SEO is never the same. It is forever changing. In such a dynamic world, understanding and keeping track of key metrics becomes even more important. RD, or referring domain, is one such key metric in SEO that has a significant role to play in website authority and ranking. By the end of this article, you will be armed with the knowledge of leveraging referring domains for the maximum impact.
RD vs. Backlinks: Understanding the Distinction
You must have often come across a few people using the terms "referring domain" and "backlink" interchangeably. RD and backlinks are not the same. A backlink is a hyperlink on another website that points to your website. RD is the website that provides these backlinks.
To understand it better, consider backlinks as individual votes in a popularity contest. Every vote matters as the overall score depends on it. In this case, while the votes can be referred to as backlinks, the individual voters themselves are the referring domains. One person can cast multiple votes (multiple backlinks from one website), but that person (website) will still be considered only one referring domain.
The Power of Referring Domains in SEO
If you’ve read our previous blogs on backlinks, you must have understood by now how important backlinks are for your website’s ranking and authority. High-quality backlinks from high quality websites will give your ranking a significant boost for targeted keywords.
You can have multiple backlinks from one website, but that won’t be ideal. Ideally, you should have multiple backlinks from multiple high-quality websites (referring domains) for a more diverse backlink portfolio. This would increase your credibility across the web, boost your search engine ranking, and drive organic traffic to your website.
Delving Deeper: Analyzing Referring Domain Quality
Tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush are there to aid you in identifying your referring domains, but simply knowing the name and number of RDs will not do. Let us look at some key metrics based on which you can check the quality of RDs.
Domain Authority (DA):
It’s basically a score from 0 to 100 that predicts the probability of a website ranking in search results. It was developed by Moz. Getting backlinks from websites that have a lower DA score won’t make any significant difference to your website’s ranking. On the other hand, websites with good DA scores play a crucial role in contributing to your website's authority.
Traffic Volume of the Referring Domain:
This is a very simple concept. Any website with a large number of traffic and backlinks will attract more visitors to your website as well. Identify and reach out to such referring domains to attract a relevant audience to your website for maximum impact.
Relevance of the Referring Domain:
You can’t have backlinks from just anywhere. This would have a negative impact on your website. Suppose you sell books on your website. You do not want traffic from people who want to buy shoes. Therefore, always strive for backlinks from websites within your niche or industry as they hold more value. These links indicate topical relevance and expertise, sending a stronger signal to search engines.
Link Placement (dofollow vs. nofollow):
Let’s be clear, there are no high-quality backlinks that do not contribute to brand awareness if executed properly. "Nofollow" links drive traffic and brand recognition whereas "dofollow" links lead to higher ranking of websites on search engine results pages.
Building a Strong RD Profile: Effective Strategies
Now that we have looked at key metrics for analyzing referring domain quality, let us now step into the strategies for building a strong RD profile:
Guest Blogging on High-Authority Websites:
Want to know a classic and timeless way for getting high-quality backlinks? Write valuable and relevant guest posts for authoritative websites in your niche. Just make sure that the website allows do-follow links and provides proper attribution with your website link.
Creating Link-worthy Content:
When other websites find your content valuable, they would naturally want to link to it as a credible source. So, develop informative, engaging, and well-researched content to organically attract backlinks.
Broken Link Building:
Many websites have broken links leading to non-existent pages. Identify relevant broken links and contact the website owner, offering your own content as a replacement. This creates a win-win situation: fixing their broken link and potentially earning you a valuable backlink.
Disavowing Low-Quality Backlinks:
Do not aim for low-quality backlinks at any cost. Low-quality backlinks from spammy websites negatively impact your SEO efforts. Utilize Google Search Console's disavow tool to identify and remove these harmful backlinks, protecting the integrity of your RD profile.
Examples: The Impact of RDs on Websites
Let’s take two examples to solidify our understanding of RDs to wrap up the concepts we have discussed so far. Suppose a travel website obtains backlinks from high-authority travel blogs and magazines. This positively affects the website's domain authority and positions it as a reliable source of travel information. Subsequently, the website experiences a substantial surge in organic traffic as users follow links from the referring travel blogs.
Let’s take another example. Assume that a cosmetic store website erroneously gets backlinks from unrelated websites selling concert tickets. These irrelevant RDs offer minimal or no SEO benefits. Also, if the cosmetic store has many low-quality backlinks from spammy websites, it could face penalties from search engines. This highlights the importance of building high-quality RDs within the cosmetic niche.
Conclusion: The Road to SEO Success with Referring Domains
Understanding and strategically leveraging referring domains is crucial to a successful SEO strategy. Acquiring backlinks from high-quality, relevant, and authoritative websites can establish a strong RD profile, enhance your website's authority, and achieve higher-ranking positions in search results.
Remember, quality trumps quantity. Building a diverse and trustworthy backlink profile with strong RDs will improve your ranking, attract organic traffic, and establish your website as a thought leader in your niche.
