Understanding the nuanced relationship between referring domains and backlinks can be the difference between an effective, diversified link-building strategy and one that fails to move the needle on your rankings. As search algorithms continue to evolve in sophistication, the distinction becomes increasingly important for SEO success.
This guide will explore what makes referring domains different from backlinks, how each impacts your site's authority, and the strategies that can help you optimize both metrics for maximum SEO benefit.
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks (also called inbound links or incoming links) are individual hyperlinks that point from another website to your website. Think of them as digital votes of confidence – when a site links to your content, it signals to search engines that your information is valuable, trustworthy, and worthy of citation.
Search engines like Google have long used backlinks as a foundational ranking factor, with the original PageRank algorithm built largely around the concept that links represent endorsements. While the algorithm has grown vastly more complex since then, backlinks remain a critical component of how search engines evaluate website authority.
Types of Backlinks
Not all backlinks are created equal. Their SEO value varies based on several characteristics:
By Attribution:
- Dofollow Links: These links pass SEO value (also called "link juice") from the linking site to your site. They're the standard type of link and what most SEO professionals seek.
- Nofollow Links: These carry a rel="nofollow" attribute that instructs search engines not to pass authority through the link. While traditionally considered less valuable, they're now part of a more nuanced "hint" system for search engines.
By Context:
- Contextual Backlinks: Links embedded within relevant content, surrounded by topically related text. These typically carry more SEO weight.
- Non-contextual Backlinks: Links placed in sidebars, footers, or other areas not directly related to the main content. Generally considered less valuable.
By Source Quality:
- High-authority Backlinks: Links from trusted, established websites with strong domain authority.
- Low-quality Backlinks: Links from spammy, irrelevant, or newly created websites with minimal authority.
Backlinks serve as pathways for both search engine crawlers and human users to discover your content, making them essential both for rankings and for generating referral traffic.
What Are Referring Domains?
A referring domain is a unique website that links to your site, regardless of how many individual backlinks it provides. For example, if The New York Times links to your website from ten different articles, that counts as ten backlinks but only one referring domain.
Referring domains are effectively a measure of your site's link diversity – how many different websites across the internet have deemed your content worthy of citation. This metric provides insight into the breadth of your site's authority rather than just the raw number of links pointing to it.
The concept of referring domains addresses a crucial flaw in evaluating backlinks in isolation: it's relatively easy for a single website to provide dozens or even hundreds of links to your site (whether naturally or through manipulation), but earning links from multiple unique domains typically requires genuinely valuable content that appeals to diverse audiences.
Why Diversity Matters
Consider two scenarios:
- Your website has 100 backlinks from a single domain (perhaps a partner site or friendly blog)
- Your website has 100 backlinks from 100 different domains
From a pure backlink count perspective, these scenarios appear identical. However, from a search engine's perspective, the second scenario demonstrates significantly broader recognition across the web and typically translates to much stronger domain authority and ranking potential.
This diversity principle reflects how search engines have evolved to combat link manipulation tactics. While early SEO practitioners could boost rankings by creating massive numbers of links from a small set of sites, modern algorithms heavily weight link diversity as a signal of genuine authority.
Referring Domains vs. Backlinks: Key Differences
Which One Matters More for SEO?
The question of whether referring domains or backlinks matter more isn't straightforward – both play crucial roles in SEO, but they contribute differently to your site's authority and ranking potential.
The Case for Referring Domains
Multiple studies have shown a stronger correlation between the number of referring domains and ranking performance compared to raw backlink counts. This makes intuitive sense from Google's perspective:
- Trust Diversification: Multiple independent sites linking to you suggests widespread trust across the web
- Manipulation Resistance: It's harder to artificially inflate referring domain counts than backlink counts
- Topic Authority: Links from different domains in your niche help establish subject matter expertise
Search engines view each new referring domain as a fresh vote of confidence in your content, with diminishing returns for additional links from the same domain. Ten links from ten different quality domains will typically outperform fifty links from a single domain.
