PBN Links: What They Are & Why Smart SEOs Choose Living Links

PBN links are backlinks from a Private Blog Network — a collection of websites typically built on expired domains with existing authority. They're used to pass link equity to target sites.

PBN operators acquire expired or auction domains, set up websites, and place links pointing to their target sites. Premium networks use auction domains with stronger existing authority. The idea is to leverage the domain's existing backlink profile and authority.

PBN links carry some risk since they go against Google's guidelines. The level of risk depends on the network's quality, footprint management, and how they're used in your overall link profile.

Some SEOs use PBNs successfully for years, while others run into issues. The main concerns are detection through hosting patterns, content quality, and interlinking. Many agencies prefer guest posts on real sites to avoid these considerations entirely.

Google can identify PBN patterns through signals like shared hosting, similar site structures, WHOIS data, and content quality. Their algorithms have improved at detecting these networks over time.

Well-maintained PBNs with unique hosting and quality content are harder to detect, but require significant ongoing investment. Guest posts on established sites don't have these footprint concerns since each site is independently owned and operated.

Common alternatives include guest posting on real publications, niche edits on existing articles, HARO/journalist outreach, and homepage link placements on established sites.

These approaches place your links on independently-owned websites with real traffic. The trade-off is less control compared to owning the sites yourself, but you also avoid the maintenance overhead and footprint management that PBNs require.

PBNs give you control over the entire site, while guest posts place your link on independently-owned publications with real audiences and organic traffic.

The main trade-off: PBNs require ongoing maintenance and hosting costs, while guest posts are a one-time placement on established sites. Guest posts also tend to have real readership, which can drive referral traffic beyond just SEO value.

PBN links typically cost $100-500 per link depending on the network's authority metrics. Guest posts from Hetneo start at $45 with full metric transparency.

When comparing costs, factor in that PBNs often have ongoing hosting and maintenance costs, while guest posts are one-time payments with no recurring fees.

Living Links is Hetneo's technology that lets you update your backlinks anytime after placement. Change anchor text, switch URLs, or update content — all on real websites with real traffic.

Built-in protections include: links hidden from competitor backlink analysis tools, diverse hosting and IP addresses across our network, natural anchor text distribution, varied link placements (in-content, author bio, resource sections), and staggered indexing to mimic organic link velocity.

This gives you the control you'd want from a PBN, but on real sites with real traffic and without the maintenance overhead.

Yes — with Living Links technology, you can update anchor text, URLs, and surrounding content anytime through your dashboard.

This is particularly valuable for: rebranding (update all anchors at once), site migrations (redirect links to new URLs), and anchor text optimization (adjust based on what's working).

You can see Domain Rating (DR), organic traffic, niche/category, and traffic trends for every site in our network before you buy.

We update metrics regularly so you're making decisions based on current data, not outdated snapshots. Filter by DR, traffic, niche, or price to find sites that match your campaign needs.

Most guest posts are placed within 5-10 business days. Homepage links are typically live within 3-5 business days.

You'll receive a notification when your link is live, along with the URL where it's placed. All placements are tracked in your dashboard.