Trust Flow and Citation Flow are complementary metrics that help you evaluate backlink quality beyond simple authority scores. Together, they reveal whether a domain's links come from trustworthy sources or whether quantity is masking quality concerns.
What These Metrics Measure
Trust Flow measures the quality of backlinks based on proximity to trusted seed sites. The metric traces link paths from a domain back to a curated set of highly trustworthy websites—think major news organizations, government sites, and educational institutions. Domains closely connected to these seed sites earn higher Trust Flow scores.
Citation Flow measures the quantity of backlinks without regard to quality. It predicts how influential a domain might be based purely on how many links point to it. High Citation Flow indicates lots of links; it says nothing about whether those links are valuable.
Both metrics use a 0–100 scale.
The Trust Ratio: What to Look For
The relationship between Trust Flow and Citation Flow—sometimes called the Trust Ratio—tells you a lot about a domain's link profile health.
Healthy profiles show Trust Flow close to or higher than Citation Flow. This indicates that the domain earns links from quality sources proportional to its overall link volume.
Risky profiles show Citation Flow significantly exceeding Trust Flow. This pattern suggests the domain has accumulated many links, but those links come from low-quality or untrustworthy sources. It can signal spam, link schemes, or neglected link hygiene.
Trust Flow | Citation Flow | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
35 | 30 | Healthy—quality matches or exceeds quantity |
25 | 45 | Cautionary—link quantity outpaces quality |
40 | 40 | Balanced—proportional quality and quantity |
15 | 55 | Risky—high volume, low trust signals |
Tip: When evaluating potential link-building targets, favor sites with balanced or quality-dominant Trust Ratios. Earning a link from a high-Trust Flow site transfers more value than a link from a high-Citation Flow, low-Trust Flow site.
Using Trust Flow in Competitor Analysis
When analyzing competitors, compare their Trust Flow and Citation Flow to your own. If a competitor has significantly higher Trust Flow, investigate which trustworthy sites link to them. These sources become outreach targets for your own strategy.
Conversely, if a competitor has high Citation Flow but low Trust Flow, their link profile may be vulnerable. They've accumulated volume without quality—an approach that can backfire if search engines discount those links or apply penalties.
Limitations to Keep in Mind
Trust Flow and Citation Flow are third-party metrics, not direct Google ranking factors. They provide useful signals, but they're estimates based on external crawling and proprietary algorithms.
Use these metrics as one input among many when making decisions. A site with modest Trust Flow but exceptional content relevance may still be a valuable link partner.