What is your checklist for domains for PBN?
- Thread starter rayee
- Start date
- Jun 16, 2019
- 6,491
- 7,226
- Clean domain, this comes to both usage history (PBN or type-wise changes) & traffic (no sudden drop as a hint for a drop)
- The number & quality of referring domains & links
- Relevant niche & language
- Clean anchor text ratio
- Recently indexed if possible, optional tho
- Most of the links pointing to the homepage
Last edited:
See : https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/
It shows you private blog network guide - how to build safe pbn with more contents and details .
See : https://www.domcop.com/blog/buildin...ns_8211_Buying_domains_that_your_PBN_deserves
It shows you 5th content taken from the above . It covers you the topics ,
5.1 - What to look at when buying a PBN domain - https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/#What_to_look_at_when_buying_a_PBN_domain
5.2 - Expiring vs Expired Domains - https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/#Expiring_vs_Expired_Domains
5.3 - Where to buy PBN domains from - https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/#Where_to_buy_PBN_domains_from
5.4 - What metrics should I look at? - https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/#What_metrics_should_I_look_at
Hope this Helps !
It shows you private blog network guide - how to build safe pbn with more contents and details .
See : https://www.domcop.com/blog/buildin...ns_8211_Buying_domains_that_your_PBN_deserves
It shows you 5th content taken from the above . It covers you the topics ,
5.1 - What to look at when buying a PBN domain - https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/#What_to_look_at_when_buying_a_PBN_domain
5.2 - Expiring vs Expired Domains - https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/#Expiring_vs_Expired_Domains
5.3 - Where to buy PBN domains from - https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/#Where_to_buy_PBN_domains_from
5.4 - What metrics should I look at? - https://www.domcop.com/blog/building-private-blog-network/#What_metrics_should_I_look_at
Hope this Helps !
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Junior Member
- Mar 17, 2021
- 135
- 25
I am also interested in this issue.
rayee
Power Member
- Jun 21, 2012
- 755
- 130
I have read through and I know how to set up a PBN and all that.
All along, the only hurdle (from beginning to the end) was the purchase of the domain and im guessing its mostly the same for everyone else. Maintenance and setting up of these domains are easy.
I have always purchased from a seller but I find it expensive for the stats im getting. Or did the market price increase and I did not realise?
May I ask what is the average you spend per domain and your stats checklist per domain?
For me, it is:
- TF > 10
- LRD > 20
- No 301s, spam, porn, gambling or PBN.
- Ratio of LRD must be healthy and not shown that its spammed.
For these stats, I used to spend > $50 but now it seem to go up to $80 - $90 which is quite expensive.
How about y'll? Can y'll share please?
All along, the only hurdle (from beginning to the end) was the purchase of the domain and im guessing its mostly the same for everyone else. Maintenance and setting up of these domains are easy.
I have always purchased from a seller but I find it expensive for the stats im getting. Or did the market price increase and I did not realise?
May I ask what is the average you spend per domain and your stats checklist per domain?
For me, it is:
- TF > 10
- LRD > 20
- No 301s, spam, porn, gambling or PBN.
- Ratio of LRD must be healthy and not shown that its spammed.
For these stats, I used to spend > $50 but now it seem to go up to $80 - $90 which is quite expensive.
How about y'll? Can y'll share please?
- May 8, 2012
- 4,096
- 3,580
it depends. i create different setups. also created some PBNs with completely new domains and then promoted them, so that takes longer.
when i use expired domains, i mainly check the backlink profile as all those other metrics from ahrefs etc mean nothing to google.
when i use expired domains, i mainly check the backlink profile as all those other metrics from ahrefs etc mean nothing to google.
- May 10, 2012
- 9,326
- 7,431
Okay, a bit of alpha then:
Cleanliness:
This part is important, otherwise you can get a lame domain which will never do anything at all.
Indexation - It's alright to stick with domains that are in index, but that doesn't guarantee much. Domain can still be crap and you are limiting yourself significantly.
This applies mostly to scraped domains. With auction ones, especially if you are bidding a lot, stick with indexed domains only. It's basically an additional verification.
