Majestic Trust Flow is a metric created by the Majestic SEO tool to measure the trustworthiness of a website’s backlinks. It uses a scale from 0 to 100 and focuses on the quality of links pointing to a site. If a domain receives links from trusted sources like news sites or academic pages, its Trust Flow score tends to be higher.

This score is part of Majestic’s Flow Metrics group, which also includes Citation Flow. While Citation Flow looks at how many backlinks a site has, Trust Flow looks at link quality alone. That means a site with fewer, high-quality links can score better than one with many low-quality links.

Even though Trust Flow is not a Google ranking factor, SEO experts often use it as a signal of a site’s reliability. It helps during backlink analysis, competitive research, and link-building strategies. It is commonly used to compare domains or decide whether a backlink is worth getting.

The metric is often mentioned alongside third-party SEO tools like Domain Authority (Moz) and Domain Rating (Ahrefs), but it stands out for its narrow focus on SEO trust signals and domain trust. These terms are important in audits, especially when working to improve a site’s link profile or avoid penalties from poor link sources.

How Has Trust Flow Evolved Over Time?

Majestic introduced Trust Flow in 2012 to give SEO professionals a more accurate way to measure link authority and domain trust. It replaced older link scoring methods by focusing on backlink quality instead of volume, using an advanced algorithm and a large web index.

Introduction of Trust Flow and Citation Flow

• Trust Flow was launched in 2012 by Majestic, alongside Citation Flow, as part of its Flow Metrics suite.
  These metrics were designed to give users better tools for evaluating backlinks after the decline of Google’s public PageRank updates.

Majestic recognized a growing gap in how SEOs assessed links. Raw backlink counts no longer gave a full picture of backlink credibility, and PageRank had become outdated. By introducing Trust Flow, the company focused attention on link quality rather than just quantity.

Transition from ACRank to Flow Metrics

• Before Trust Flow, Majestic used ACRank, a simpler metric based mostly on backlink totals.
  ACRank did not consider the authority or reputation of linking domains, which limited its usefulness in advanced SEO analysis.

Majestic replaced ACRank with Trust Flow and Citation Flow to offer more meaningful link evaluation. Trust Flow gave users a way to identify sites that earned backlinks from reliable sources, helping them avoid spammy or low-quality domains.

Technical Foundation and Methodology

• Trust Flow uses iterative algorithms and a vast web index to score how closely a domain is connected to a set of trusted sites.
  The algorithm calculates how trust is passed through links from well-known, authoritative sources across the internet.

The idea behind this approach was simple: a site linked directly or indirectly to trusted domains likely deserved a higher score. Majestic’s Flow Metrics algorithm helped users detect not just link volume, but actual SEO trust signals within a site’s backlink profile.

Role in Modern SEO and Industry Adoption

• Since its release, Trust Flow has been widely adopted for link audits, domain comparison, and authority analysis.
  It remains one of the most referenced metrics in SEO reporting, especially when evaluating link-building strategies or checking competitor domains.

Trust Flow became popular because it gave users more control over evaluating link trustworthiness. Unlike metrics that only reflect link count, it offered a clearer picture of how well a domain was connected to reputable sources online. Its use continues in SEO trust evaluation and technical audits.

How Trust Flow Works

Majestic Trust Flow measures how close a website is to a set of trusted domains. It focuses on the quality and origin of backlinks, following how trust flows through links rather than just counting them.

Seed sites are the starting point

• Handpicked list of trusted domains
• Includes government, academic, and editorial sites
• Chosen based on authority and clean link history

Majestic Trust Flow begins with a carefully selected group of seed sites. These are considered highly trustworthy and are manually chosen to avoid bias or spam. They include sources like government agencies, universities, and top-tier publications. All trust signals in the algorithm trace back to this core group.

Trust spreads through link paths

• Trust flows from seed sites through links
• Each step reduces the amount of trust
• The closer a site is, the stronger its score

Trust does not jump blindly between sites. It flows through link paths, with each connection carrying slightly less weight the further it moves from the original seed. A website linked directly by a seed domain will have more Trust Flow than one connected through multiple steps.

Quality matters more than link quantity

• Trust Flow rewards relevant, high-authority links
• Spammy or unrelated links are ignored
• Link farms and automation have little impact

Unlike raw link counts, Trust Flow emphasizes quality over quantity. A few strong backlinks from respected sources will raise the score more than hundreds of weak or irrelevant links. This design limits the effects of manipulative tactics like automated backlinks or paid link networks.

Scores apply at all levels of a website

• Trust Flow is calculated for individual URLs
• Also scored at subdomain and root domain levels
• Comparisons should be made at the same level

Majestic assigns separate Trust Flow scores to pages, subdomains, and full domains. This helps users identify which sections of a website are trusted. However, it is important to compare like with like—a homepage should be compared with another homepage, not a blog post or full domain.

