Recent studies in the years 2024 and 2025 confirm that high-quality backlinks play a crucial role in dragging up your site’s search engine rankings.
Yeah! You heard that right!
But wait…
We said, “high-quality backlinks…”
Well, in case you don’t know, backlinks are hyperlinks to your website from external resources in your niche that signal authority, credibility, and user value to the search engine, leading to faster website indexing, improved SEO rankings, and increased organic traffic!
The Real Twist Awaiting!
But the thing is, you must wait for something good to happen.
The same goes for link-building. Backlinks, built effectively and ethically, might take some time to show positive results, but they work!
However, for faster wins, nearly 10% of some of the active and relevant website owners use PBN backlinks.
Private Blog Network (PBN) is a strong website network that operates by linking to different websites within the network, often with low & spammy content, with the sole purpose of generating backlinks and manipulating the search engine rankings.
Recently, the Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, John Mueller, recently said, “This is something where we also see that a lot of sites do things that aren’t really necessary for their website and web search. They’ll go off and buy a ton of links, and then we ignore all of those links.”
Unleashing The Truth about PBN Backlinks…
That means, simply buying a lot of PBN backlinks might get your site in real trouble. In fact, Google considers it a violation of the guidelines and might mark your website as ‘spammy’ [or might penalize you or unindex your website, if you’re not lucky enough.)
So, here we are with all that you need to know about PBN backlinks, like how they work, how to identify them, how to protect your site, what link-building techniques to practice instead….and all those questions that might come to your mind.
Hello, everyone!
Welcome to another blog where you will learn more about PBN links.
…And, honestly, you will end up knowing everything about the PBN backlinks right in this blog.
We promise!
Just Learned about PBN Backlinks? Here is What They Are!
Ever heard of shell companies?
These are basically businesses that create a kind of illusion of service legitimacy just to attract investors, business partners, or even clients without having any substantial positive business reputation.
And the purpose?
Just to create a facade of remarkable business operations, investments going on, and proven success….or you can say, to manipulate others.
This is one of the apt examples of real-life scenarios, justly compared to the operations of PBN. Private Blog Network refers to a group of websites, often created rather than launched, just to link back to a specific website.
In simple words, it’s a network of websites that link back to one another to artificially boost the search engine rankings. Since it’s against the ethical link-building tactics preferred by Google, it considers this technique a black-hat strategy.
The consequence?
Search engine penalties, major drops in your site’s search engine rankings, unindexed websites….and whatnot!
But let’s come to the real question!
Ever Thought about How These PBNs Are Made? Let’s Spill!
You know what?
Wickedness is never short of tricks.
And yes! There are multiple ways to create a PBN.
Here are the most popular ones:
👉By purchasing expired domains with authority backlinks
👉By using separate hosting services for sites involved in PBN
👉By using unique IP addresses
👉By changing the overall site designs, logos, and aesthetics
👉By writing content that mimics previously existing content from the original domain
👉By strategically placing the backlinks within the PBN content, leading to the target resource
…and the list goes on!
The key idea is to reduce the risk of being identified as a PBN site. So, the operators always try to make the websites in the PBN unique in all aspects, whether it is content, design, logos, aesthetics, etc.
Also, they often try to make the backlinks look more natural by using a wide range of anchor texts. For example, they include a few branded anchor texts within the content, and a couple of generic ones, along with some keyword-based anchor texts.
Moreover, they consciously avoid over-linking or linking to each other only so that their link-building efforts do not seem suspicious to Google.
Well, someone said the truth only, “Evil always finds a way.”
Isn’t it?
But, ever wondered?
What is The Idea Behind Using PBNs?
The key purpose is, of course, to build backlinks (unethically and faster) & to manipulate the search engine rankings of websites, their authority, credibility, and reliability.
But, that’s NOT ALL!
