Automate Referring Domain Data in Google Sheets with n8n

Stop wasting hours manually checking referring domain counts across multiple websites. This n8n workflow automates the entire process of fetching live referring domain data from DataForSEO and updating your Google Sheets with comprehensive backlink metrics for up to 1,000 domains in a single batch request.

What this workflow does

This automation streamlines referring domain analysis by reading your target domains directly from Google Sheets and processing them through DataForSEO's Bulk Referring Domains API. The workflow retrieves essential backlink metrics including total referring domains, nofollow referring domains, and main referring domains for each target. All results are automatically mapped back to the corresponding rows in your spreadsheet, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring accuracy.

The process triggers manually whenever you need fresh referring domain data, making it perfect for regular competitive analysis and link-building campaign monitoring. By aggregating multiple domains into a single API request, this workflow maximizes efficiency while minimizing API costs.

Use cases

• SEO teams conducting competitive backlink analysis across multiple client domains
• Link-building specialists tracking referring domain growth over time
• Digital marketing agencies comparing domain authority metrics for prospect research
• Content marketers identifying high-authority domains for outreach campaigns
• SaaS operators monitoring competitor backlink profiles at scale

Technical details

This n8n workflow leverages several key integrations and nodes:

• Google Sheets integration - Reads target domains and writes referring domain data
• DataForSEO Backlinks API - Fetches live referring domain counts via n8n-nodes-dataforseodata
• Manual trigger - Initiates workflow execution on-demand
• Split Out and Aggregate nodes - Processes domain lists efficiently
• Sticky Note documentation - Provides workflow guidance and setup instructions

Perfect for automation engineers and n8n users who need reliable, scalable referring domain data collection without the manual overhead of traditional SEO analysis workflows.