Also, if you see some sketchy crap in index, then skip the domain. Sometimes there is a sketchy crap that comes from indexed parking pages. This is completely fine,
but you have to determine whether the sketchy stuff is actual content or parking.
301 - This is irrelevant. 301 redirects are not harmful in any way. Domains may take a bit longer to transfer the juice, but that's that. If anything, the long 301 redirects
almost guarantee, that the domain was not spammed. 301 is a one way filter. It can pass penalty, but the penalty can't be passed from penalized money site back to the redirected domain.
Majority of domains have been redirected in the past, whether to a parking page or somewhere else. Most of the time you can't even see it in archive, so don't limit yourself with irrelevant things like this.
CF/TF Ratio - Another irrelevant thing. This ratio doesn't guarantee anything whatsoever. I don't even remember the last time I have even checked CF. Must be years.
Shit Niches - Avoid pharma, gambling and adult domains. These definitely were SEOed on purpose and considering how spammy these niches are, finding something clean here is a tough job.
In most cases it's impossible to tell if the domain is good to use or not.
Hosting History - Use Whois or Hosterstats. You can see the movement of the domain over the years. With a bit of training you will be able to filter out 90% of the domains by just looking
at the hosting history. You will know which hostings are parking, which oftentimes do contain content and which are often used for PBN/money sites. Long pauses between hostings and
then all of a sudden a Bluehost for a year and then another pause almost guarantees the domain was abused. Also, if you see Cloudflare there, avoid the domain. 98% chance it was used for
some shitty purposes and badly SEOed.
Anchors - This one is obvious. As soon as you see some nike, adidas, loubotin, pharma, porn etc, just trash the domain. However, a few shit anchors won't make the entire domain crap.
If you have a massive 500RD domain that is completely clean except 4 - 5 anchors like this, then don't worry. Bigger domains always have at least a little bit of spammy anchors. It's automated
and unavoidable. Another important thing is to also check historic anchors. Majestic can do this and you really need to check that. Oftentimes you see a nice clean anchor profile, then you switch
to historic index and you want to throw up.
Historic Screenshots - This is a crucial step. Ideally check both Archive and Domaintools screenshots. Both contain different data. Domaintools is a paid service, but it's really important.
Use these in combination with Hosterstats. As soon as you see something sketchy, just skip the domain. Be extra careful about hidden links in footers or in text. Some of these can be hidden
pretty well.
Japanese Crap - If you see anything Japanese (or Chinese for some of you less educated), then skip it immediately. No, the domain "was not used by a legit Japanese eshop for a while".
It's a pure spam and you should never even consider registering anything like that, regardless whether it's in the index or not.
Trust Flow - Trust flow can be used for checking cleanliness as well. Especially with bigger domains with RD50 and more, if the trust flow is too low at the root level, like 7 - 9 and if
the topical trust flow looks like skittles, then make sure you check the backlinks properly, because they won't be of exactly amazing quality. Keep in mind, trust flow is NOT a power
metric like DA or DR. It merely determines how topically strong is a certain domain within that particular niche.
Backlinks - No need to check every single backlink in regards to cleanliness. Just load the domain into Majestic or Ahrefs, run through backlinks and if they are way too spammy, like
shit directories, crappy automated blog comments, etc, just pass on the domain. This ofc goes hand in hand in determining the overall quality of backlink profile.
Spam Score - Don't. Just don't. Absolutely useless and obsolete bullshit. Beyond unreliable like everything from Moz. Moz has terrible crawlers who won't catch Covid if you take a shit on them.
And if they catch merely 20% of the backlinks (no idea how much it really is, but something along these lines), how can they evaluate anything at all? Really, focus on manual checks, do everything
by hand and absolutely do not rely on anything as badly automated as spam score. Put in work and you will be rewarded. Cut corners and you will keep flipping burgers or calling people about how satisfied
they are with their newly purchased toilet.
Alright, nothing else comes to mind regarding cleanliness, let's move on.
Niche Relevancy:
Requirement of the niche relevancy really depends on the situation. With money sites, it's very important. Can you rank money sites on domains that were previously from different niches?