Here are the unjust benefits of leveraging the power of PBN backlinks:
Leveraging Link Authority
PBNs built using expired domains with high-authority scores have already established trust with the search engine. Backlinks from these websites to yours will act as a strong ‘vote of confidence’, leading to higher rankings on Google (though for a much shorter period or until Google identifies it).
Greater Control
With PBN backlinks to your website, you will have complete control over the number of backlinks acquired, their placements, and the anchor text used. As a result, there is a higher chance of getting your site ranked for specific search terms faster.
Faster Results
Building high-quality backlinks to your site takes months, or might even take years! PBN backlinks, on the other hand, provide your site with quick SEO improvements.
Looking for Some Real Case Scenarios? Here is One for You!
Ever read a blog that’s not informative enough?
Or seems like the content is there only to link back to a specific website?
We’re sure you read one!
Chances are, the website you were on is a part of a PBN.
This is a blog on a random website.
Did you go through it?
Well, we are sure you didn’t like it much, partly because it does not get deeper into the problems, and partly due to the lack of unique information.
However, if you read the last line, you will find the hypertext linking back to a service page (seemingly of a gambling addiction treatment centre). Clearly, the writer has written this blog primarily to link back to that target website (possibly a part of PBN), which makes the hyperlink a PBN backlink to the linked website.
Now, What Makes A PBN Backlink Different from Regular Ones?
You can differentiate a PBN backlink from a regular one on multiple aspects, such as the source from which the backlinks are acquired, the method used for securing them, the purpose or aim to build the backlinks, the expected results, the SEO value, and how much control you gain over the link-building process.
Here are the key differences between these two.
| PBN Backlinks | Regular Backlinks |
| Are acquired from a website within a Private Blog Network | These are links from legitimate websites within your niche |
| Acquired through a black-hat or unethical link-building tactic | A white-hat/ethical link-building tactic |
| Violates Google guidelines | Aligns with the search engine guidelines |
| Manipulate search engine rankings | Provide genuine value to the readers |
| Do not engage users for a long time | Improves user experience |
| Boost a site’s rankings quickly, but the results are short-lived | Provide slow results but ensure long-term website growth |
| Might lead to Google penalties | Build genuine user trust and site authority |
As you can see, though PBN backlinks seem to be that ‘shortcut’ to inflate your site’s rankings, the result will not last long. So, it’s better to go slow and secure backlinks to your site ethically.
…Because good things always take time!
But, beware.
There are ways to mimic the most crucial factors of a high-quality PBN backlink to avoid suspicion, primarily of the search engine.
But, How to Identify The High-Quality PBN Backlinks?
For that, you need to know about the factors that influence the strengths/effectiveness of those PBN backlinks.
Here they are:
👉Existing high authority score of purchased domains
👉Niche relevance
👉Genuine and stable organic traffic
👉Clean domain history with no prior penalties
👉Strategically placed backlinks within the main content body
👉High-quality & unique site content
👉Natural & varied anchor texts (preferably a combination of generic, branded, & keyword-rich anchors)
👉Natural interlinking patterns (preferably to other authority sites than just the target site)
👉Unique design, web layout, CMS
See, we all know that SEO PBN backlinks are black-hat links, and the acquisition process violates the search engine guidelines. But the webmasters always find a way to make them look as naturally acquired as possible.
However, there’s a saying that even the cleverest of criminals leave behind clues to their plans.
PBN experts are also no exception.
But here is the twist!
No matter how much they try to make the SEO PBN backlinks look like regular ones, there is always one way or the other to identify them.
So, don’t worry!
We will share some tips so that you can easily identify PBN backlinks.
Red Flags That Totally Expose A PBN
✔️Multiple websites on the same server or IP address
✔️Using the same WHOIS data for multiple sites
✔️Using the same Google Analytics across multiple websites
✔️Registering all the domains with the same company
✔️Crafting similar WordPress web designs for multiple websites
But, wait!
There’s more.
The biggest red flag is that most PBN websites often have spun, generic, or low-quality content. Also, the PBN websites link to a ‘money website’, or you can say, the target website for manipulating the search engine rankings. So, watch out!