What Is the Difference Between Trust Flow and Citation Flow?

Majestic provides two metrics to evaluate a website’s backlinks. While both use a 0–100 scale, they serve different purposes. The table below highlights the main differences between Trust Flow and Citation Flow.

Aspect	Trust Flow (TF)	Citation Flow (CF)
Purpose	Measures the quality and trustworthiness of backlinks	Measures the volume or quantity of backlinks
Calculation basis	Based on proximity to trusted seed sites	Based on number of backlinks, regardless of trust
Score behavior	Grows slowly, usually lower than CF	Typically higher, since most sites gain links easily
Use in SEO audits	Helps detect link trust, authority, and credibility	Shows link popularity or influence, not necessarily trust
Risk indicator	Low TF with high CF may signal spam or poor link quality	High CF alone can be misleading without TF comparison
Ideal usage	Evaluate trust flow alongside citation flow for a full backlink profile picture	Use CF to track link-building efforts or detect unusual spikes
Example scenario	A site with TF 20 and CF 40 may have low-quality links	A site with CF 40 and TF 35 suggests more balanced and trusted link sources

A site’s TF:CF ratio is often used to check for backlink health. A balanced ratio, where Trust Flow is close to Citation Flow, usually points to strong link authority. If Trust Flow is much lower, it may require deeper analysis to detect spammy or untrusted links.

How Does Topical Trust Flow Work?

Topical Trust Flow is a related metric provided by Majestic that shows how much topical authority a website holds within specific subject categories. It expands on the core Trust Flow score by measuring trust relevance by topic, which helps assess not just who is linking, but whether those links come from topically aligned domains.

Tracks trust within specific topic categories

• Focuses on subject-specific trust, not overall link strength
• Based on Majestic’s topic classification system
• Evaluates relevance between source and target site content

Unlike the general Trust Flow score, which measures overall backlink quality, Topical Trust Flow tells whether a site is trusted in particular fields such as Sports, Health, Technology, or Education. The system uses its database of trusted seed sites to map connections within each topical area. If a domain receives links from trusted sources in a specific niche, its score in that category increases.

Uses hundreds of content-based categories

• Majestic classifies the web into over 800 topical categories
• Categories include both broad and narrow subject areas
• Scores vary per topic depending on link patterns and seed proximity

Majestic’s algorithm assigns Topical Trust Flow scores by analyzing the link environment around seed sites. For example, if a tech blog is regularly linked by trusted Technology domains, it may show high trust in that category, but very low in unrelated areas like Health or Education.

Supports SEO with topic-level backlink evaluation

• Shows whether links come from topic-relevant sources
• Helps avoid backlinks from unrelated or off-topic sites
• Useful in niche audits, content alignment, and SEO campaigns

This metric is especially helpful when evaluating link relevance, not just quantity or authority. For instance, ESPN.com may score highly in the Sports category but not in Medical, while a peer-reviewed journal will reflect the opposite. SEO professionals use Topical Trust Flow to ensure that backlinks come from sources that hold influence in the same subject area.

Complements the general Trust Flow metric

• Appears alongside topic labels in Majestic reports
• Adds depth to backlink analysis
• Helps refine topical SEO strategies

By pairing Topical Trust Flow with the standard Trust Flow score, users get a more complete view of a site’s link quality and subject relevance. This is critical in SEO, where search engines often prioritize not just trusted sources, but contextual alignment between the content of the source and target page.

How Can You Evaluate a Trust Flow Score?

Trust Flow is not a fixed rating system. It is a relative metric that shows how trusted a site appears in the context of its backlink sources. What counts as a “good” score depends on the niche, industry, and competition. The key is to compare sites within similar scopes.

General score ranges and what they suggest

• High Trust Flow (Above 50)
  Indicates a strong and authoritative backlink profile, often found in large platforms or trusted institutions.
• Moderate Trust Flow (10 to 50)
  Reflects a balanced link profile with some reputable backlinks, common among growing or well-established websites.
• Low Trust Flow (Below 10)
  Shows little to no backlink trust. This may apply to new sites or those with mostly spammy or irrelevant links.

These ranges offer a quick reference point. A site like YouTube, Yahoo, or TED often scores above 50. Meanwhile, a mid-sized business or a known publisher like Reuters may fall between 20 and 40. Scores below 10 are typical for new domains or those with poor link histories.

Use Trust Flow for comparisons, not in isolation

• Context matters more than raw score
• Scores vary by industry and domain type
• Compare with similar competitors or market leaders

Because Trust Flow is a comparative metric, it should not be used as an absolute judgment of quality. A local food blog with a Trust Flow of 12 may outperform a large eCommerce site in local searches if its links come from strong regional sources. Comparing within the same niche helps draw meaningful conclusions during SEO audits or competitor research.