Sure. This can especially happen in spammy niches. Adult, gambling, pharma, etc. I have plenty of clients in casino niche who absolutely do not give a fuck about niche relevancy and they
are ranking just fine.
Some niches are just so spammy that Google considers this a default and this is where niche relevancy doesn't matter for money sites much. And for PBNs it doesn't matter whatsoever.
Same applies for country specific Google versions. Those are way too forgiving as well, especially in smaller countries. Whether it's a bug (Google can't be bothered to invest money into improving
Google algorithm for smaller markets) or a feature (Smaller market means less opportunities for backlinks and thus Google is forgiving with the quality), nobody knows.
With PBNs you can tune down on this requirement a lot. Sure, it's ideal to have niche relevant domain, but if you can't find it, you can always repurpose a different niche. Find a connection with
your current niche and with the niche of domain and you are good to go. You have a site about cats and the domain was previously about art, so make a site about cats in art. It sometimes requires
a bit of creativity, but it's doable and it works.
Backlinks:
Well, as the primary rule of life goes - You get what you pay for.
With money sites I wouldn't bother with anything less than 200 - 300 RD, depends on the niche. You want an actual boost from the existing backlink profile and you want it to be worth the risk
of using a bigger expired domain. There are always risks involved. There's a chance the domain won't work for some reason. That's why you don't bother with domains with 10RD. There is a risk
invovled and the benefit is almost nonexistent. So if you decide to go this way, go big or start with fresh domain.
With these bigger domains you are guaranteed to have a few high authority backlinks, but as I have said, they don't come cheap. Ideally you want them pointing to the homepage, but it's not
a requirement. It will save you some time and money with redirects and content down the line, but it's not a must.
With PBNs it's easier. Some people to use $10 domains, some $200, some $500 and it's all fine. It comes down to your approach. Keep in mind that we have abused the entire internet 5 times over.
Finding some decent scraped domains nowadays is basically impossible. If you add in cleanliness as a must of course. Clean top TLD scraped domain with authority backlink will not happen.
If you think you have found one, then check and then check again, because I can almost guarantee you that the domain is crap. Thus, with scraped domains you can't be too picky.
In spammy niches and with a shotgun approach, they still make the job done though. Don't expect much of a quality backlinks wise. They will mostly be directories, link sections or blog comments.
Rarely anything contextual.
If you don't want to go this way, then you are left with auction domains and for that you need budget. Evaluating backlink profiles is something that you learn with experience. Either load Majestic
and check the referring domains, sort them out by TF and you will see the strongest websites linking to your domain. You can use Ahrefs for this as well. If you really suck in evaluating a domain,
then just check Domain Rating by Ahrefs, which is as reliable as it can get regarding power metrics. Definitely avoid DA and anything from Moz.
Enjoy.
Cleanliness:
This part is important, otherwise you can get a lame domain which will never do anything at all.
Indexation - It's alright to stick with domains that are in index, but that doesn't guarantee much. Domain can still be crap and you are limiting yourself significantly.
This applies mostly to scraped domains. With auction ones, especially if you are bidding a lot, stick with indexed domains only. It's basically an additional verification.
Also, if you see some sketchy crap in index, then skip the domain. Sometimes there is a sketchy crap that comes from indexed parking pages. This is completely fine,
but you have to determine whether the sketchy stuff is actual content or parking.
301 - This is irrelevant. 301 redirects are not harmful in any way. Domains may take a bit longer to transfer the juice, but that's that. If anything, the long 301 redirects
almost guarantee, that the domain was not spammed. 301 is a one way filter. It can pass penalty, but the penalty can't be passed from penalized money site back to the redirected domain.
Majority of domains have been redirected in the past, whether to a parking page or somewhere else. Most of the time you can't even see it in archive, so don't limit yourself with irrelevant things like this.
CF/TF Ratio - Another irrelevant thing. This ratio doesn't guarantee anything whatsoever. I don't even remember the last time I have even checked CF. Must be years.
Shit Niches - Avoid pharma, gambling and adult domains. These definitely were SEOed on purpose and considering how spammy these niches are, finding something clean here is a tough job.
