What Is Citation Flow (CF)?
Citation Flow is a metric developed by Majestic that measures the quantity of backlinks pointing to a domain or URL. It predicts how influential a page might be based purely on the volume of links.
Scale: 0–100
Focus: Link quantity
Influenced by: Total number of referring pages (regardless of quality)
Important: CF does not assess whether links are from trusted or relevant sources. A site with thousands of spammy links may still have a high CF.
What Is Trust Flow (TF)?
Trust Flow measures the quality of backlinks based on how closely a site is linked to a set of trusted seed sites, such as authoritative organizations, news outlets, and educational domains.
Scale: 0–100
Focus: Link quality and trust
Influenced by: Proximity to known trusted sources
A high TF score means a website is part of a “trusted neighborhood” on the web — which is more difficult to fake or manipulate than link volume.
TF vs CF: The Key Difference
| Metric | Measures | Risk of Manipulation | SEO Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation Flow | Link quantity | High (e.g. link spam) | Limited |
| Trust Flow | Link quality/trust | Low | High |
CF tells you how many links. TF tells you how good they are.
Why High CF Without TF Can Be Misleading
A website with high CF but low TF often has:
Large quantities of low-quality or spammy links
Link schemes or PBN footprints
Minimal authority in Google’s eyes
Search engines are increasingly sophisticated at detecting poor link quality. Therefore, boosting CF alone may provide no ranking benefit — or worse, could lead to penalties.
Why Trust Flow Matters More for SEO
Correlates Better With Google Rankings
Sites with higher TF scores tend to rank better because Google values trust and relevance over volume.
Harder to Manipulate
Unlike CF, TF is built on proximity to known, reputable seed sites. This makes it more resistant to black-hat tactics.
Helps in Link Prospecting
When evaluating link opportunities, a high TF score indicates a backlink will pass real authority and trust signals.
Improves Overall Domain Quality
Focusing on TF encourages acquiring links from authoritative, relevant sources — which aligns with Google’s E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
📈 Recommended TF/CF Ratio
A healthy TF/CF ratio is typically 0.5 or higher.
For example:
TF 20 / CF 30 → Ratio = 0.66 (good)
TF 10 / CF 50 → Ratio = 0.2 (poor — indicates low trust)
A low ratio suggests inflated link volume without authority, and should be reviewed carefully.
Bonus: Check TF and CF in Bulk
If you manage many domains or perform link audits, use tools like the Trust Flow & Citation Flow Bulk Checker on LinkTrust.pro. It allows you to check these metrics for multiple domains at once — essential for efficient outreach, auditing, and cleanup.
Conclusion
In modern SEO, Trust Flow should always take priority over Citation Flow. While both metrics have value, focusing on trusted, relevant links will yield stronger, longer-lasting ranking benefits — and protect your site from penalties associated with low-quality link building.
Aim to build links that increase Trust Flow — not just the number of links. Quality always wins.