thought of set-it-and-forget-it ownership."

Also if your on a low budget you can shop around for good deals on domain reg for $1-$7

That was covered in: "grab some cheap-ass domain codes and build the above for $200 or less"

You may have missed that paragraph somehow. Thanks for the input, though.
 
I really appreciate the mention. I am speechless for words, thank you!
 
Amazing thread as always Sherbert!

At what level would you suggest stepping up PBN quality and going for high-powered domains instead of high quality?
 
@Sherbert Hoover Amazing stuff. I'm just getting started with PBN.
The numbers you've given are interesting. Do you think it is possible to run a PBN like a business? If so at what point will a PBN lose value? (I'm thinking as long as some SEO is done to nurture the PBN sites, it should still have some juice left?)

There are some niches that are medium-high competition and a standard link goes for around $50. So running the math, it is quite possible to recover the initial costs within the first few months (depending on the niche of course).

Would be great to have a 'dos and dont' list once a PBN is up and running.
Thanks once again for this informative post. Off to read the other threads you mentioned.

Cheers.
 
sorry, did i miss something? how can we monetize this ? and whats the ROI like ?
 
If you are into client SEO and are careful with building your PBN, you can rank you client sites. As long as the sites look like real blogs with real content and visitors, no one will bat an eyelid when linking out to one of your client sites. Ideally you would have PBN sites in different niches for different client niches.
 
Amazing thread as always Sherbert!

At what level would you suggest stepping up PBN quality and going for high-powered domains instead of high quality?

Thanks man. That I don't know. I assume whenever the budget allows for you to make a powerhouse site with your powerhouse domain. One without the other and you'll probably be shooting yourself in the foot.

@Sherbert Hoover Amazing stuff. I'm just getting started with PBN.
The numbers you've given are interesting. Do you think it is possible to run a PBN like a business? If so at what point will a PBN lose value? (I'm thinking as long as some SEO is done to nurture the PBN sites, it should still have some juice left?)

There are some niches that are medium-high competition and a standard link goes for around $50. So running the math, it is quite possible to recover the initial costs within the first few months (depending on the niche of course).

Would be great to have a 'dos and dont' list once a PBN is up and running.
Thanks once again for this informative post. Off to read the other threads you mentioned.

Cheers.

Let's say your PBN costs you the $500 to start up and then an additional $300 per month to maintain. After six months you've poured in $2,000. If you spend those six months building the sites up to the point where the metrics of value are high enough, you could probably turn around and start selling links/articles for some kind of package like $20 each or $150 for all ten domains or something of that nature. If you want to keep the hands-off approach, make the buyer write the article, then just proofread it so nothing contaminates your babies. Sell $500 worth of links a month and you'll recoup your money in less than a year and be turning a profit. Hell, if you hit that level, you won't have to have content dripped in, as your clients would be creating the content for you.

I don't plan on selling links on mine, but instead using it for client sites and my own projects.

sorry, did i miss something? how can we monetize this ? and whats the ROI like ?

See above. I have no idea what the ROI is like because I haven't reached that point. I just started it last week.

Would you build PBN for your personal Brand?

I don't understand the question. I feel like identifying your personal brand via a PBN would negate the entire purpose of a PBN. If you're asking if I would point article to my brand/money sites with the PBN I have created... not yet but probably soon.

If you are into client SEO and are careful with building your PBN, you can rank you client sites. As long as the sites look like real blogs with real content and visitors, no one will bat an eyelid when linking out to one of your client sites. Ideally you would have PBN sites in different niches for different client niches.

Bingo jingo.
 
Thanks for the mention @Sherbert Hoover

It's mentions like these that basically make our work worth doing.

You're one of the most terrific clients that I know of.

More power to you man. Great guide.
 
For content, you can also use expired content which is high quality and unique. And it's free if you find it your self.

Also if your on a low budget you can shop around for good deals on domain reg for $1-$7

How would you go about finding expired high quality content?
 
A good pointer for new people here, love to see Sherbert thread.
 
http://expiredarticlehunter.com/

And also, you can use @bossofthebosses service and get nice articles for $1 each. :)

Scraping and editing them yourself is not worth the trouble imo. when you can get them for $1. :)

So I took your advice and ordered 100 articles in my specific niche from @bossofthebosses for $100. I'm super impressed with what I got, every article makes sense for the requested niche, and he even threw in ten extra articles for free.
 
You spent too much on content just for a pbn in my opinion you spent more on the content than the actual domains. You wanna make the site look real but $235/month just on articles for a small 10 site pbn is a little overkill.
 
UPDATE

New cost structure:
  • $100 to @Nargil for 10 solid domains between $10 and $15 each, plus discount of 10-15% off
  • $150 to @bossofthebosses for 150 relevant expired articles
  • $100 to Namecheap to register the domains with private Whois free (post coupon code for 10% off)
  • $100 for 3 months or so of Easy Blogs Network from @Nerevar
  • $50 to a VA on the Hire A Freelancer section to post the articles and schedule them out with relevant images and links, 11 per blog
Boom.
 
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