Every time you think you understand search engine optimization (SEO), you discover another layer of complexity that makes you question how much you really understand things.
Don’t worry. That’s going to keep happening for the rest of your career. We’re all constantly learning and evolving.
And yeah, it’s a bit annoying at times.
But it’s also our greatest asset, as it allows us to perpetually get better at promoting our websites.
In any case, one of the earliest things you’ll learn in SEO is that building and establishing better backlinks is important. But of course, if you go out and start spamming backlinks chaotically, you’ll end up hurting your domain rather than helping it.
That’s because not all backlinks are created equal. And a bad backlink is worse than no backlink at all.
How can you tell a good backlink from a bad backlink?
As you might imagine, that’s a complicated question to answer. But we can get close to answering it by examining one of the most important dynamics associated with backlink building: referring domains.
What exactly are referring domains? Why are they relevant to backlinks?
And most importantly, how can you use this information to better support your existing SEO strategy?
Contents
What Is a Backlink?
Okay, so most of you probably do know what a backlink is. But just in case some of you are coming here with limited or no knowledge of SEO, backlinks are essentially hyperlinks connecting one website to another. When you click the link, you’ll travel to a destination page as indicated by the URL.
Note that these are distinct from internal links, which are hyperlinks within one website linking individual pages to each other.
Backlinks are most popularly found embedded in anchor text, but they can also be found in images, videos, and other website elements.
Backlinks are important for several reasons. From an SEO perspective, backlinks are said to “pass authority.” Earning a backlink from a website is a kind of vote of confidence from that website. If a credible website links to your website, it’s a reasonable indication that your website has something credible to offer. Earn enough of these and your website will begin to appear credible in its own right.
In fact, this effect is so important and so powerful that it’s almost impossible to earn higher rankings in search engines without a solid backlink building strategy.
But of course, backlinks are valuable for all kinds of other reasons. They assist in web navigability. They allow publishers to provide additional resources and further reading to their audience. They can also establish and reinforce relationships between agents on the web.
What Is a Referring Domain?
A referring domain is a domain with a backlink pointed to your website.
Let’s say you have 100 backlinks pointed to your website. If they all come from one place, you have only a single referring domain. If they all come from different places, you have 100 referring domains.
As any experienced SEO professional can tell you, these will result in dramatically different outcomes for the website receiving these backlinks. Even though the number of backlinks is identical, the website benefiting from more referring domains is likely to see far better results.
Why Do Referring Domains Matter?
Let’s talk about why referring domains matter.
In the SEO world, quality almost always beats out quantity; it’s better to have 1 good post than 100 terrible ones and it’s better to have 1 good backlink then 100 terrible ones.
But there’s also an element of quantity to consider. Building backlinks on a single referring domain has diminishing returns. The first link you build on a website is a powerful vote of confidence, but the second link you build on that same website doesn’t convey any new information, and therefore is not especially powerful at passing authority. In fact, each successive link you build on the same domain is going to become less impactful. That first link is incredibly important.
For this reason, it’s important to have as many referring domains as possible pointed to your website, with the caveat that you also need to be focused on quality. The higher quality a referring domain is, the more valuable it’s going to be for your SEO strategy.
In other words, the ideal setup is to have a large number of very high-quality referring domains pointed to your website with backlinks.
So what makes a referring domain high quality?
From a purely SEO standpoint, there are three big variables that matter.
- Domain authority. Domain authority is a measure of the relative credibility or trustworthiness of a website, and it’s your best tool for gauging the hypothetical value of the links you build on that domain. You can measure the estimated domain authority of any website using a variety of free online tools. The higher this number is, the more valuable the link is going to be. Of course, it’s also important to remember that high authority websites tend to be pickier about the links they publish, so the higher the authority of the website is, the harder it will be to build a link on it.
- Relevance. That means you should publish links on the highest authority websites you can find, right? Sort of. You also need to think about the relevance of each website. It’s much easier to build authority and recognition in an industry if you consistently have backlinks published on websites that are highly respected and focused on your industry. You can dabble in general publishers and publishers that are not relevant to your industry, but it’s also important to have plenty of backlinks from highly relevant sources.