Also, PBN websites may contain repetitive and exact-match keywords used as anchor texts that look unnatural. Most of the websites do not even have dedicated ‘About Us’ or ‘Contact Information’ sections as well.
We hope you have developed a good idea of what PBN sites should look like!
So, now that you already know how to detect them and avoid falling into the PBN trap, it’s time to discuss the real dangers.
The Risky Sides of PBN Backlinks No One Told You!
Even if the high-quality PBN blog post backlinks might get you in real trouble. It is because the entire concept of using PBN backlinks is a manipulative link scheme that violates Google’s webmaster guidelines in all aspects.
Google’s recent Link Spam Update specifically aims to detect unnatural link-building schemes, leading to severe drops in website rankings on the search engine. Since Google’s algorithms are designed in a specific way, it’s just a matter of time for the search engine to detect artificial, or to be specific, unethical link patterns.
No matter how well-built the PBN backlinks are, Google will penalize them once it identifies them. So, here are the risks of using PBN backlinks:
✔️Manual penalty, issued by a human
✔️Drop in search engine rankings
✔️Completely de-indexed websites
✔️Damaged site reputation
✔️Compromised site credibility
In short, all the time and resources it takes to build a seemingly perfect PBN, once detected by Google, all of that would be wasted overnight, leaving you standing at a big zero!
So, what should you do to ensure long-term SEO success for your website?
That’s what we will be discussing now!
Will PBN Backlinks Hit in 2026?
The modern SEO landscape has evolved a lot!
Today, Google’s algorithms are powered by advanced AI and Machine Learning. The recent Google Updates are not just strict but also highly effective in detecting any manipulative practices in terms of SEO and link-building.
Since PBN backlinks involve severe risks, it’s better not to be involved in this. Because once Google identifies them, there is no way out! All the website owners involved in PBN link-building must face severe consequences.
5 years back, roughly in 2019, high-quality SEO PBN backlinks with hidden footprints were still considered to be somewhat valuable. With properly built PBN backlinks, SEO experts still experienced some significant boost in website rankings back then, though the gains were much short-lived.
However, the Google update in March 2024 started to target link spam specifically. Also, Google’s manual review teams are actively detecting unnatural link patterns these days. So, using PBN backlinks for SEO growth is definitely not a good idea in 2026 and the coming years.
Most of the SEO experts advise not to use PBN blog post backlinks due to the risks involved. The penalties are so severe that they would outweigh any potential short-term SEO gains that these backlinks could get you.
So, what to do instead?
According to our FastLinky experts, it is always better to implement ethical link-building strategies.
The Safe & Sustainable Route to Ethical Link-Building
Link-building strategies that align with Google guidelines are not only safe but also ensure sustainable website growth. These strategies will help you acquire high-quality backlinks for your website without any risk of penalties.
Some of the most popular link-building strategies include:
✔️Guest posting on online directories/sites
✔️Digital PR
✔️Broken link building
✔️Making industry relationships
✔️Crafting linkworthy content
✔️Niche edits
✔️Social media marketing
✔️Influencer outreach
✔️Content marketing
The concept of ethical link-building is simple!
All you need to do is build a strong network with the industry leaders, site owners, or influencers, and add value to their websites/content. The easiest way to do that is to craft valuable content (infographics, videos, articles, blogs) and get them published on a popular platform/website. The key to success is to ensure a wider exposure for your website and earn the trust of your users.
These white-hat link-building strategies not only improve your site’s SEO rankings but also boost its authority and credibility for a long time. With zero risk of penalties involved, white-hat link-building strategies would get your site increased organic traffic and improve the overall user experience.
Now comes the biggest question!
How will you identify a PBN backlink and save yourself from falling into the trap?
Mere suspicion won’t help you unless you know how to spot them!
So, here are the tools to check backlink sources, helping you to identify the PBN backlinks.
Catch Those PBN Links Before They Catch You!
