Citation Flow: A Metric That Helps With Backlink Building

Do you have a hard time figuring out when to trust backlinks coming from a new domain? Then use Trust Flow to evaluate the trust factor of each domain based on the quality of links they receive. 

In a nutshell, Trust Flow is another metric you can use when building a backlink profile to boost SEO efforts. You can use it for free, and it’s beginner-friendly. In this article, we’ll reveal the advantages of Trust Flow and the best practices you can implement to start off on the right foot.

For example, you'll see that using Majestic, we can see that Hike SEO has a Trust Flow score of 12:

What Is Trust Flow SEO?

Trust Flow is a metric developed by Majestic to measure the quality and trustworthiness of a website based on the quality of its backlinks. Unlike traditional metrics that may focus on the quantity of links, Trust Flow emphasizes the quality of those links.

The metric considers how closely linked a site is to a set of trusted seed sites. These seed sites are considered highly authoritative and reputable in their niches. Furthermore, the metric uses signals like how much traffic flows through the link to determine the trust factor. 

Trust Flow is measured with a score from 0 to 100, with higher being better. Expect the majority of organic and good Trust Flow scores to land between 30 and 50. Generally, you’ll have an easier time gaining high-quality backlinks when paying attention to this metric. This is important for search rankings - after all, 58.1% of SEOs believe that backlinks have a significant impact on rankings in search engines.

Finally, you shouldn't confuse Trust Flow with Citation Flow, which is another metric that Majestic came up with. It focuses on the number of links rather than their quality, and it’s another useful backlink metric to monitor. 

What Are the Benefits of Trust Flow SEO

Are you unsure if using Trust Flow is the right step for your SEO strategy? It’s understandable to not be sold on an unheard metric. After all, you may already be swimming in a sea of data points leading to information overload. 

However, the following benefits may help you understand why Trust Flow could be better than the metric you’re already using. 

Improved Search Engine Rankings

Trust Flow improves SEO by indicating the quality and trustworthiness of a website based on its backlinks. Hence, high Trust Flow scores suggest that a site is linked to reputable and authoritative sources, which search engines consider when ranking pages. 

Therefore, by focusing on acquiring high-quality backlinks from trusted sites, a website can boost its credibility and authority in the eyes of search engines like Google. This enhances the site's search engine rankings, making it more likely to appear in top search results. 

Better Competitor Analysis

Figuring out how competitors rank is a shortcut to link building that helps bridge the gap for new websites. You can find dozens of high-quality links by examining competitors with high Trust Flow Scores. Likewise, you can ignore websites with low Trust Flow scores to avoid wasting your time. 

Ideally, you will focus on direct competitors since it increases the relevance of their link profile. Focus only on the backlinks that add value to your audience, and there’s an organic connection with your business. 

Enhanced Link Building

It can take a long time to find high-quality links in your niche. However, by using analytics data like Trust Flow, you can quickly generate a list of potential places to seek out these links. It will help you diversify the link profile while avoiding links that look artificial. 

This is an important point since Google dislikes spammy links, and it can result in penalties. Therefore, you need to carefully evaluate the link-building sources you uncover with Trust Flow.  

Improved Content Strategy

Are you unsure of what content strategy to implement to hit the mark with your audience? Then you can use Trust Flow to identify the website content that attracts high-quality links. You may spot a common theme where specific topics in your niche perform better than others. 

You can use these insights to improve your website blog. Don't have one? Then you’re missing out since 90% of businesses have a blog, and for good reason - they drive traffic and generate sales. 

Stronger Domain Authority

Trust Flow helps improve domain authority by helping you identify websites that can pass significant link equity onto your web pages. The metric allows you to focus on a handful of links that can strengthen your domain authority more than hundreds of low-quality links can. 

Better User Experience

Adding links from high-quality websites gives audiences additional ways to find your business website. Also, users are more likely to trust your content and products if they arrive from respectable websites. 

Likewise, your current website visitors will appreciate links to useful websites that can add value. These might be niche-related calculator tools or resource-type pages. However, don’t link to direct competitor web pages since you may lose customers. 

Backlink Profile Risk Management Help

Part of building a natural link profile is avoiding troublesome websites. Hence, you can use Trust Flow to identify websites with poor performance. You’ll want to disavow links from these websites with a low score. 

Therefore, monitor your backlink profile to assess all incoming links using this strategy. You can make life easier by investing in tools to help monitor your backlink profile. Hike SEO is a top-tier tool that performs backlink analysis

Trust Flow vs Citation Flow: Is There a Difference?

Trust Flow is a measure of the quality of backlinks pointing to a website, and in comparison, Citation Flow is a measure of the number of backlinks pointing to websites. Therefore, it make sense to use both backlink analytics metrics for a more comprehensive analysis. 

Additionally, both metrics have a score of 0 to 100 where a higher score is better. Trust Flow improves over what Citation Flow offers by:

(1) Evaluating the reliability of backlinks. 

(2) Assessing the reputation of the domains the backlinks are pointing to. 

What Are the Drawbacks of Trust Flow SEO?

