Trust Flow
Trust Flow is Majestic's metric for how trustworthy your backlinks are. Here is how the score works, where to check it, and how to improve it.
Trust Flow score on a dashboard
What is the Trust Flow score?
Trust Flow is a link metric developed by Majestic. It measures how trustworthy a website is based on the inbound links pointing at it. It is one of the more useful ranking signals for search engines like Google, because trusted domains carry more weight than unknown ones.
How Trust Flow works
A higher Trust Flow does not guarantee a top Google ranking. SEO has many moving parts. But links from trusted domains carry more weight than links from obscure sources. The metric also considers link age and link type. Domain credibility and content value drive the score.
Calculating Trust Flow
Majestic publishes a formula (TF = CF/CF + F(n)(n+1)) but in practice you rely on automated tools. The math behind it is interesting. The output is what you act on.
How do you find the Trust Flow score for your site?
Check Trust Flow inside Majestic directly. Moz's Domain Authority tool also surfaces a comparable score. Open Site Explorer is a free option that requires registration.
Can you manipulate your Trust Flow score?
Technically yes. Practically no. Artificial linkbuilding tactics get caught and result in Google penalties. Real Trust Flow improvement comes from real links on relevant authoritative sites.
How is Trust Flow different from Citation Flow?
Citation Flow prioritizes link quantity. Trust Flow prioritizes link quality. Combined, they tell you whether a domain has many links, few links, or many quality links.
Best ways to improve your Trust Flow score
- Build a strong social media presence that earns coverage
- Publish original high quality content that other sites want to cite
- Earn links from high authority outlets like NOS.nl or Trouw.nl