In most cases it's impossible to tell if the domain is good to use or not.
Hosting History - Use Whois or Hosterstats. You can see the movement of the domain over the years. With a bit of training you will be able to filter out 90% of the domains by just looking
at the hosting history. You will know which hostings are parking, which oftentimes do contain content and which are often used for PBN/money sites. Long pauses between hostings and
then all of a sudden a Bluehost for a year and then another pause almost guarantees the domain was abused. Also, if you see Cloudflare there, avoid the domain. 98% chance it was used for
some shitty purposes and badly SEOed.
Anchors - This one is obvious. As soon as you see some nike, adidas, loubotin, pharma, porn etc, just trash the domain. However, a few shit anchors won't make the entire domain crap.
If you have a massive 500RD domain that is completely clean except 4 - 5 anchors like this, then don't worry. Bigger domains always have at least a little bit of spammy anchors. It's automated
and unavoidable. Another important thing is to also check historic anchors. Majestic can do this and you really need to check that. Oftentimes you see a nice clean anchor profile, then you switch
to historic index and you want to throw up.
Historic Screenshots - This is a crucial step. Ideally check both Archive and Domaintools screenshots. Both contain different data. Domaintools is a paid service, but it's really important.
Use these in combination with Hosterstats. As soon as you see something sketchy, just skip the domain. Be extra careful about hidden links in footers or in text. Some of these can be hidden
pretty well.
Japanese Crap - If you see anything Japanese (or Chinese for some of you less educated), then skip it immediately. No, the domain "was not used by a legit Japanese eshop for a while".
It's a pure spam and you should never even consider registering anything like that, regardless whether it's in the index or not.
Trust Flow - Trust flow can be used for checking cleanliness as well. Especially with bigger domains with RD50 and more, if the trust flow is too low at the root level, like 7 - 9 and if
the topical trust flow looks like skittles, then make sure you check the backlinks properly, because they won't be of exactly amazing quality. Keep in mind, trust flow is NOT a power
metric like DA or DR. It merely determines how topically strong is a certain domain within that particular niche.
Backlinks - No need to check every single backlink in regards to cleanliness. Just load the domain into Majestic or Ahrefs, run through backlinks and if they are way too spammy, like
shit directories, crappy automated blog comments, etc, just pass on the domain. This ofc goes hand in hand in determining the overall quality of backlink profile.
Spam Score - Don't. Just don't. Absolutely useless and obsolete bullshit. Beyond unreliable like everything from Moz. Moz has terrible crawlers who won't catch Covid if you take a shit on them.
And if they catch merely 20% of the backlinks (no idea how much it really is, but something along these lines), how can they evaluate anything at all? Really, focus on manual checks, do everything
by hand and absolutely do not rely on anything as badly automated as spam score. Put in work and you will be rewarded. Cut corners and you will keep flipping burgers or calling people about how satisfied
they are with their newly purchased toilet.
Alright, nothing else comes to mind regarding cleanliness, let's move on.
Niche Relevancy:
Requirement of the niche relevancy really depends on the situation. With money sites, it's very important. Can you rank money sites on domains that were previously from different niches?
Sure. This can especially happen in spammy niches. Adult, gambling, pharma, etc. I have plenty of clients in casino niche who absolutely do not give a fuck about niche relevancy and they
are ranking just fine.
Some niches are just so spammy that Google considers this a default and this is where niche relevancy doesn't matter for money sites much. And for PBNs it doesn't matter whatsoever.
Same applies for country specific Google versions. Those are way too forgiving as well, especially in smaller countries. Whether it's a bug (Google can't be bothered to invest money into improving
Google algorithm for smaller markets) or a feature (Smaller market means less opportunities for backlinks and thus Google is forgiving with the quality), nobody knows.
With PBNs you can tune down on this requirement a lot. Sure, it's ideal to have niche relevant domain, but if you can't find it, you can always repurpose a different niche. Find a connection with
your current niche and with the niche of domain and you are good to go. You have a site about cats and the domain was previously about art, so make a site about cats in art. It sometimes requires
a bit of creativity, but it's doable and it works.
