Domain Popularity
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What is Domain Popularity?
Domain Popularity, often abbreviated as Domain Pop, is a crucial metric in search engine optimization (SEO). It indicates how many distinct domains link to the target website. For example, if a site receives links from only two domains (e.g., www.site1.com and www.site2.com), its Domain Popularity is precisely two. It’s straightforward: the number of links from the same domain—be it one or hundreds—does not affect the count, as they all originate from a single domain.
However, links from subdomains (e.g., sub1.site1.com or sub2.site1.com) are typically treated as links from separate domains, though some SEOs argue these are of lesser value or categorize them differently in reporting.
What Level of Domain Popularity is “Good”?
The general rule is: the higher, the better. However, the quality of links matters significantly. For instance, links from a newly created site will not have the same impact as links from a trusted authority like a government website or a well-known news outlet. While link quality does not directly impact the Domain Popularity metric itself, even low-quality domains (or those potentially causing negative SEO effects) are counted in the total.
Difference Between Domain Popularity and Link Popularity
Domain Popularity differs from Link Popularity. While Domain Popularity counts the number of distinct domains linking to a site, Link Popularity includes all individual links. For example:
- If site1.com has 99 additional subpages, and all of them link to the target website, it would still contribute only 1 Domain Popularity point but 100 Link Popularity points.
- If a website consists solely of a homepage, the two metrics will be the same.
Mathematically: Domain Popularity ≤ Link Popularity.
Key Takeaway
Both metrics share a common principle: more is better. However, with Link Popularity, the impact of each additional link diminishes over time. When focusing on these metrics, it’s essential to also consider link quality to achieve meaningful SEO outcomes.