Identifying the PBN backlinks is the first step to avoid Google penalties.
But, there are more ways to play the advanced link-building game!
Let’s discuss one by one!
Tools to Sniff Out Those Evil PBN Backlinks
There are free as well as paid tools to do it effectively!
So, let’s first start with the free tools that are designed for tracking which sites are linking to yours, the number of referring domains, and getting a detailed backlink analysis report.
👉Google Search Console
👉Semrush Backlink Checker
👉Ubersuggest
👉Ahref’s Free Backlink Checker
👉SEOptimer’s Backlink Checker
👉SmallSEOTools Backlink Checker
Coming to the paid tools!
Both Ahrefs and Semrush provide you with a frequently updated backlink database and a detailed backlink analysis report so that you can stay ahead in the link-building game. Apart from these, Moz Link Explorer is also a reliable tool for SERP and backlink analysis.
Here is real site analysis data that we just generated through Semrush.
When you type the URL of a specific website in the search bar, you will get a report like this.
The Ref.Domains refers to all those websites/domains linking back to your webpages, and the number of backlinks shows the exact number of inbound links that your website has.
On Ahrefs as well, you just need to type the target website’s URL, and you will get to see options like this. Depending on your need, you can select any of these, and you will receive the backlink analysis report.
So far, everything seems easy, right?
But what about a quick link profile audit just to ensure your website does not have a PBN backlink?
Sounds good?
Here Are The Steps for Link Profile Audit
✔️Start off with Google Search Console and export the list of backlinks to your site
✔️Check out the list of backlinks and remove the duplicate URLs
✔️Review the authority score, topical relevance, and content quality of all those sites linking back to yours
✔️Look for any unnatural link patterns in those sites
✔️Check out the anchor texts used in the webpages that link to your site
✔️Look for common IP addresses or hosting servers
If you find anything suspicious, take the necessary actions.
What to Do If Your Site Has PBN Backlinks?
Once you thoroughly audit your website’s link profile and you end up having multiple PBN backlinks to your site, it’s time to remove them.
👉The first thing you can do is to manually reach out to the webmasters of the PBN backlinks and request them for link removal.
👉If it’s not possible or you can’t connect with the webmasters, you can create a text file listing all the URLs of the PBN websites and upload it to Google Search Console using the Google Disavow tool.
The best way to keep track of the PBN backlinks is to regularly monitor your site’s backlink profile. This will not only help you to ditch the search engine penalties, but also assist you in taking quick actions against penalizations.
The faster you identify the PBN backlinks, the earlier you will be able to remove them and submit a reconsideration request to Google in case you are already penalized.
The PBN Game: Risk It or Regret It?
PBN backlinks definitely provide you with quick SEO gains.
However, they also come with significant risks…
Also, the potential risks of using PBN backlinks, such as search engine penalties, drop in SEO rankings, reputation damage, and unnatural link profile, often overshadow the rewards, for example, a quick SEO boost, better control over link placements, and anchor texts.
Instead, stay on the right track and ensure a long-term SEO boost for your website by practicing ethical link-building strategies without any risk.
We hope you have got answers to all your questions related to PBN backlinks.
Thank you for being with us so far!
If you have any doubts regarding this topic, please let us know in the comments section below. We would love to discuss the possible answers or explanations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ans: A PBN backlink is a hyperlink to your website from external resources, specifically a part of a Private Blog Network (PBN). The network is controlled by a single entity for manipulating the target website’s search engine rankings.
Usually, all the PBN sites link to a single ‘money website’ just to artificially boost its SEO rankings, search engine authority, and credibility. Built on expired domains with high authority, these PBN sites may have low-quality content, and hence, any target site linked with these websites through hyperlinks will end up only having PBN backlinks.
Ans: No.
PBN backlinks are not at all good to use as a PBN link-building technique is considered a black-hat one that violates Google’s guidelines explicitly. Using PBN backlinks might lead to severe penalties or even an unindexed website. They might be good for a short-term SEO boost, but the risks are endless and often long-term.
