Debug: DB lookup batches (click to expand)
| Domain | Total Backlinks |
Referring Domains |
Followed Backlinks |
Followed Referring Domains |
DA | Spam Score |
|---|
How it works
The Backlink Counter tells you, at a glance, how many backlinks and referring domains a website has. It reads a local copy of Moz's link-graph index, refreshed from time to time. There is no live web crawl, no upstream API call, and no API key needed. For every domain we know about, we store the total backlink count, the referring-domain count, the followed-only subset of each, and two quality signals: Domain Authority and Spam Score.
Single mode shows one domain's counts as big-number cards in well under a second. Bulk mode queues up to 100 domains per submission on your plan and processes them in the background into a table you can sort and export.
Choosing the www variant. Many domains exist twice in the link graph: example.com and www.example.com. When you enter either form, we look up both and return the one with the higher Domain Authority in our index. In practice that is the one the web treats as the site's main address. A subdomain you type yourself, such as support.google.com, is looked up as typed. We never fall back to the root domain, because showing google.com counts for a support.google.com query would mislead.
What we count for each domain:
- Total Backlinks: every individual page that links to the domain.
- Referring Domains: the unique websites linking in. These are the headline figures, shown largest.
- Followed Backlinks and Followed Referring Domains: the dofollow subset of each.
- Domain Authority, Moz's 0 to 100 prediction of ranking strength, and Spam Score, Moz's 0 to 100 measure of spam signals, shown as context.
Plan caps. The bulk cap on the Free plan is 100 domains per submission. Each submission counts one lookup per domain toward a daily quota shared with the other domain-lookup tools: Domain Authority Checker, Website Authority Checker, Spam Score Checker, Subdomain Finder, and SEO Analyzer.
Known limitations.
- Moz's counts, not a live crawl and not Google's. The numbers are Moz's index figures, and Google does not publish backlink counts. Every link index sees a different slice of the web, so the totals here will differ from what Ahrefs, Semrush, or Majestic report for the same site. That is normal. Use the counts for consistent comparison, not as an exact universal total.
- A snapshot, not real time. Each row reflects Moz's most recent crawl cycle for that domain. Very recent link gains or losses may take a cycle or two to appear.
- Coverage is not universal. A domain that is very new, very low-traffic, or has no inbound links may not be in Moz's index. Such inputs return a no data row rather than a count of zero.
- Counts are not everything. A big backlink number from low-quality or unrelated sites is worth less than a smaller number of relevant, trustworthy links. The Spam Score column helps you spot inflated, low-value profiles.
What the columns mean
- Domain
- The variant of the domain you submitted,
example.comorwww.example.com, whichever has the higher Domain Authority in our index. Click the cross-link icon to open the domain in a related tool, such as the Backlink Checker to see the individual links behind the count. - Total Backlinks
- The total number of individual pages linking to the domain. Several pages on one source site each count as a separate backlink, so this is almost always larger than Referring Domains. One of the two headline figures.
- Referring Domains
- The number of unique websites that link to the domain, however many of their pages do. The other headline figure, and usually the more useful one for judging how broad a link profile is. 500 links from 500 sites is far stronger than 500 links from one site.
- Followed Backlinks
- The subset of total backlinks where the link is followed, meaning it carries no
rel="nofollow". Followed links pass ranking signals. Nofollow links generally do not. - Followed Referring Domains
- The subset of referring domains with at least one followed link pointing at the domain.
- Domain Authority (DA)
- A context metric: Moz's 0 to 100 prediction of ranking strength, where each step up is harder than the last. It is a Moz signal, not a Google ranking factor. For a DA-first view and a 4-year DA trend, use the Domain Authority Checker.
- Spam Score
- A context metric: Moz's 0 to 100 measure of how many spam signals the domain shows. Higher means more spam signals. A big backlink count with a high spam score can point to an inflated, low-value link profile. The Spam Score Checker can audit individual domains in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check how many backlinks a website has?
Enter the domain, such as yourdomain.com, in the box above and click Count Backlinks. We return the total number of backlinks, meaning individual pages linking to the site, and the number of referring domains behind them. You also get followed-link counts and two quality signals, Domain Authority and Spam Score. No signup or API key is needed. Check your own site or your competitors', or use bulk mode to count backlinks for dozens or hundreds of domains at once and export the lot to CSV or Excel.
What is the difference between backlinks and referring domains?
A backlink is a single link from one web page to your site. A referring domain, also called a linking domain, is a unique website that links to you, however many of its pages do. If one blog links to you from 40 posts, that is 40 backlinks but 1 referring domain. Total backlinks is almost always the larger number. Referring domains is usually the more useful figure for judging how broad a link profile is. 500 links from 500 different sites is a much stronger signal than 500 links from one site.
What are followed vs nofollow backlinks?
A followed (dofollow) link passes ranking signals to the destination site. A nofollow link carries a rel="nofollow" or similar attribute that tells search engines not to pass that signal. This tool shows both your total counts and the followed-only subset, for backlinks and for referring domains. A healthy link profile has a mix of both, so a high nofollow share is not bad on its own. The followed counts are the ones most closely tied to ranking strength.
How many backlinks does my site need to rank?
There is no universal number. It depends on how competitive your target keywords are. The right benchmark is the sites already on page one for your terms, not a fixed target. Use this tool to count the backlinks and referring domains of the top few results for a query, then compare your own. If the leaders each have 200 referring domains and you have 20, you know the gap to close. Quality and relevance matter more than raw count. A handful of links from trusted, relevant sites can outweigh hundreds of weak ones.
Where does the backlink count come from, and is it accurate?
The counts come from Moz's link index, through our backlink database, not from a live crawl at request time. Every backlink index, whether Moz, Ahrefs, Semrush, or Majestic, sees a different slice of the web. So the number you get here will differ from what another tool reports for the same site. That is normal. Treat the figures as Moz's index counts, refreshed from time to time, and use them for consistent comparison: your site against competitors, or this month against last. No single provider sees every link on the internet.
How often are the backlink counts updated?
The data reflects Moz's most recent crawl cycle for each domain, which refreshes about monthly. New links may take a few weeks to appear in the counts, and removed links can linger until the next refresh. If you just started a link-building push, give it a cycle or two before judging the impact. A very new, very low-traffic, or link-less domain may not be in the index at all. In that case the tool returns a no data row rather than a count of zero.
Are more backlinks always better for SEO?
No. Quality and relevance beat raw quantity. A large count of links from spammy, unrelated, or low-quality sites can do nothing for you, and in extreme cases can be a liability. That is why this tool shows a Spam Score next to the counts. A domain with a huge backlink total but a high spam score may have an inflated, low-value link profile. Focus on growing your referring-domain count with relevant, trustworthy sites rather than chasing the biggest number.
Is the backlink count a Google ranking factor?
Backlinks influence rankings, but the specific count you see here is a third-party Moz figure, not a number Google publishes or uses. Google runs its own link analysis and weighs links by quality, relevance, and trust in ways no outside tool can copy in full. Use these counts as a practical stand-in for "how big and broad is this site's link profile?" and for comparing competitors, not as a Google metric. The Domain Authority and Spam Score shown here are also Moz signals: useful context, not Google ranking factors.