The Case for Backlinks
While referring domains often correlate more strongly with rankings, backlinks still matter significantly:
- Page-Level Authority: Multiple deep links to specific pages help establish those pages as authoritative resources
- Topical Relevance: Contextual links from highly relevant pages strengthen topical authority
- Anchor Text Signals: Varied anchor text from multiple links provides semantic context about your content
The Balanced Perspective
Rather than viewing this as an either/or proposition, successful SEO strategies recognize the complementary relationship between referring domains and backlinks:
- Focus on quality over quantity for both metrics
- Prioritize earning links from new referring domains, especially authoritative ones
- Value additional links from existing domains when they come from highly relevant, authoritative pages
- Monitor your backlink-to-referring-domain ratio to ensure a natural, diverse profile
How to Get More Referring Domains (and Quality Backlinks)
Building a strong, diverse backlink profile requires a strategic approach that emphasizes quality, relevance, and sustainability. Here are proven tactics to increase both your referring domains and high-value backlinks:
1. Create Link-Worthy Content
The foundation of any successful link-building strategy is creating content that naturally attracts links:
- Original Research & Data: Conduct industry surveys, compile statistics, or analyze trends that others will want to reference
- Comprehensive Guides: Create definitive resources that thoroughly address important topics in your niche
- Visual Assets: Develop infographics, diagrams, and other visual content that simplifies complex concepts
- Tools & Calculators: Build useful interactive tools that solve problems for your audience
2. Strategic Outreach & Guest Blogging
Proactively connect with relevant websites to share your expertise:
- Guest Post Contributions: Pitch valuable content to authoritative sites in your industry
- Expert Roundups: Participate in expert collections where multiple professionals share insights
- HARO Responses: Monitor Help a Reporter Out and similar services to connect with journalists seeking expert quotes
- Resource Page Inclusion: Find "helpful resources" pages in your niche and suggest your content for inclusion
3. Digital PR & Brand Building
Earn media coverage that naturally generates diverse, high-quality backlinks:
- Newsworthy Content: Create press releases around significant company milestones, innovations, or data
- Thought Leadership: Position key team members as industry experts through speaking engagements and interviews
- Community Involvement: Participate in industry events, sponsorships, and charitable initiatives that generate coverage
4. Competitor Backlink Analysis
Leverage your competitors' link profiles to discover opportunities:
- Identify Link Gaps: Find sites linking to multiple competitors but not to you
- Content Gap Analysis: Determine what types of content attract links in your niche
- Broken Link Replacement: Find broken links on relevant sites and offer your content as a replacement
Best Practices for Managing Backlinks and Referring Domains
To maximize the impact of your link-building efforts:
- Regular Profile Audits: Monitor your backlink profile for toxic or spammy links that might harm rankings
- Disavow When Necessary: Use Google's disavow tool to distance your site from harmful links
- Track Link Velocity: Ensure natural growth patterns rather than suspicious spikes in acquisition
- Prioritize Relevance: Focus on gaining links from sites thematically connected to your content
- Balance NoFollow & DoFollow: Maintain a natural mix that reflects organic linking patterns
- Monitor Anchor Text Distribution: Avoid over-optimization with too many exact-match anchors
Summary
The distinction between referring domains and backlinks represents one of the fundamental concepts in modern SEO. While backlinks remain important building blocks of authority, the diversity and quality of your referring domains often proves more decisive for long-term ranking success.
A strategic approach that prioritizes earning links from a wide range of relevant, authoritative websites will typically outperform tactics focused solely on accumulating large numbers of backlinks. By creating genuinely valuable content and promoting it through legitimate channels, you can build a link profile that strengthens both metrics in a sustainable way.
As search engines continue to refine their algorithms in 2025 and beyond, the emphasis on natural link patterns and genuine authority signals will only increase. Websites that invest in quality content and relationship-building rather than shortcuts will be best positioned to thrive in this evolving landscape.
FAQ on Referring Domains vs Backlinks
- Are backlinks and referring domains the same?
No, they represent different measurements. Backlinks are individual links pointing to your site, while referring domains count the number of unique websites providing those links. For example, 10 links from one website equals 10 backlinks but only 1 referring domain. - What is the difference between referring domains and backlinks?
Referring domains count how many different websites link to you, regardless of how many links each provides. Backlinks count the total number of individual links. Referring domains measure link diversity, while backlinks measure overall link quantity. - Are referring domains more important than backlinks?
Generally, referring domains carry more weight in determining site authority since they represent diverse sources vouching for your content. However, both metrics matter – high-quality backlinks from relevant pages on authoritative referring domains provide the strongest SEO benefit. - How do referring domains impact SEO?
Referring domains significantly impact SEO by demonstrating widespread recognition across the web. They help establish domain authority, improve ranking potential, and signal to search engines that multiple independent sources find your content valuable. More diverse referring domains typically correlate with stronger ranking performance. - How can I increase my referring domains?
Increase referring domains by creating link-worthy content (original research, comprehensive guides, visual assets), conducting strategic outreach to relevant websites, participating in HARO and industry forums, analyzing competitor backlink profiles for opportunities, and investing in digital PR efforts that generate media coverage.
What's a good backlinks-to-referring-domains ratio?
A healthy ratio typically ranges from 2:1 to 8:1 (backlinks to referring domains), depending on your industry. Lower ratios (closer to 2:1) often indicate a more natural, diverse link profile, while very high ratios might suggest over-reliance on a small number of domains or potentially manipulative link-building.
