Referring Domains vs Backlinks: What's the Difference?

Definitions

Backlinks (also called inbound links) are individual links from other websites pointing to your site. A single page on another website might link to you multiple times, and each link counts as a separate backlink.

Referring Domains are the unique websites that link to you. If a single website links to you 50 times from different pages, that counts as 1 referring domain but 50 backlinks.

The Key Difference

Think of it this way: backlinks are the total number of links, while referring domains are the number of unique websites those links come from.

For example:

• Website A links to you from 3 different blog posts = 3 backlinks, 1 referring domain
• Website B links to you from 1 page = 1 backlink, 1 referring domain
• Total: 4 backlinks, 2 referring domains

Which Matters More for SEO?

In general, referring domains are more important than raw backlink count. Here's why:

• Diversity signals: Google values links from many different sources over many links from one source
• Natural link profile: A healthy backlink profile has a diverse set of referring domains
• Diminishing returns: The 2nd link from the same domain is worth less than the 1st link from a new domain
• DR/DA correlation: Ahrefs' DR metric specifically looks at unique referring domains

This doesn't mean individual backlinks don't matter. A single backlink from a DR 90 site is extremely valuable. But when comparing link profiles, the number of unique referring domains is often a better indicator of authority.