What Is Spam Score? Complete Guide to Moz Spam Score
Spam Score is Moz metric for penalty risk based on 27 spam signals. Learn what it means and how to use it.
What is Spam Score?
Spam Score is a Moz metric that represents the percentage of websites with similar characteristics to yours that have been penalized or banned by Google. It is based on Moz analysis of 27 spam signals. Think of it as a risk indicator: the higher the score, the more your site resembles sites that Google has already penalized, and the more carefully you should investigate.
Spam Score ranges from 1% to 100%:
- 1% to 30% — Low risk (most legitimate sites)
- 31% to 60% — Medium risk (investigate further)
- 61% to 100% — High risk (strong signal to investigate)
Importantly, Spam Score measures your own website features — NOT how spammy your backlinks are. This is a common point of confusion, because many site owners assume a high Spam Score means their backlinks are toxic. In reality, the score reflects on-page and domain-level characteristics that correlate with penalized sites.
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How is Spam Score Calculated?
Moz uses a machine-learning model trained on millions of penalized domains. It identifies 27 spam signals — features that correlate with penalized sites.
- Each signal is binary (triggered or not)
- Signals are NOT weighted by importance
- Score = percentage of similar sites that have been penalized
Because the signals are not weighted, triggering one expensive-looking signal counts the same as triggering a trivial one. This is why a perfectly legitimate site can sometimes show a medium Spam Score — a single flagged feature, like a missing Google Tag Manager snippet, can nudge the number up even when nothing is actually wrong. Always read the score as a prompt to investigate, not as a definitive judgment.
Common Spam Signals
Some of the 27 signals include:
- Low number of pages found
- Suspicious TLDs (like .biz, .info)
- Domain name contains numerals
- Missing Google Font API, GTM, or Doubleclick
- No phone number or email displayed
- Not using HTTPS
- Using meta keywords tag
- Presence of poison words (adult, gambling)
Important Misconceptions
Does disavowing backlinks lower Spam Score?
No. Spam Score is based on your own site features, not your backlink profile. Disavowing bad backlinks will NOT change your Spam Score.
Does high Spam Score mean my site is spam?
No. It means your site shares features with penalized sites. It is a signal to investigate, not a verdict.
Is Spam Score a Google ranking factor?
No. It is a Moz metric. Google has its own algorithms and does not use Moz's Spam Score directly. However, the features that drive a high Spam Score can overlap with things Google's algorithms dislike, so a persistently high score is still worth addressing.
Spam Score vs Domain Rating
| Metric | What it Measures |
|---|---|
| Spam Score | Risk based on site features |
| Domain Rating (DR) | Strength of backlink profile |
A low-DR site can have low Spam Score. A high-DR site can have high Spam Score. They measure different things — DR reflects the strength of your backlinks, while Spam Score reflects the riskiness of your site's own features. Checking both gives you a more complete picture of your site's SEO health.
Check DR → | Check Spam Score →
FAQ
What is a good Spam Score?
1% to 30% is low risk. Most legitimate sites fall in this range. Above 60% warrants investigation.
How do I reduce my Spam Score?
Address the underlying signals: publish more content, use HTTPS, add contact info, clean up meta keywords, remove suspicious anchor text, and make sure your site uses common tracking and font libraries like Google Fonts or Google Tag Manager. Each signal you clear reduces the percentage. Focus on the legitimate improvements first — don't chase a 1% score by gaming signals, since some flags are simply artifacts of how your site is built.
Is Spam Score the same as DR?
No. Spam Score measures risk based on site features. DR measures backlink strength. A site can have excellent backlinks (high DR) and still trip several spam signals (high Spam Score), or vice versa.
Conclusion
Spam Score is a useful risk indicator, not a verdict. A low score confirms your site looks legitimate to Moz's model, while a high score is a prompt to investigate your site's features — not a reason to panic. Check it alongside Domain Rating and other metrics to get a full view of your SEO health, and revisit it whenever you make significant changes to your site.