Hook
PBNs are one of the most powerful tool in SEO, they can even be a direct source of income, so long as they are built right. I’m about to show you what works best for PBNs, how to find the best domains, what to avoid and how to set everything up for long term success.
If you’re curious about PBNs for private use on your money sites or selling guest posts for quick cash, I’ll be covering both angles.
Intro & Setting Expectations
I’m Jim from Domain Hunter Gatherer and I have a quick promise, there’ll be no hype here, just the realities, risks and clean practices that will keep your network looking like real sites that stand up to scrutiny.
View the video for full context
What Is a PBN (Really)? Private vs. Guest-Post Networks
A PBN is simply a set of websites that you control. You can use them privately to prop your own projects – Giving a great SEO boost through content syndication and backlink posting.
Alternatively you can sell placements as guest posts on these websites.
The process for finding the domains and checking for quality is largely the same for both outcomes so these guides apply to both camps.
Let’s get into what domains you want.
Domain Quality
Quality is a pattern, not a single metric. I look for topical consistency in content, a clean and relevant backlink profile. If a site reads like a real hobby or niche site and has backlinks that would be hard or impossible to achieve naturally, that’s exactly what you’re looking for.
There is a great shortcut to finding domains with backlinks from high ranking sites in any niche that I will be covering in a future video but if you want to get a head start you can find a link to our guide on our blog in the description.
I am always interested in what metrics other people look for when searching expired domains. Do you go straight for the referring domains and content or do you rely on third party metrics more? Let me know your process.
Links:
Find Expired Domains with Authority Links
Risks & Realities You Must Accept
Two types of pain exist: manual actions and quiet dampening. You avoid both by keeping your sites indistinguishable from normal sites. That means realistic content, varied tech signals, and no obvious cross-site fingerprints. Budget and time also matter: domains, hosting, content, and ongoing maintenance. If you can’t commit to upkeep, don’t build.
We have links for Guides on choosing your hosts for your PBN in the description, choose correctly from the start to save a ton of money in the long run:
Links:
How to register an Expired Domain
How to Build a Private Blog Network
Avoiding Footprints
Footprints are shared signals that tie your sites together. To avoid these you need to change up everything about your sites as much as possible. That means different registrar, hosting, DNS, analytics plugins, CMS, content, names and bios, everything. Think like an investigator: if you had all your HTTP headers, DNS, and HTML in a spreadsheet – would you start to see patterns?
When building out many sites you will want to limit costs as much as possible while varying up everything you can, this begins with choosing a different registrar and hosting for every domain right through to content posting schedule and social linking. Whatever you do for one site, just do it different for the next one.
Links:
Ultimate Guide to PBN Hosting
Tooling Overview
Here’s the stack for this series. We’ll use Domain Hunter Gatherer to find all domains fast. Domain Hunter Gatherer has all of the tools we will be needing to find the expired domains in your niche and also to check it’s content history and backlinks. With it’s built in tools we will be able to feed it a list of authority sites in any niche and let it pull out all of the linked domains, letting us pick up all of the best ones for just the cost of registration.
This will save us a ton of money on auction and drop catch fees. Another benefit of expired domains, besides their backlinks, history and low cost, is that once registered they are yours to do what you want with immediately, limiting your down time.
Then we’ll use DomDetailer to bulk-screen metrics like DA, TF and backlink profiles so we can asses these domains quickly. Finally, we’ll spot-check history in Wayback and sample anchors. Quick, repeatable, and consistent.
Your Build Path for This Series (What We’ll Do Next)
The path forward is simple: we’ll find candidates → vet stats/history → register cleanly → diversify hosting and nameservers → and we’ll be building a real-looking site and use links sensibly. For private use, we’ll map anchors and drip links to your money pages. For selling guest posts we’ll also be focusing on getting listed on the major marketplaces and getting noticed.
When a PBN Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)
PBNs are for when you want to get the ultimate leg up on your competition and really stand out from the crowd. They can also be great as a direct income source.
When most rankings are separated by just a few backlinks and signals a PBN can be the difference between getting impressions and getting clicks on your websites.
Action Items Before the Live Hunt
Before the next episode, you should prepare a short competitor list. That’s all you need for the expired domain live hunt. I’ll also give you a one-page Risk & Footprint Checklist you can print and keep beside your desk! Use this to start forming good habits from the start
Outro
If this was useful, subscribe so you don’t miss the live expired domain hunt in Episode 2. Links to Domain Hunter Gatherer and DomDetailer are in the description, along with the checklist. Drop questions below—especially about footprints you’re worried about—and I’ll tackle them in a follow-up.
That’s it for now, see you in the next one
