Backlink tools hand you a lot of numbers, and most of them are easy to misread. This guide covers the three that matter most when you look at a link profile: referring domains, authority scores and link types. It also covers how to combine them into a judgment you can defend. None of these metrics is a verdict on its own. Treat each one as a clue.
Start with referring domains, not total backlinks
Total backlinks counts every individual link. Referring domains counts the unique websites those links come from. One site with a footer link on 4,000 pages can add 4,000 backlinks but only one referring domain. That's why referring domains is usually the steadier measure of how broadly your site is cited. The distinction is covered in more depth in the difference between backlinks and referring domains.
What to check
- Ratio of links to domains. A very high ratio often points to sitewide links, scraped content or a single partner. It isn't automatically bad, but you should know the reason.
- Growth shape. Steady gains look different from a sudden spike followed by a drop. Spikes can come from a press hit, a directory dump or a tool re-crawling old data.
- Relevance of the domains. Fifty sites in your field usually tell you more than 500 unrelated ones.
If you're wondering what count to aim for, there's no universal number. See how many referring domains is a good number, which explains why comparing against your actual competitors beats any fixed target.
Reading authority scores honestly
Authority scores (the names vary by tool) are each vendor's own estimate of link strength. They are not Google metrics, and Google has not said it uses them. Two tools can give the same site quite different scores because they crawl different parts of the web and weigh links differently.
Use them for comparison, not as a goal
- Stay inside one tool. Compare scores only against other scores from the same tool.
- Use them to sort, not to decide. A score helps you triage a long list of linking sites, but it can't tell you whether a link is relevant or editorially earned.
- Check the page, not just the domain. A strong domain can host a weak, buried or noindexed page.
- Expect lag. Scores update on the vendor's schedule, so a good link may not show up right away. See how long new backlinks take to appear.
The trade-off: scores are quick and useful at scale, but they're easy to game and easy to over-trust. A low-score site that's a real authority in your niche may be worth more than a high-score generalist.
Understanding link types
Dofollow, nofollow, sponsored and UGC
Links can carry attributes such as nofollow, sponsored or ugc, which signal how the linking site wants search engines to treat them. Google describes these as hints. A healthy profile usually contains a mix, and nofollow links can still send real visitors. The details are in dofollow vs nofollow backlinks.
Other types worth separating
- Editorial links: placed within content by someone who chose to cite you.
- Directory and profile links: often low effort; judge them individually.
- Image and redirect links: these have no anchor text, so they need different checks.
- Sitewide links: footers and sidebars that inflate link counts.
Anchor text is the other half of link type. Once you've sorted links, look at the wording patterns using this anchor text guide.
Recommended for youHow to Check and Audit a Backlink Profile: A Step-by-Step WalkthroughA practical workflow
- Export your links. Use your tool of choice, or begin with free ways to check who links to your site.
- Group by referring domain. Reduce thousands of rows to unique sites.
- Sort by authority score, then scan the top and bottom for surprises.
- Tag link type (follow status, editorial or not, sitewide or not).
- Check relevance manually for a sample from each group. Open the pages.
- Note what changed since last time, including new and lost links. See tracking new and lost backlinks.
- Fix what's fixable, such as links pointing to dead pages (finding broken backlinks).
Quick reference table
| Metric | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Referring domains | Breadth of citation, trend tracking | Counting unrelated or low-effort sites equally |
| Total backlinks | Spotting sitewide or duplicate links | Inflation from a single source |
| Authority score | Triage and competitor comparison | Vendor-specific, not a Google metric |
| Link type / attributes | Understanding how links are labeled | Assuming nofollow means worthless |
Limits to keep in mind
- No tool sees the whole web, so counts are always incomplete.
- Different tools disagree. That's normal, so pick one for trend tracking and use a second for sanity checks.
- Link metrics describe your profile. They don't promise rankings, because many other factors are involved.
Where to go next
For a full review process, follow the backlink audit walkthrough. To set up ongoing checks, see Backlink Monitoring & Analysis and how often to check your backlinks. If you report to others, this reporting guide shows how to present these metrics without overselling them. When you're choosing a tool, compare how each handles these metrics, and confirm current features and pricing on the vendor's official site.
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