You looked at 20 backlink metrics. In fact, only one really matters.
DR, UR, dofollow/nofollow, anchor text, number of sources, page traffic… there are too many backlink metrics. But if you can only look at one—look at this.
📅 September 30, 2026 · ⏱️ About 3 minutes read · 📂 Backlink · Metrics · Simplified
DR is domain authority. UR is page authority. dofollow is link type. Anchor text is the link text. Source count is the number of referring domains.
If you can only focus on one metric—focus on referring domains (the number of referring domains).
It’s “how many different websites link to you”.
Why referring domains
200 backlinks from 15 sites < 50 backlinks from 40 sites.
Google cares more about “how many different sites trust you” rather than “how many total links you have”.
Because 200 links from 15 sites may mean you got a lot of links from a few sites—this looks unnatural. But 50 links from 40 sites means 40 independent sources consider you worthy of a link—this is a genuine trust signal.
How to check
Open Ahrefs → enter your domain → look at the “Referring Domains” number.
Reference standards:
| Referring Domains | Your Stage |
|---|---|
| 0-10 | Just starting |
| 10-30 | Building foundation |
| 30-80 | Healthy growth |
| 80+ | Mature |
How to improve
Every time you build backlinks, ask yourself: “Do I already have a link from this source?”
If you do—this new link has low marginal value. If not—this new link has high marginal value.
Prioritize getting links from “new sources” rather than more links from existing sources.
Bottom line
Referring domains are the only number in backlinks you should monitor daily.
Not DR. Not total backlinks. It’s referring domains.
If your referring domains keep growing—your SEO is on the right track.
If they stall—you need to expand to new backlink sources.
It’s that simple.
BackLinkSubmit Team — We help you get backlinks from new sources, boosting your referring domains. Learn more →
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