Are PBNs still working or It works based on how they're used?

Vucik said:

i agree that the quality and relevance of the placement matters more than just calling it a pbn. still, it’s a risky tactic, so i’d treat one successful campaign as encouraging data, not proof that it’s safe long term.

Click to expand...

Linkzo said:

I've been seeing that “PBNs are dead in 2026” discussion come back often in this AI trend. So, I planned share few points from my recent work.

I recently worked on a Ecommerce site in a moderately competitive space where we used PBN placements as part of the off-page strategy.

What interested me wasn't really the fact that new strategy worked. It was how the placements were built. We didn't just publish a basic article, drop in a keyword-rich link and move on. The content was built around the topic of the site, with the target brand naturally fitting into the article. We also used list-style content and brand mentions rather than making the entire article revolve around the backlink. We also added things that actually make the article useful to someone reading it by adding relevant supporting information, FAQ sections where they made sense, internal links, images, and enough context around the topic rather than writing a thin post purely for the link that we used in early 2020's. To make it simple, the article had a reason to exist even without the backlink. And that's where I think the PBN conversation gets a little too black and white.

If someone is still treating a PBN as:
Publish → Insert exact-match anchor → Index → Repeat

Then I can understand why they're seeing poor results.

If the placement is genuinely relevant to the niche and the content provides useful context around the brand, keyword and target page, I don't think it's fair to judge the tactic purely by the fact that the domain is part of a private network.

In this particular campaign, the client's keyword moved from around page 4 into the top 6 for the main terms, with organic traffic moving along with the rankings. I'm not saying “PBN = rankings.” There were obviously other SEO factors involved, and one campaign isn't proof that the tactic works universally.

What it did convince me of is that the execution matters a lot more than the label attached to the link. A relevant contextual placement inside a properly developed article is a very different thing from a low-effort post created only to hold a backlink.

So I'm curious what others are seeing.

For those still using PBNs in 2026,

Have you noticed that content quality and topical relevance are making a bigger difference than they used to?
Have you moved completely toward guest posts, digital PR and earned links?
Do you still believe that PBN links are dead?

Click to expand...

Linkzo said:

I've been seeing that “PBNs are dead in 2026” discussion come back often in this AI trend. So, I planned share few points from my recent work.

I recently worked on a Ecommerce site in a moderately competitive space where we used PBN placements as part of the off-page strategy.

What interested me wasn't really the fact that new strategy worked. It was how the placements were built. We didn't just publish a basic article, drop in a keyword-rich link and move on. The content was built around the topic of the site, with the target brand naturally fitting into the article. We also used list-style content and brand mentions rather than making the entire article revolve around the backlink. We also added things that actually make the article useful to someone reading it by adding relevant supporting information, FAQ sections where they made sense, internal links, images, and enough context around the topic rather than writing a thin post purely for the link that we used in early 2020's. To make it simple, the article had a reason to exist even without the backlink. And that's where I think the PBN conversation gets a little too black and white.

If someone is still treating a PBN as:
Publish → Insert exact-match anchor → Index → Repeat

Then I can understand why they're seeing poor results.

If the placement is genuinely relevant to the niche and the content provides useful context around the brand, keyword and target page, I don't think it's fair to judge the tactic purely by the fact that the domain is part of a private network.

In this particular campaign, the client's keyword moved from around page 4 into the top 6 for the main terms, with organic traffic moving along with the rankings. I'm not saying “PBN = rankings.” There were obviously other SEO factors involved, and one campaign isn't proof that the tactic works universally.

What it did convince me of is that the execution matters a lot more than the label attached to the link. A relevant contextual placement inside a properly developed article is a very different thing from a low-effort post created only to hold a backlink.

So I'm curious what others are seeing.

For those still using PBNs in 2026,

Have you noticed that content quality and topical relevance are making a bigger difference than they used to?
Have you moved completely toward guest posts, digital PR and earned links?
Do you still believe that PBN links are dead?

Click to expand...

Linkzo said:

I've been seeing that “PBNs are dead in 2026” discussion come back often in this AI trend. So, I planned share few points from my recent work.

I recently worked on a Ecommerce site in a moderately competitive space where we used PBN placements as part of the off-page strategy.

What interested me wasn't really the fact that new strategy worked. It was how the placements were built. We didn't just publish a basic article, drop in a keyword-rich link and move on. The content was built around the topic of the site, with the target brand naturally fitting into the article. We also used list-style content and brand mentions rather than making the entire article revolve around the backlink. We also added things that actually make the article useful to someone reading it by adding relevant supporting information, FAQ sections where they made sense, internal links, images, and enough context around the topic rather than writing a thin post purely for the link that we used in early 2020's. To make it simple, the article had a reason to exist even without the backlink. And that's where I think the PBN conversation gets a little too black and white.

If someone is still treating a PBN as:
Publish → Insert exact-match anchor → Index → Repeat

Then I can understand why they're seeing poor results.

If the placement is genuinely relevant to the niche and the content provides useful context around the brand, keyword and target page, I don't think it's fair to judge the tactic purely by the fact that the domain is part of a private network.

In this particular campaign, the client's keyword moved from around page 4 into the top 6 for the main terms, with organic traffic moving along with the rankings. I'm not saying “PBN = rankings.” There were obviously other SEO factors involved, and one campaign isn't proof that the tactic works universally.

What it did convince me of is that the execution matters a lot more than the label attached to the link. A relevant contextual placement inside a properly developed article is a very different thing from a low-effort post created only to hold a backlink.

So I'm curious what others are seeing.

For those still using PBNs in 2026,

Have you noticed that content quality and topical relevance are making a bigger difference than they used to?
Have you moved completely toward guest posts, digital PR and earned links?
Do you still believe that PBN links are dead?

Click to expand...

Linkzo said:

I've been seeing that “PBNs are dead in 2026” discussion come back often in this AI trend. So, I planned share few points from my recent work.

I recently worked on a Ecommerce site in a moderately competitive space where we used PBN placements as part of the off-page strategy.

What interested me wasn't really the fact that new strategy worked. It was how the placements were built. We didn't just publish a basic article, drop in a keyword-rich link and move on. The content was built around the topic of the site, with the target brand naturally fitting into the article. We also used list-style content and brand mentions rather than making the entire article revolve around the backlink. We also added things that actually make the article useful to someone reading it by adding relevant supporting information, FAQ sections where they made sense, internal links, images, and enough context around the topic rather than writing a thin post purely for the link that we used in early 2020's. To make it simple, the article had a reason to exist even without the backlink. And that's where I think the PBN conversation gets a little too black and white.

If someone is still treating a PBN as:
Publish → Insert exact-match anchor → Index → Repeat

Then I can understand why they're seeing poor results.

If the placement is genuinely relevant to the niche and the content provides useful context around the brand, keyword and target page, I don't think it's fair to judge the tactic purely by the fact that the domain is part of a private network.

In this particular campaign, the client's keyword moved from around page 4 into the top 6 for the main terms, with organic traffic moving along with the rankings. I'm not saying “PBN = rankings.” There were obviously other SEO factors involved, and one campaign isn't proof that the tactic works universally.

What it did convince me of is that the execution matters a lot more than the label attached to the link. A relevant contextual placement inside a properly developed article is a very different thing from a low-effort post created only to hold a backlink.

So I'm curious what others are seeing.

For those still using PBNs in 2026,

Have you noticed that content quality and topical relevance are making a bigger difference than they used to?
Have you moved completely toward guest posts, digital PR and earned links?
Do you still believe that PBN links are dead?

Click to expand...