What are referring domains and why they matter for SEO

Key takeaways:

• A referring domain is a unique website that links to your site, while a backlink is the individual hyperlink that points to your content.
• A variety of backlinks from different referring domains is better than multiple backlinks from a single domain.
• Quality is better than quantity when acquiring backlinks and referring domains.

If you ever dabbled in blogging, content creation, or search engine optimization (SEO), you’ve likely come across the terms “backlinks” and “referring domains.”

But what are referring domains, why do they matter, and how do they differ from backlinks?

A referring domain is the name of the website that links to your website (e.g., www.websitename.com). Backlinks, on the other hand, are the bridges that connect such a website to your content using a hyperlink.

In this article, we’ll explore referring domains, why they matter for SEO, and how you can effectively build them to boost rankings and grow organic traffic.

What are referring domains?

A referring domain is any unique website that links to your site through an external link. Simply put, it’s the source website sending traffic to your content via a hyperlink.

Each referring domain represents a distinct source. If there are several pages from the same site linked to yours, they all count as backlinks but originate from a single referring domain.

Think of it this way:

If you have a friend who recommends you to five different people, those five people are like your referring domains. Each time they mention your name, that’s like a backlink.

In essence:

• One referring domain can have multiple backlinks to your site.
• It’s generally better to have backlinks from a variety of referring domains than many backlinks from just one domain.

Referring domains are a key part of your website’s backlink profile—a collection of all the links pointing to your site. They help search engines understand how many unique websites find your content valuable enough to share with their audiences. This is important because search engines prioritize diversity in links when evaluating your website’s authority and relevance.

Also, links from authoritative referring domains—websites with high trust and influence—can significantly improve your standing in search engine rankings compared to links from low-quality or spammy websites.

Referring domains vs. backlinks

When going through your SEO checklist for your blog or any web content, it’s easy to mix up referring domains and backlinks. While closely related, they each have their own purpose and are measured differently in your backlink profile.

Understanding the difference is important in SEO because both metrics impact your performance in distinct ways.

A backlink is a hyperlink from one website to another. Every link pointing to your site counts as a backlink, regardless of where it comes from.

On the other hand, a referring domain is the unique website hosting those backlinks. For example, if a popular website links to your blog on three different pages, that’s three backlinks but only one referring domain.

This distinction matters because search engines like Google evaluate both metrics differently. While backlinks indicate how often other websites reference your content, referring domains reveal link diversity—how many websites find your content valuable.

Having many backlinks from a single referring domain can help, but links from multiple unique referring domains carry more weight in terms of authority and trust.

Why referring domains are important for SEO

Referring domains are a major factor in your website’s success on search engine results pages (SERPs). Search engines use referring domains as a trust signal when determining your site’s domain authority and relevance for specific topics. Your site is more likely to perform better in SEO when more authoritative referring domains are pointing to it.

Ahrefs’ research found that out of the examined 1 billion pages that have no backlinks or referring domains, 96.55% don’t get any traffic from Google searches. They discovered a link between referring domains and site traffic—the more backlinks from unique sites your web page has, the more traffic it’s likely to get.

The power of diversity

Not all backlinks are created equal, and the same is true for referring domains. Search engines prioritize links from a variety of unique referring domains because they indicate widespread trust.

For example, having backlinks from ten reputable sites carries far more weight than having fifty backlinks from only one referring domain. This link diversity shows that multiple websites find your content valuable, which, in turn, enhances your credibility.

Search engine ranking improvement

Search engines consider links from authoritative referring domains as endorsements. These links signal to search engines that your content is trustworthy, increasing your visibility in search results. On the other hand, links from low-quality sites can harm your rankings and should be avoided.

A boost in domain authority and traffic

Referring domains also influence your domain authority, a score that reflects your website’s overall strength in search rankings. More links from trusted websites lead to a stronger backlink profile, which boosts your site’s ability to compete for top spots on SERPs.

Besides driving more organic traffic to your pages, quality referring domains also build long-term visibility and trust among your audience.

How to check referring domains

If you monitor your website in Google Search Console, you can get a good idea of your top referring domains and backlinks there. This popular free tool provides a comprehensive report on your site’s overall SEO health.