Ans: PBN refers to Private Blog Network, which connects multiple websites and promotes linking to a single ‘money website’ to manipulate its search engine rankings. The term is often associated with a negative concept because the practice of purchasing or acquiring PBN backlinks is a black-hat link-building technique, carrying significant risks, ranging from severe search engine penalties to an unindexed website.
Ans: Definitely not.
The acquisition process of PBN backlinks involves significant risks and penalties. If you are looking for quick SEO gains and faster website rankings, then you should invest your resources in ethical link-building practices.
PBN backlinks will probably get your site a quick SEO boost in a short time, but the results are never long-term and might get you in real trouble. Once Google identifies your site as having PBN backlinks, it might lower your site’s SEO rankings or even remove it from the database. Such damage to your website reputation or brand credibility is almost irreversible.
On the other hand, ethical link-building practices take time to show positive results, but they will ensure long-term SEO success for your website.
Ans: If you consider faster website rankings as powerful SEO results, then yes!
PBN backlinks can provide you with almost immediate rankings improvements as you have better control over the link placements and anchor texts. However, the link-building technique violates the search engine guidelines, and once detected by Google, PBN backlinks will not only lead to a major drop in the SEO rankings but will also damage your site’s credibility and authority.
Regular backlinks help you build trust with your leads and the search engine. Also, the linked resources often contain valuable information for the users, which, in turn, improves the overall user experience. Regular backlinks acquired from high-authority resources boost your site’s credibility, reliability, and authority, resulting in long-term SEO growth of your website.
So, if you take this aspect into consideration, regular backlinks are definitely more powerful compared to the PBN backlinks, even though they take time to show results and provide you with less control over the anchor text selection and link placement.
Ans: It’s definitely not recommended to create a PBN backlink for your website. However, only a few steps can help you generate a PBN backlink. Start off by acquiring expired web domains with existing authority, set them up as individual websites with different hosting services & IP addresses, and start publishing content on them. Now, all you need to do is link these sites with your target website through hyperlinks, and you will get PBN backlinks.
Ans: No.
Using PBN backlinks will cost you severe penalties because it’s a black hat link-building technique. Since building PBN backlinks violates the search engine guidelines and Google considers this strategy as manipulative, there is no way to avoid penalties once detected by it.
Ans: There are a number of ways to hide PBN backlinks, and unfortunately, most of them are sophisticated and advanced. Each PBN website is generally hosted on different servers with unique IP addresses. This prevents the search engine from identifying the common owner using different server information. The webmasters register domains at different times using distinct WHOIS data to avoid similar ownership patterns.
Also, by using different DNS configurations and server locations, the PBN owners successfully create the illusion of unrelated ownership. Moreover, they use different web designs, layouts, themes, CMS, aesthetics, analytics, plugins, and tools to make each PBN website unique.
To be on the safer side, most of the PBN owners post high-quality content on these websites, focus on natural keywords, anchor text, and link placements, successfully maintain the link velocity and outbound link ratio, and sometimes link to other non-PBN websites as well that are highly authoritative, usually!
But the secret is, sometimes, a few webmasters also block the top-rated third-party SEO analysis tools, such as MOZ, Semrush, Ahrefs, etc., from crawling these PBN websites, and also actively use VPNs to hide their IP addresses.
Ans: No.
PBN backlinks are never safe for any website, in fact!
They provide no long-term benefits. Sometimes, they offer quick gains, but they are often short-lived. However, once detected by Google, your website might get penalized and even un-indexed, leading to wasted resources and permanent brand reputation damage. So, it’s better to avoid PBN backlinks.
Ans: Though it’s generally not recommended to use PBN backlinks for your website, still, if your industry is highly competitive and you feel like traditional link-building would take ages to make your website rank on Google, you can consider using PBN backlinks. However, always remember that it involves severe risks and only consider using them if there is no way of practicing ethical link-building methods.
