There are right and wrong ways to host a private blog network. And if you’ve been learning how to create a PBN, surely you’ve come across the idea of using VPS hosting.
VPS hosting for a PBN is one of the tactics that has been around for a long time but isn’t widely applicable to most PBNs. In this post, we’ll break down the basics of VPS hosting and why it isn’t a great idea for most PBNs.
Virtual Private Server Hosting
First, let’s set the foundation for understanding VPS hosting.
VPS hosting is a type of hosting in which each user is allotted a certain amount of resources from a server. In a lot of ways, it’s like being on a dedicated server that only gives you access to a small portion of the physical machine’s resources.
In contrast to shared hosting, VPS hosting gives you more control over resource allocation.
VPS hosting is a step up from shared hosting, in which multiple websites are housed on the same server for most uses. But in the case of PBN hosting, it’s more of a lateral move than a step up except for some specific scenarios.
PBN Hosting on a VPS
In the context of PBN hosting, there are a lot of reasons why shared hosting is superior to a VPS.
VPS setup and management. The biggest problem with VPS hosting is that it adds additional steps to your PBN workflow. And, you’ll need to have some experience with VPS management to get everything right. There are, of course, managed VPS hosting options, but that leads directly into the next problem.
Price of VPS hosting. VPS hosting is more expensive than shared hosting. A PBN hinges on the returns it can produce for the investment, and VPS hosting will cut into those returns more than shared hosting.
Your sites are on the same physical machine. A VPS is still on a server, and if you host (say) 10 of your PBN sites on the same VPS, everything that happens to that machine impacts your 10 sites. If that machine goes down, your PBN sites will all go down at the same time, and recover at the same time.
In addition to that, all your sites will be on the same IP address as your VPS. That’s an obvious footprint for the 10-site PBN and most VPS hosting providers have preconfigured IP addresses.
With all that said, there are some reasons why VPS hosting is still used for PBNs.
One of those reasons is that it isolates you from potentially harmful sites. Even though you may be stuck to one IP address per VPS, those IP addresses won’t be crowded in with other potentially sketchy sites.
VPS Hosting for PBNs – Does the Math Work Out?
There are some use cases for VPS hosting for PBNs. But for the average PBN owner, it’s not a good solution.
The benefits that a VPS may provide (resource flexibility, scaling, etc.) don’t really apply to the vast majority of PBNs.
The extra management required, along with the higher price point per site, will quickly eat into any potential benefits that VPS hosting has to offer.
Shared PBN hosting is a much better solution for the average PBN owner and can provide most of the same benefits of a VPS if you work with a capable provider.