Degree / Out degree / In degree

Degree is a graph measure that shows how many other domains a domain has direct relationships with. Degree is calculated using the graph of links relationships. Out degree and in degree are calculated using the graph of backlinks referral relationships.

Degree, out degree, and in degree measures are also calculated for the cliques & bridges subgraph of mutual relationships: for the links relationships graph (degree), and the backlinks referral relationships graph (out degree and in degree).

A nice way to understand degree is friendships. Imagine a party with 100 guests. Guest A already knows 10 other guests, whereas guest B is new in town and only knows 2 other attendees. In the network graph of friendships for the party, guest A has a degree score of 10, and guest B has a degree score of 2.

Calculating degree

In the following illustration, domain A has links relationships with 6 other domains, so it has a degree score of 6:

Calculating out degree

In the following illustration, domain A is connected by backlinks referral relationships with 6 domains:

To calculate out degree, only relationships that go from domain A to other domains are considered. Domain A has backlinks referral relationships to 3 domains, so its out degree score is 3:

Calculating in degree

In the following illustration, domain A is connected by backlinks referral relationships with 6 domains:

To calculate in degree, only relationships that go to domain A from other domains are considered. Domain A has backlinks referral relationships from 5 domains, so its in degree score is 5:

Visualising degree / out degree / in degree

In the report interactive, Explore further > Graph metrics > Degree / Out degree / In degree apply the relevant ecosystem degree palette to all non-dimmed domains. This re-colouring is relative, not absolute, so 'High' means high in the context of this ecosystem (not the wider web), and excludes principal and competitor domains.

Similarly, Explore further > C&B graph metrics > Degree / Out degree / In degree apply the degree palettes for the cliques & bridges subgraph.

TIP You can use the handles in the colour spectrum panel (see quickstart: the report interactive) to focus the palette on a particular part of the spectrum.

Viewing degree / out degree / in degree values

All worksheets in the data tables (MS Excel file) for a report that list domains contain Degree (lr), Out degree (br), and In degree (br) columns for these attributes. The (lr) and (br) at the end of each column name denotes whether the value is calculated using the graph of links relationships, or the graph of backlinks referral relationships.

Also included in all worksheets are columns for the cliques & bridges measures Degree (lr) (C&B), Out degree (br) (C&B), and In degree (br) (C&B).