- Diversity. It’s also important to think about the diversity of websites in your profile of referring domains. If all your links come from one website, or from a small network of websites that are all directly related to each other, your backlink profile isn’t going to be as strong as one that’s built from hundreds, or even thousands of unique sources.
Additionally, you may want to consider these aspects of referring domains you’re considering adding to your backlink profile:
- Name recognition. In the eyes of Google, brand names don’t count for much; a recognizable name with a domain authority of 80 is still not as authoritative as a totally unknown name with a domain authority of 81. But for your brand and your audience, name recognition matters. If your work has been published in publications like the Wall Street Journal or Forbes, you can show that off on your website and build instant trust with your audience.
- Penalty risk. You should also think about potential penalty risks faced by a website. This website may have a high domain authority now, but is it possible that it will tank in the future? Any penalty that affects your referring domains has the potential to affect your website as well, by proxy. Accordingly, in addition to examining authority metrics, you should also evaluate publication standards, the integrity of the website owners, and the long-term future potential of this publisher.
- Potential referral traffic. Referral traffic is “the segment of traffic that arrives on your website through another source, like through a link on another domain.” Domain authority and referral traffic are somewhat correlated, but this isn’t necessarily a guarantee. It’s possible to have referring domains with high domain authority and minimal referral traffic, and vice versa. Because your backlinks will have the potential to send people to your website, it’s important to consider the potential referral traffic of each referring domain you add to your profile.
- Audience quality. Similarly, you should consider the quality of the audience at each publisher. Some referring domains are going to have audiences closely aligned with yours. Others are going to have audiences that are purely outside of your target demographic scope. Lean toward referring domains with close alignment with your business.
- Other long-term benefits. Finally, you should consider any other long-term benefits that come with being associated with this publisher. For example, is it possible to have a recurring column or feature as a guest writer with this publisher? Could being featured help you collaborate with other people in your industry? Could a relationship with this referring domain lead to a relationship with a similar, related referring domain?
Analyzing Your Referring Domains
Many SEO backlink builders focus purely on acquisition.
And honestly, we get it. It’s exciting and rewarding to build new links on new referring domains.
But periodically, you’ll also have to take a moment to analyze your backlink profile, and with it, your referring domains.
Using any backlink analysis tool, you can quickly generate a list of all the backlinks pointed to your website and closely analyze the referring domains within your profile. Scout for any referring domains that could be a net negative for your website and consider culling those back links. You can also look for any areas of weakness that could be compensated for with new additions.
Plan to do this at least annually, if not more often.
Culling Backlinks From Bad Referring Domains
In the previous section, we mentioned culling backlinks, but what exactly does that mean?
It means you have to seek and destroy these problematic links.
The easiest and most straightforward way is to simply ask for those links to be removed. In most cases, you can reach out directly to the publisher and request that the link be taken down. You can work with editors or administrators to do this, or you can even look up the contact information for the webmaster using ICANN’s lookup tool or something similar.
In most cases, the person you contact will be more than happy to fulfill your request. This is especially true if you already have a good relationship with the publisher.
If that doesn’t work, you can also disavow specific links pointed to your website. However, keep in mind that this is an option of last resort, and not all requests are granted.
How to Find New Referring Domains
How do you find new referring domains to add to your backlink profile?
There are many strategies you can use to come up with ideas, but remember, you’ll also need to do the work to evaluate each candidate before adding it.
- Search for authorities in your space. You can start with simple searches. Look for industry publications, recognizable publishers that accept guest posts, and websites that seem relevant to your brand. Don’t be afraid to dig past page one to find some diamonds in the rough.
- Browse social media. Another option is to browse social media. Not all respectable publishers make it to the upper echelons of Google search results, but they may have significant followings on social media platforms.
- Study (and mimic) your competitors. A particularly viable strategy is to study and then mimic your top competitors. Look for brands and domains similar to yours and see what types of referring domains they have in their backlink profiles. Obviously, your competitors think these are viable and valuable targets, so they’ll probably be viable and valuable for you as well. Just keep in mind that this strategy can only take you so far; if you want to beat your top competitors, you also need to find referring domains that they haven’t been able to capture.