When low scores raise concern

• A single-digit Trust Flow is acceptable for brand-new sites
• But for older domains, it can signal spammy link history or low-quality backlink sources

In some cases, very low scores can be a red flag. If a domain is not new and its Trust Flow is under 10, it may have earned links from questionable sources or suffered from poor link-building practices. Reviewing the link profile quality is essential before making decisions based on the score.

How Is Trust Flow Used in SEO

Trust Flow is used in multiple SEO workflows—from research to risk management. It helps marketers evaluate link quality, discover trustworthy domains, and monitor the health of a site’s backlink profile over time.

Competitor analysis and strategy development

• Compare your domain’s Trust Flow with top-ranking competitors
• Analyze backlink gaps and content types earning high-trust links
• Identify trusted domains linking to competitors, but not to you

SEO professionals use Trust Flow for competitor backlink analysis to discover where others are gaining link trust.

If a rival has a much higher Trust Flow, you can review their backlink sources and uncover high-authority domains or content formats you might have overlooked. These insights help refine your link-building strategy and close authority gaps in your niche.

Link prospecting and outreach planning

• Use Trust Flow as a filter to avoid low-quality link targets
• Focus outreach on domains with equal or higher TF than yours
• Prioritize sites already linking to trustworthy competitors

When planning a campaign, link prospecting is more effective when you use Trust Flow to vet targets. Outreach efforts should focus on domains that have a higher Trust Flow, ensuring that any new backlinks contribute positively to your domain authority.

This also prevents your site’s profile from becoming diluted by low-trust domains or irrelevant sites.

Monitoring topical authority and content alignment

• Use Topical Trust Flow to track subject-level backlink strength
• Identify off-topic links weakening your SEO relevance
• Align content creation with trusted categories in your niche

With Topical Trust Flow, you can check if your backlinks are aligned with your site’s focus. A high score in unrelated categories may indicate that you’re earning links from off-topic domains.

Maintaining E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust) depends on growing trust in relevant subject areas. This makes topical link alignment a key part of long-term content and SEO planning.

Detecting and cleaning harmful backlinks

• Monitor sudden drops in Trust Flow or a high CF-to-TF gap
• Audit inbound links from domains with very low TF scores
• Use Google’s disavow tool to remove or reject toxic links

A consistent drop in Trust Flow or a wide gap between Citation Flow and Trust Flow can signal problems. Low-quality or spam links might be hurting your domain’s reputation.

In such cases, it’s best to audit recent backlinks, remove links from toxic or irrelevant sites, and submit a disavow file. Cleaning your profile can restore trust and prevent algorithmic penalties.

Best practices for using Trust Flow

• Use it as a planning and diagnostic tool, not a vanity score
• Combine with human judgment and other SEO metrics
• Focus on earning natural, high-trust backlinks over time

Majestic advises that Trust Flow should reflect real site authority, not be treated as a score to “game.”

SEO professionals are encouraged to create valuable content, build trusted partnerships, and maintain a clean link profile. When done right, the Trust Flow score will rise as a natural outcome.

How Does Trust Flow Compare to Other Metrics

Several SEO tools provide authority scores on a 0 to 100 scale, including Majestic’s Trust Flow, Moz’s Domain Authority, Ahrefs’ Domain Rating, and Semrush’s Authority Score. Each uses a different approach to evaluate backlink strength and trust.

Differences in methodology

• Trust Flow measures trust from seed sites
• Domain Authority includes link volume and diversity
• Domain Rating focuses on referring domain strength
• Authority Score combines links, traffic, and spam signals

Majestic’s Trust Flow is unique because it focuses on how close a domain is to a network of trusted seed sites. Moz’s Domain Authority (DA) evaluates search potential using multiple factors like linking root domains and total backlinks. Ahrefs’ Domain Rating (DR) looks at the strength of referring domains. Semrush Authority Score goes further by also factoring in user engagement signals and traffic data.

Why scores may not align

• A site with fewer, high-trust links may have higher TF than DA
• A domain with many average links may show high DA but lower TF
• All metrics are influenced by different link and scoring models

Two sites with similar backlink counts may rank differently across tools. For example, a site linked by fewer but stronger domains may earn a high Trust Flow but only moderate Domain Authority. On the other hand, a domain with a large number of links might score higher in DA or DR while still having a lower Trust Flow if its links lack authority.

Why multiple metrics matter

• No single score gives a complete picture
• SEO experts compare TF, DA, DR, and Authority Score together
• All metrics are third-party estimates, not Google signals

Since none of these metrics come directly from Google, they are best used together. Looking at Trust Flow, Citation Flow, DA, and DR side-by-side gives a broader understanding of a site’s backlink profile and link-based authority. This helps SEO professionals spot inconsistencies, benchmark competitors, and fine-tune link-building strategies.