Backlinks vs referring domains
Backlinks count every link; referring domains count the unique websites linking. Ten links from one site are worth far less than one link each from ten different sites, which is why referring domains correlate better with rankings.
Choosing the scope
- Subdomains: the whole site including every subdomain (blog., app., etc.).
- Domain: only the exact domain, without other subdomains.
- Prefix: only URLs under a path, useful for checking a single section or page.