It’s easy to see why Trust Flow is a handy metric for any marketer or business aiming to improve their SEO strategy. However, there are also a few drawbacks that you need to consider so you can use the metric correctly. Here are the top Trust Flow drawbacks to keep in mind:

  • Potential for manipulation: Trust Flow can be manipulated by acquiring backlinks from sites with high Trust Flow. However, this practice may not always reflect genuine authority or relevance. Generally, this practice can lead to short-term gains but might not provide sustainable SEO benefits.
  • Limited scope: Trust Flow focuses on the quality of backlinks but doesn't account for other crucial SEO factors like content quality, on-page optimization, or user experience. Therefore, solely relying on Trust Flow can lead to a skewed perception of a site's overall SEO health.
  • Lack of context: The metric doesn't consider the context or relevance of backlinks. Generally, a link from a high-authority site is beneficial, but if it's unrelated to the site's niche, then it might not significantly impact rankings. Therefore, focusing solely on Trust Flow can overlook the importance of contextual relevance in building a strong backlink profile.
  • Incomplete picture: Relying exclusively on Trust Flow ignores other backlink metrics. A comprehensive SEO strategy requires a balanced view of various metrics to accurately assess a site's backlink profile. Hence, Trust Flow alone may provide an incomplete picture, which potentially leads to misguided SEO efforts.
  • Lag: Trust Flow metrics are not updated in real-time, so it can potentially lead to outdated assessments of a site's backlink profile. This lag can hinder timely adjustments to SEO strategies and cause missed opportunities.

Trust Flow SEO Best Practices

Are you excited to incorporate Trust Flow into your SEO marketing strategy? Then you need to follow the best practices in this section to increase your odds of success. These tips ensure you get the most out of the metric and generate more customers. 

Maintain a Healthy Backlink Profile 

Diversifying your backlink sources is essential for a healthy backlink profile. Hence, aim to obtain links from a variety of authoritative websites across different domains. This not only spreads the risk but also signals to search engines that your site is broadly recognized and credible. 

You’ll need to engage in different link-building activities like guest blogging, press releases, and influencer collaborations. This ensures a diverse and high-quality backlink portfolio that can boost SEO rankings above the competition. 

Improve Internal Linking

Effective internal linking helps distribute Trust Flow throughout your site. Therefore, ensure that your most important pages receive internal links from other high-authority pages on your site. This strategy helps spread link equity and enhances the overall authority of your website. 

Additionally, optimizing internal links improves user navigation and engagement, which can indirectly support your SEO efforts. That’s because it keeps visitors on your site longer and reduces bounce rates

Look for Disavowed Links

Disavowing low-quality and toxic links is crucial for maintaining a healthy backlink profile and protecting your Trust Flow. Therefore, regularly audit your backlinks using tools like the Google Search Console to identify links from spammy, irrelevant, or harmful sites. 

Furthermore, compile a list of these undesirable links and submit a disavow file to Google using the Disavow Links tool. This process signals to search engines that you do not endorse these links, preventing them from negatively impacting your site's Trust Flow and overall SEO performance. 

Focus on High-Authority Sites

Aim to acquire backlinks from sites that are both relevant to your niche and have high Trust Flow scores. This means you’ll need to conduct thorough research to identify authoritative websites within your industry. The experts among you may already have a list of these websites. 

Building relationships with these sites through guest posting, collaborations, or partnerships can lead to high-quality backlinks. This strategic approach not only improves Trust Flow but also ensures that the backlinks are contextually relevant. The end result is more credibility among customers and higher search rankings. 

Use SEO Tools to Monitor Backlinks 

To implement the best practices above you’ll need the help of an advanced SEO tool to monitor backlinks. This will help you keep track of your best links and monitor incoming links you want to disavow. 

Hike SEO is an example of a top-tier SEO tool that can help improve your Trust Flow scores. It will help you save time when evaluating links and monitoring new additions to your backlink profile. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Trust Flow measured?

Trust Flow is measured by evaluating the quality of backlinks pointing to a website. This metric analyzes how trustworthy and authoritative the sites of a backlink profile. Higher Trust Flow scores indicate that a site has backlinks from reputable and high-authority sources. 

How do you check Trust Flow for your website?

Use Majestic’s SEO tool to check Trust Flow for your website. Simply enter your website's URL into Majestic's search bar to access detailed metrics, including Trust Flow. The tool provides a visual representation of your site's backlink profile and Trust Flow score. 

This highlights the quality and trustworthiness of linking domains. Make sure to monitor this score on a regular basis so you can spot problems ahead of time. 

What is a good Trust Flow score?

A good Trust Flow score typically ranges from 30 to 50 for most websites, indicating a strong and trustworthy backlink profile. Scores above 50 are considered excellent, reflecting high authority and credibility. Lower scores (below 20) suggest weaker backlinks, requiring improved link-building efforts to enhance site trustworthiness.

Why is Trust Flow important for SEO?

Trust Flow is important for SEO because it measures the quality of backlinks and reflects a site's authority. Also, high Trust Flow indicates links from reputable sources, which can boost search engine rankings and organic traffic. 

How often is Trust Flow updated?

Trust Flow is updated regularly, with Majestic typically refreshing its metrics every few days to a few weeks. This frequent updating ensures that the Trust Flow scores reflect the most current backlink profiles and website changes. 

However, some marketers may feel that the data should be updated in real-time and demand higher accuracy from their tools. 

Is Trust Flow good enough for SEO analysis?

Trust Flow is valuable for SEO analysis, offering insights into backlink quality and site authority. However, it should be used alongside other metrics for a comprehensive view. That’s because relying solely on Trust Flow may overlook other critical SEO factors.

What should you do if your Trust Flow drops?

If your Trust Flow drops, first analyze your backlink profile to identify any lost or newly acquired low-quality links. Also, disavow harmful backlinks and focus on building high-quality links from reputable sources. 

Furthermore, enhance your content quality to attract organic backlinks and engage in consistent link-building efforts. Taking these steps can increase your Trust Flow score. 

Hike SEO

Are you ready to start using Trust Flow to elevate the depth of your backlink analysis? Great choice, and don’t forget the best practices you’ve learned in this article. It ensures you can tell the difference between the links of high-authority domains from the low-quality ones. 

However, it can be daunting to keep track of backlinks when your website begins to scale. To help with everyday backlink profile building tasks consider adding Hike SEO to your toolkit. We offer user friendly and innovative features for SEO professionals and business owners alike.