What Is Trust Flow and Citation Flow in SEO?

Arman Advani Director of SEO Strategist at Search Atlas

What Is Trust Flow and Citation Flow in SEO?

Published on: March 7, 2025 | Last updated: January 26, 2026

In SEO, building a website’s authority and credibility is like building trust in real life: You need to get Google and the users to rely on you and, in this case, boost organic traffic. That’s where Majestic’s “Trust Flow” comes in.

Trust Flow works alongside another metric called Citation Flow, both introduced by Majestic back in 2012. While Trust Flow focuses on the quality of backlinks, Citation Flow measures the quantity.

By using backlink tools, you can check these metrics and figure out how trustworthy a website is based on the links pointing to it.

For instance, a neighborhood bakery might have high Trust Flow if it’s featured in top-tier food blogs, whereas a gossip site could score high Citation Flow just from sheer volume.

What is Trust Flow?

Trust Flow (TF) is a metric developed by Majestic to measure how trustworthy a website is based on the quality of its backlinks. It’s scored from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating stronger trust signals.

The score analyzes how closely a site is linked to a group of highly trusted “seed sites.” The closer your backlinks are to these seed sites, the higher your Trust Flow.

For instance, a blog cited by reputable news outlets might see a strong Trust Flow score, while one linked by questionable or spammy sites might score lower. That means websites like Google and Adobe typically have high Trust Flow.

On the other hand, newly created sites with few or no backlinks tend to have low scores. Most websites fall somewhere in the middle.

While Trust Flow isn’t a Google ranking factor, it’s a helpful off-page SEO tool for evaluating the quality of your backlinks. This helps you with competitor analysis and to create an in-depth link building strategy.

How Is Trust Flow Calculated?

The exact formula behind the calculation is a closely guarded secret by Majestic.

What we do know is that Trust Flow is based on a curated list of trusted sites reviewed by real people, like developers, writers, and editors. It makes it harder to game the system with shady SEO tactics.

Trust Flow focuses on the quality of backlinks. It analyzes how trust flows through links, both external and internal, and uses an iterative process to pass trust from one page to another.

What is a Good Trust Flow?

When it comes to Trust Flow, many site owners wonder if their score is “good enough.” In general, websites fall into one of three categories:

If your site is scoring above 50, congratulations, you have a strong reputation. You are doing fine if you’re in the 10–50 range. But it’s worth reevaluating your SEO strategy if your score is below 10.

What Is Citation Flow?

Citation Flow (CF) is also a metric that scores a webpage from 0 to 100 based on the quantity and quality of backlinks it receives. While it’s primarily about how many sites are linking to a page, it also considers the link equity (or “link juice”) passed from those sites.

How is Citation Flow Calculated?

Citation Flow is a metric from 0 to 100 that estimates a site’s authority based on the quantity and link equity of its backlinks. Here are the factors that influence it:

What Is a Good Citation Flow?

There’s no single “good” Citation Flow score to aim for, and the metric should be viewed alongside Trust Flow.

Ideally, you want a balanced Citation Flow-to-Trust Flow (CF-to-TF) ratio, close to 1:1. This means every backlink is trustworthy.

Citation Flow vs Trust Flow

Simply put, Citation Flow (CF) measures the quantity of links pointing to your site, while Trust Flow (TF) measures the quality of those links. Both scores range from 0 to 100, but keep in mind that neither CF nor TF is a direct ranking factor for Google—they’re more like indicators to help you assess your SEO performance.

Why You Can’t Rely on Trust Flow and Citation Flow for Accurate Metrics

It’s important to note that while metrics like Trust Flow and Citation Flow can provide valuable insights into a site’s SEO health, they can also be easily manipulated, especially Citation Flow.

How Citation Flow Is Manipulated

Since Citation Flow is mainly focused on the volume of backlinks a site receives, it’s easier to artificially inflate a site’s score by acquiring large quantities of low-quality links from spammy sites, directories, or irrelevant sources.

How Trust Flow Can Be Manipulated

Trust Flow is harder to manipulate than Citation Flow, but it’s not immune. It’s possible to buy backlinks from sites with high Trust Flow scores.

Why Website Traffic and Keywords Matter More Than Ever

Legacy Trust Flow and Domain Authority tools are based on old standards that focus too much on backlinks and don’t keep up with how Google’s algorithm has evolved.

Meet Domain Power: Your New, More Reliable Metric

Domain Power (DP) is a metric created by Search Atlas that combines organic traffic and ranking keywords to offer a reliable measure of a site’s authority. Unlike traditional metrics that focus mainly on backlinks or external signals, DP uses real-world data directly from Google Search Console (GSC).

How is Domain Power More Reliable than Trust Flow?

Trust Flow (TF) can often feel inconsistent, and sometimes it seems downright unfair. Let’s take a look at one example: A website with a TF score of 31, ranking for 2.4k organic keywords and receiving 1.7k monthly visitors.

Now, consider another site that ranks for 4.4k organic keywords and attracts 1.9k visitors per month.

Domain Power gives this site a more accurate score of 40, reflecting its true value and relevance.

Finally, The Trustworthy Authority Metric You’ve Been Waiting For

Trust Flow tries to be more reliable than other metrics by manually tagging certain websites as “trustworthy.” But building your backlink strategy around Trust Flow isn’t the best move. Why? It means you’re probably overlooking amazing opportunities from sites that get tons of traffic, rank for loads of keywords, and are loved by users, things Google really cares about today.

At Search Atlas, we don’t just give you the basics. We offer innovative tools like OTTO, the first AI agent. Curious? Give it a try with our free trial!

Real Success Stories: In-Depth Case Studies

Business name:

Dr. David McInnis Orthodontics (dmsmile.com)

The Challenge:

Dr. David McInnis Orthodontics struggled with low search visibility and inconsistent patient inquiries. Despite offering premium orthodontic services, their online presence failed to generate steady leads

472% increase in organic traffic

380% growth in patient inquiries & conversions

250 + high-intent keywords ranking on Page 1

How We Did It:

By implementing Search Atlas's advanced SEO strategy, we restructured their website for search intent alignment, optimized local SEO, and enhanced technical performance to dominate Google rankings. Now, Dr. David McInnis Orthodontics enjoys a steady stream of organic leads and a powerful online presence, making them the go-to orthodontic practice in their area.

Business name:

Rehab Facility

The Challenge:

Their mission is to help clients tackle addiction at its source. To do this, they needed to significantly increase their online presence and support their critical mission

+277% Organic Traffic

+135% Organic Keywords

1400 + Keywords Ranking Top 3

How We Did It:

The client used Search Atlas to identify and resolve technical flaws, including broken links, slow loading times, and navigation issues.

Business name:

DUI Law Firm

The Challenge:

In Austin's bustling legal market, standing out as a DUI law firm is challenging due to intense competition. Achieving local search visibility requires an innovative strategic SEO approach

+100% Pins Improved

+88% Locations Ranking Top 3

How We Did It:

To improve search rankings for their keywords, we incorporated these terms into the website and Google Business Profile (GBP) over 4 weeks using OTTO.