Backlinks:
Well, as the primary rule of life goes - You get what you pay for.
With money sites I wouldn't bother with anything less than 200 - 300 RD, depends on the niche. You want an actual boost from the existing backlink profile and you want it to be worth the risk
of using a bigger expired domain. There are always risks involved. There's a chance the domain won't work for some reason. That's why you don't bother with domains with 10RD. There is a risk
invovled and the benefit is almost nonexistent. So if you decide to go this way, go big or start with fresh domain.
With these bigger domains you are guaranteed to have a few high authority backlinks, but as I have said, they don't come cheap. Ideally you want them pointing to the homepage, but it's not
a requirement. It will save you some time and money with redirects and content down the line, but it's not a must.
With PBNs it's easier. Some people to use $10 domains, some $200, some $500 and it's all fine. It comes down to your approach. Keep in mind that we have abused the entire internet 5 times over.
Finding some decent scraped domains nowadays is basically impossible. If you add in cleanliness as a must of course. Clean top TLD scraped domain with authority backlink will not happen.
If you think you have found one, then check and then check again, because I can almost guarantee you that the domain is crap. Thus, with scraped domains you can't be too picky.
In spammy niches and with a shotgun approach, they still make the job done though. Don't expect much of a quality backlinks wise. They will mostly be directories, link sections or blog comments.
Rarely anything contextual.
If you don't want to go this way, then you are left with auction domains and for that you need budget. Evaluating backlink profiles is something that you learn with experience. Either load Majestic
and check the referring domains, sort them out by TF and you will see the strongest websites linking to your domain. You can use Ahrefs for this as well. If you really suck in evaluating a domain,
then just check Domain Rating by Ahrefs, which is as reliable as it can get regarding power metrics. Definitely avoid DA and anything from Moz.
Enjoy.
- Jun 27, 2021
- 141
- 121
I like your checklist.
- Jan 21, 2021
- 335
- 92
There are lots of things like backlinks, netsoltrademark links, cache, etc.
I've written an in-depth article, including live tutorial videos.
It will help you to learn how to do the spam check of domains
Link:
https://serpnames.com/spam-checking-methods-of-aged-domains/
Feel free to ask me questions, and I'll be happy to help.
KingShizL
Banned - selling outside of the marketplace.
- Jul 26, 2020
- 654
- 136
I know you sell expired domains. Do you have any that could work with a money site, IM niche mainly.?There are lots of things like backlinks, netsoltrademark links, cache, etc.
I've written an in-depth article, including live tutorial videos.
It will help you to learn how to do the spam check of domains
Link:
https://serpnames.com/spam-checking-methods-of-aged-domains/
Feel free to ask me questions, and I'll be happy to help.
Yrior
Banned - Shitlisted and did not do the right thing
- Nov 21, 2016
- 809
- 1,241
OP, You'd probably want to focus on what this man has to say. He knows what he's talking about.
VimalG
Registered Member
- Jul 24, 2021
- 81
- 65
For a PBN domain I :
*check wayback machine
*check for spammed backlinks
*check if it was ever de-indexed by google
You can also learn a lot by seeing the anchor text and the backlinks. You can tell if they are genuine or purchased backlinks. I use the data on ahrefs just to see if the domain is of an interest to me, after that I rely on manual searching.
*check wayback machine
*check for spammed backlinks
*check if it was ever de-indexed by google
You can also learn a lot by seeing the anchor text and the backlinks. You can tell if they are genuine or purchased backlinks. I use the data on ahrefs just to see if the domain is of an interest to me, after that I rely on manual searching.
- Jan 21, 2021
- 335
- 92
Hey buddy, you can look at this premium domain in the Marketing niche:
Marketing-Jive.com
You can also check more at dash.serpnames.com
Feel free to message me if you need any help.
fb3003
Elite Member
- Aug 14, 2015
- 5,034
- 3,500
this is why you deserved jr exec badge!
sasukeU
Regular Member
- Jul 27, 2021
- 212
- 82
Thanks for sharing this. Will stick to it before getting any expired domains.
