external backlinks vs. page referring domains

Hi @ll,

I'm a lil bit confused about the difference from the number of external backlinks to a page and the number of unique domains referring to a page.

Why I'm asking is, I'm currently playing with a keyword tool (don't know if I should name the tool), but it's a well-known tool, and in the competition analysis for a keyword there is a two columns which I don't understand correctly.

is it not the same thing, to get a link from an external source to a well-optimized keyword landingpage? Maybe someone knows what I try to explain..

Thanks

If you are getting multiple backlinks from the domain to your page, it will be calculated as 1 unique domain referring page.

For example

Your site homepage getting backlinks from

domain1 home page
domain1 inner page1
domain1 inner page2

The tool's results will be
external backlink 3
unique domains 1

Hi Gary,

appreciated your answer. Great description! Thank's a lot