Ethical SEO: Should You Use PBNs in 2025?
SEO has always been a game of staying ahead of Google’s ever-changing rules. Every few years, tactics that once worked like magic become risky or outright dangerous. As we move through 2025, one question keeps popping up among website owners, marketers, and SEO professionals: should you still use PBNs? Private Blog Networks, or PBNs, have long been a controversial tool in SEO. Some swear by them for fast rankings, while others avoid them out of fear of penalties. Let’s break down what PBNs are, how they fit into modern SEO, and whether they belong in an ethical SEO strategy today.
What exactly are PBNs?
PBNs are networks of websites created primarily to build backlinks to a “money site” — the website you actually want to rank. These sites usually consist of expired domains with some existing authority. The goal is simple: use these sites to point links at your main site to manipulate search engine rankings. On the surface, it sounds clever — you control the sites, the content, the links, and the anchors. But here’s the thing: Google’s guidelines explicitly call out link schemes as a violation. And PBNs? They’re the textbook example of a link scheme.
Why PBNs became popular
Back when Google’s algorithm wasn’t as sophisticated, PBNs were a quick ticket to the top of search results. SEOs could buy a few expired domains, slap up some basic content, and see their sites rise fast. For businesses in competitive niches, this shortcut was appealing. Building high-quality backlinks through outreach, guest posts, or PR takes time and effort. PBNs promised faster results with fewer headaches — at least at first. But as Google’s detection methods have evolved, so has the risk.
What’s changed in 2025?
If you’re wondering whether PBNs still work in 2025, the answer is: sometimes. But the margin for error is razor-thin. Google’s AI-driven algorithms and link spam detection systems have become incredibly sophisticated. They can spot patterns in hosting, linking behavior, content similarity, and even writing style. Networks that might have survived in 2020 or 2022 are now at much higher risk of being deindexed or ignored. On top of that, Google is faster than ever at rolling out manual penalties against sites that rely heavily on unnatural links.
What this means is that while PBNs can still move the needle, they’re no longer the easy win they once were. The chance of being caught is higher, and the consequences can be severe — ranking drops, manual actions, and the loss of trust signals that can take months or years to rebuild.
Ethical SEO: what does it really mean?
When we talk about ethical SEO, we’re talking about strategies that align with search engine guidelines, provide genuine value to users, and build long-term success. Ethical SEO means playing the long game — focusing on high-quality content, real relationships, and earning links naturally rather than trying to game the system.
This doesn’t just matter from a moral standpoint. Ethical SEO protects your business from future updates and penalties. It ensures your rankings are durable, your brand’s reputation remains intact, and your marketing dollars aren’t wasted on short-term tricks that backfire.
Are PBNs ethical?
Here’s where it gets tricky. Some argue that if a PBN is well-built — with high-quality content, unique design, and no obvious footprints — it’s just another way to control your link-building. But let’s be honest: the primary purpose of a PBN is to manipulate rankings by creating artificial links. That’s the very definition of a link scheme, and Google makes it clear that this violates their guidelines.
Even if you create beautiful, helpful sites in your network, if their main purpose is to pass link juice to your money site, you’re still stepping outside the boundaries of ethical SEO. And as algorithms get smarter, it’s harder to justify the risk — or the effort it takes to cover your tracks.
The risks of PBNs today
Let’s talk about the real-world risks that come with using PBNs in 2025. First, there’s the obvious one: penalties. Google can hit your site with a manual action, which could tank your rankings overnight. Recovering from that can take months of work and involve disavowing links, rewriting content, and submitting reconsideration requests.
Then there’s the hidden cost. Building or buying PBN links isn’t cheap — at least not if you want to do it in a way that’s less detectable. You’re paying for domains, hosting, content, and maintenance. And what happens if Google catches the network? All that time and money goes up in smoke.
Finally, there’s your brand’s reputation. If you’re found using shady link schemes, it can damage how your audience, clients, or partners see you. In a world where transparency and trust matter more than ever, that’s not a small risk.
What should you do instead?
If you’re looking for alternatives that are both effective and ethical, you have options. Focus on creating link-worthy content — guides, tools, original research, and case studies that people actually want to reference. Build relationships in your niche so you can earn guest post opportunities and mentions naturally. Invest in digital PR, where you pitch stories to journalists and bloggers who want to share valuable insights with their readers. These methods take time, but they build authority that lasts.
Even better? When you build links the right way, you’re also improving your brand visibility, building partnerships, and creating assets that provide value beyond just SEO.
Is there ever a “safe” way to use PBNs?
Some SEOs argue that a small, carefully managed PBN can be part of a larger strategy — as long as it’s not your primary source of links. They might use PBNs to give a little boost to tier two properties (like citations or social profiles) rather than pointing directly at the main site. But even here, the risk remains. Google’s ability to trace link schemes through multiple layers has improved dramatically. And when it comes down to it, if you’re spending all your time and energy trying to stay hidden, that’s time and energy you could be using to build real authority.
The bottom line: should you use PBNs in 2025?
At this point, the risks of using PBNs outweigh the rewards for most businesses. They can still work in the short term, but they’re harder to maintain, more expensive to run, and more likely to trigger penalties than ever before. If your goal is to build a sustainable, ethical SEO strategy that supports your business for the long haul, PBNs simply don’t fit that picture anymore.
SEO in 2025 is about trust — trust with search engines, trust with users, and trust within your industry. The best way to earn that trust is by focusing on genuine value, not shortcuts. It’s tempting to look for quick wins, especially in competitive niches. But the websites that stand the test of time are the ones that play by the rules, adapt to changes, and put users first.
So before you decide to use PBNs, ask yourself: is the short-term boost worth the long-term risk? Or would your time and resources be better spent building something that lasts? The choice is yours, but the smart money in 2025 is on ethical, future-proof SEO.