Here’s how:

1. Log in to Google Search Console.
2. Choose the website for which you want to check the referring domain. (Your website must be linked to the Console before you can do this. If it still isn’t, follow this simple step-by-step guide to link your website to Google Search Console.)
3. Inside Google Search Console, go to the Links section in the left sidebar.
4. Under External links look for Top linking sites. This section displays your top referring domains and the number of backlinks to your site. You can click each referring domain to check which of your site’s pages they are connected to.

Note: Google Search Console periodically updates its user interface, which may result in changes to the layout and the order of steps.

How to build high-quality referring domains   

Building high-quality referring domains is one of the most impactful efforts you can do to boost your website’s authority and drive long-term organic traffic. This requires a combination of strategic content creation, outreach efforts, and timely updating of your content based on performance data.

Create shareable resources

One of the most reliable ways to gain referring domains is by creating content that’s worth linking to. If your content is high-quality, helpful, and valuable, other websites will naturally want to link to it.

Here are a few content ideas that tend to attract good backlinks:

• Infographics. Visual content like infographics is easy to share and often gets linked to by other websites linking to your work. They’re an effective way to present data and insights in a visually appealing format.
• Research papers or case studies. Original research or in-depth case studies are great for attracting quality backlinks. When you provide unique data or actionable insights, other websites often reference your work as a credible source.
• Evergreen content. Focus on writing evergreen content—articles that remain relevant over time. When your content stays valuable, it continues to attract links from new referring domains without much effort.

Build relationships with website owners

Once you have quality content, it’s time to actively reach out to other website owners and linking sites. This process is called link building. It involves strategically reaching out to site owners who might find your content valuable to their readers such that they’d want to link to it.

Here are some tactics you can use:

• Guest posting. Writing a guest post for another blog in your niche is a great way to gain a referring domain. When you contribute valuable content to other websites, they usually allow you to include a link back to your site in the article or author bio.
• Networking with industry leaders. Reach out to industry influencers and other content creators in your field. They may be able to refer you to other influential contacts or share your content on their own platform, increasing your website’s exposure. Also, collaborating with leaders may lead to guest blogging opportunities on their sites.
• Broken link building. This is a smart SEO tactic where you find broken links on other websites and suggest they replace them with a link to your relevant content. Many website owners are happy to fix broken links, and it’s an excellent way to earn referring domains.

Monitor and track your progress

To be successful in your link-building efforts, understand where your referring domains come from and where to look for new opportunities. Fortunately, many helpful tools can assist you in monitoring your backlinks and keeping track of new links. Some of the more valuable ones are:

• Ahrefs: This tool allows you to explore your site’s backlink profile, identify your referring domains, and even analyze your competitors’ link-building strategies to find new opportunities.
• SEMrush: They offer a referring domains report that shows you the websites linked to your content. You can use this information to see where your backlinks are coming from and identify high-quality linking websites to target for outreach.
• Google Search Console: As mentioned earlier, this helps you track the top backlinks to your site and discover top referring domains. You can use this tool to monitor the health of your backlink profile and identify any spammy referring domains that might be hurting your SEO efforts.

Common mistakes to avoid  

Focusing too much on quantity and not quality

Links from low-quality referring domains can hurt your domain authority and SEO efforts. When you’re working on your link-building strategy, always prioritize quality over quantity. A single referring domain from a quality website with strong domain authority is far more valuable than multiple backlinks from low-quality websites.

Not monitoring your referring domains regularly

SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it game. Referring domains and backlinks can change over time, so it’s important to keep track of your link-building efforts.

Not checking your referring domains report regularly can result in missed opportunities and failure to notice broken links or spammy backlinks that may have appeared.

You can use tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush or Ahrefs to keep an eye on how your referring domains are changing. This helps ensure that your link-building strategy is on the right track.

Strengthen your SEO with quality referring domains

Referring domains are important in any SEO strategy. They help search engines gauge your website’s authority and trustworthiness. You can effectively improve your SEO performance by creating valuable content, building strong relationships with industry leaders, and consistently monitoring your backlink profile.

Prioritize quality over quantity and make acquiring quality referring domains a cornerstone of your SEO efforts to ensure sustainable growth and long-term success.

High-quality referring domains start with a well-built website. Whether you’re optimizing an existing one or starting your SEO journey from scratch, the right website building tools can make all the difference.

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