1. Web2.0 sites are getting spammed more than ever
It’s only a matter of time before their value drops for linking. Even though they may have high DA, this won’t last as they may decide to no follow all links like the social networks have done to help reduce the attractiveness to spammers.
2. Web2.0 sites can get deleted for no reason
The only difference in the cost of building a quality Web2.0 and a quality self-hosted PBN is the cost of the domain and hosting (MINIMAL for most people). Otherwise you’re risking a lot of development and content costs if it gets deleted.
That’s a terrible mindset if you’re willing to risk all that work and effort to potentially vanish in an instant (happens every day!). As all those subdomains dry up they will get harder to get and the risk only goes higher and higher.
3. Self hosted PBN’s are like real estate.
There are a limited number of domains in the world that have any value and the more of them you own, the less your competitors own. It’s just like land in the physical world. McDonalds is the largest real estate holdings company for prime real estate in the world. Think of a domain like real estate.
4. They are an asset which has increasing value
Authoritative and trusted domains are valuable not just to you, but to your SEO clients, others who need a place to put links (link reselling) and you can grow them into larger sites than any Web2.o through the use of communities and brands.
Some of the most powerful PBN sites are functioning community sites with millions of hits a month and all that link/power flows into whatever else the owner is trying to rank.
5. Diversity of Root Domain linking
This isn’t a massive reason, but when looking at backlinking profiles on a domain, the number of links isn’t nearly as important as the number of DIFFERENT sites linking to you. That is to say if you have 1000 wordpress.com links coming in, even though though they are from different subdomains (pizza.wordpress.com, hungry.wordpress.com etc.) that tends to start creating a footprint.
However if you are able to mix up your Root Domains by linking from your own network then you’ll naturally get a more diverse link profile which is easier to pass manual reviews and less likely to be target on your back.
Do you build self-hosted PBN’s, prefer Web2.0s or have a mix of both? Share your thoughts below!