Trust metrics are quantitative measurements that evaluate a website's perceived trustworthiness and authority in search engines. According to Majestic, one of the leading providers of trust metrics, these measurements primarily analyze the quality and patterns of a site's backlink profile to determine its credibility.
Trust metrics typically operate on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater trustworthiness. The calculation considers multiple factors, including the quality of linking domains, the context of backlinks, and the overall link neighborhood. Majestic's Trust Flow, for example, evaluates websites based on their distance from a set of manually reviewed seed sites known to be trustworthy.
The evaluation process is URL-specific, meaning different pages on the same domain can have varying trust scores. This granular approach helps search engines distinguish between high-quality and potentially problematic content within the same website.
Trust metrics serve as crucial indicators for search engines to determine ranking potential and content quality. Sites with higher trust scores typically demonstrate stronger ranking capabilities and better resistance to algorithmic penalties. These metrics help search engines filter out low-quality or spammy websites while identifying authoritative sources.
Trust Flow measures the quality of backlinks based on their proximity to trusted seed sites. Citation Flow examines the quantity of citations (backlinks) to a website. Together, these metrics provide a comprehensive view of a site's authority and influence in its niche.
Topical Trust Flow adds another dimension by measuring trust within specific categories or industries. This helps identify whether a site is considered authoritative within its relevant sector.
SEO professionals use trust metrics to guide link building strategies and evaluate potential linking partners. High trust metrics often correlate with better search visibility and organic traffic performance. Regular monitoring of these metrics helps identify potential issues in a site's backlink profile and guides optimization efforts.
Sample trust metrics report showing key authority indicators for a technology website. The balanced ratio between Trust Flow (42) and Citation Flow (38) suggests natural link growth, while the high Topical Trust Flow in technology (56) indicates strong niche relevance.
{
"domain_metrics": {
"trust_flow": 42,
"citation_flow": 38,
"topical_trust_flow": {
"technology": 56,
"business": 47,
"marketing": 51
}
},
"link_profile": {
"total_referring_domains": 873,
"trusted_referring_domains": 312,
"average_referring_domain_trust": 35
},
"trust_trends": {
"3_month_change": "+7",
"year_over_year": "+15"
}
}
Results from a 6-month trust building campaign for a SaaS company. Focus on earning mentions from industry publications and creating linkable assets led to significant improvements in both trust metrics and organic visibility.
| Metric | Before Trust Building | After Trust Building | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Trust Flow | 28 | 47 | +68% |
| Referring Trusted Domains | 156 | 312 | +100% |
| Top 10 Keywords | 23 | 89 | +287% |
| Monthly Organic Traffic | 15,400 | 42,700 | +177% |
Trust Flow is a metric developed by Majestic that measures website trustworthiness on a scale of 0-100 based on the quality of its backlinks and their proximity to trusted seed sites. Learn more: Trust Flow
Trust metrics influence search rankings by helping search engines identify authoritative and credible websites. Sites with higher trust scores typically demonstrate better ranking potential and resilience to penalties.
Trust Flow measures the quality of backlinks, while Citation Flow measures the quantity of citations to a website. Together they provide a complete picture of a site's authority. Learn more: Trust Flow
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