Trust Flow is a proprietary metric created by Majestic that evaluates website credibility by analyzing the quality of its backlink profile. Operating on a scale of 0-100, Trust Flow assesses how closely a site is connected to trusted seed sites through its backlink relationships.
Trust Flow analyzes the distance between a website and known trusted seed sites in the link graph. Sites directly linked from highly trusted sources receive higher Trust Flow scores, while sites further removed see diminishing scores. The metric uses a complex algorithm that considers both direct and indirect link relationships.
Majestic maintains a carefully curated set of trusted seed sites, typically including major institutions, government domains, and established industry authorities. The closer a site is to these trusted seeds through quality backlinks, the higher its Trust Flow score.
Trust Flow serves as a reliable indicator of website authority and credibility. Unlike raw link counts, Trust Flow emphasizes the quality and relevance of linking domains. This makes it a valuable metric for:
Trust Flow helps identify the strength of a site's backlink profile by measuring connections to authoritative sources. A high Trust Flow score typically indicates natural, editorial links from respected websites.
By comparing Trust Flow scores across competitor websites, SEO professionals can benchmark link building effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement.
Trust Flow works in conjunction with Citation Flow, another Majestic metric. While Trust Flow measures link quality, Citation Flow measures link quantity and raw linking power. Together, these metrics provide a comprehensive view of a site's link profile:
Focuses on the quality and trustworthiness of linking domains
Measures the quantity and raw power of backlinks regardless of quality
Effective use of Trust Flow involves regular monitoring and strategic link building. Focus on acquiring links from sites with high Trust Flow scores, as these pass more trust signals. Avoid links from low Trust Flow sites, which may indicate poor quality or potentially harmful connections.
Regular Trust Flow analysis helps maintain a healthy backlink profile and guides strategic outreach efforts for maximum impact on domain authority.
Real Trust Flow data showing domain metrics, referring domain distribution, and trends. The TF/CF ratio above 1.0 indicates a healthy link profile with quality over quantity.
{
"domain": "example.com",
"metrics": {
"trust_flow": 42,
"citation_flow": 38,
"tf_cf_ratio": 1.1,
"topical_trust_flow": {
"technology": 35,
"business": 28,
"news": 22
}
},
"referring_domains": {
"total": 847,
"by_trust_flow": {
"70+": 12,
"50-69": 86,
"30-49": 234,
"10-29": 515
}
},
"trend": {
"3_month_change": "+5",
"new_high_tf_links": 8
}
}
Results from a 6-month authority building campaign focusing on earning links from high Trust Flow domains (TF 50+). Shows correlation between improved Trust Flow and organic traffic growth.
| Metric | Before Campaign | After Campaign | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Flow | 28 | 47 | +68% |
| Citation Flow | 32 | 41 | +28% |
| Referring Domains | 156 | 283 | +81% |
| Organic Traffic | 12,400 | 31,600 | +155% |
Scores above 50 are considered excellent, while 30-50 indicates good authority. Most legitimate websites score between 10-30, while new or small sites typically start below 10.
While both measure site authority, Trust Flow specifically focuses on backlink quality and proximity to trusted seed sites, while Domain Authority considers a broader range of ranking factors.
Trust Flow typically improves gradually through earning quality backlinks from authoritative sites. Quick increases are rare and may indicate artificial link building.
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