The referring-domains number lying to your face

The referring-domains number lying to your face

Word is half the agencies pitching "4,000 RDs vs your 900" are reading a vanity column. Spotted in the index again this week: a fintech brand crowing about referring-domain growth that's 70% syndication echoes — one press release cloned across a content farm ring, each domain a different IP but the same boilerplate anchor.

Multiple profiles show the same tell: RD count climbs in a vertical staircase, never organic drip.

The fix the smart teams run —
— Filter Ahrefs to dofollow + one-link-per-domain, then segment by traffic. RDs sending zero organic traffic don't count.
— Pull the "new" RDs by week. Real link velocity is lumpy. Press-release cloning is a flat wall.

The brands winning link-gap arguments aren't counting domains. They're counting domains that a human would actually click from. Watch this space.