- Get referrals and suggestions. Finally, consider getting referrals and suggestions. This is an especially powerful tactic once you start developing relationships with publishers and other content creators; they may be eager to refer you to other sources.
How to Secure Backlinks on New Referring Domains
Once you find those referring domains, how can you secure backlinks on them?
The most common strategy, and arguably the most reliable, is to create guest posts for those publishers. In this strategy, you’ll start by sending a pitch for a new article, then work closely with the editor to produce a piece that’s mutually agreeable. You’ll include a link to your website within the body of that work, or potentially within your guest author profile.
This strategy works because it’s a win-win when executed properly. You get a backlink. They get a great piece of content.
But there are some hard rules you’ll need to follow if you want good results:
- Ensure a strong publisher fit. No matter what, your pitch needs to be a good fit for the publisher. Before you even think about drafting a pitch, you should spend time reviewing the types of posts this publisher usually publishes and better understanding the goals and audience of the publisher. With these factors in mind, you’ll be much better able to write a pitch, and eventually an article that fits the mold.
- Focus on audience appeal. Similarly, you need to make sure that your article has genuine audience appeal. Publishers want to serve their audiences, and if you can assist them in this goal, they’ll likely be happy to publish your work. Why does their audience care about this? How does their audience benefit from reading it? Include this information in your pitch.
- Offer something unique. Of course, you also need to offer something unique. If you’re pitching to a guitar website with an article like “How to Tune a Guitar,” you’re doing it wrong. Share original research, posit a unique opinion, or offer a new spin on something old if you want to stand out and to maximize your chances of getting published.
- Show off your expertise and credentials. Either in your pitch or in your description of yourself, make it clear that you have expertise or credentials that can elevate the reception of your work. Do you have an advanced degree, many years in the field, or some other practical experience that can help seal the deal?
- Write something worthy of publication. There may be some back and forth with editors before you get an approved pitch, and some publishers will reject you no matter what. But assuming that the pitch is accepted, it will be your responsibility to write something truly worthy of publication. Stay true to the intentions of your pitch, follow all editorial link guidelines, and listen to editor feedback carefully; publication isn’t guaranteed just because your pitch was approved.
- Be mindful of your placement. Also, be mindful of how and where you place your backlink. There may be rules in place for how links can be built, and even if there aren’t, it’s your responsibility to make sure your link is both valuable and as natural as possible. In other words, it should serve users and not stand out as promotional.
Guest posting isn’t the only way to build links, of course. Once you’ve chosen a new referring domain, you may also be interested in building backlinks with tactics like the following:
- Replace a broken link. One relatively straightforward option is to replace a link that’s currently broken on their website. Obviously, this link had some value or it wouldn’t have existed in the first place. But now, it doesn’t work. Offer a relevant page on your website to replace it and the webmaster will probably be happy to make the swap.
- Offer to collaborate. You can also offer to collaborate with existing authors or other authorities on the website. You can offer novel insights in the form of a quote or original research, or even co-author a new piece.
- Make a donation. In some situations, you can even make a donation or volunteer efforts to earn a backlink on a “thank you” page. This is especially viable with charities and nonprofit organizations.
Backlinks, Referral Domains, and More: How to Make Things Easier
Thanks to the Google ranking factors leak, we now know more about how to rank websites than ever, but your efforts will still require backlinks, referral domains, painstaking audits, and ongoing analysis.
Ugh.
It’s a lot of work, and it can be truly challenging at times.
But it doesn’t have to be so difficult. And you certainly don’t have to do it alone.
SEO agencies like ours exist to save you time, save you money, and hopefully, keep you sane as you try to dominate the search engine results pages (SERPs). We like to think we do a pretty good job – and our clients tend to agree with us.
It only takes a few minutes to get started. If you’re interested in a free backlink assessment, or an audit of your existing SEO strategy, contact us today!
Tim has spent more than two decades in organic online marketing, working with some of the most well-recognized online brands in scaling their content marketing campaigns.
Connect with Tim on Linkedin & Twitter.
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