What Is Trust Flow (TF)? Complete Guide to Majestic Trust Flow
Trust Flow (TF) is Majestic's metric for link trustworthiness. Learn what TF is, how it's calculated, what a good TF score is, and how it differs from Citation Flow and Domain Rating.
What is Trust Flow?
Trust Flow (TF) is an SEO metric developed by Majestic that measures the trustworthiness of a website's backlink profile. It's scored from 0 to 100 — higher scores indicate that a site's backlinks come from more trusted, authoritative sources.
Unlike Domain Rating (DR) or Domain Authority (DA), which measure the overall strength of a link profile, Trust Flow specifically focuses on quality over quantity. A site with 10 links from highly trusted domains will have a higher TF than a site with 1,000 links from spammy or untrusted sources.
Check your Trust Flow for free →
How is Trust Flow Calculated?
Majestic calculates Trust Flow by analyzing the distance between a website and a set of manually curated "seed sites" that are known to be trustworthy. The closer a site is to these trusted seeds in the link graph, the higher its Trust Flow.
Key points about TF calculation:
- Seed sites — Majestic maintains a list of trusted, high-quality websites (like government sites, major universities, and established publications).
- Link distance — Sites that are linked to directly by seed sites have the highest TF. Sites linked to by sites linked to seeds have slightly lower TF, and so on.
- Link decay — Trust diminishes as the distance from seed sites increases.
- Quality over quantity — TF ignores the raw number of links; it only cares about the trustworthiness of linking domains.
Trust Flow vs Citation Flow
Majestic provides two core metrics that work together:
| Metric | What it Measures | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Trust Flow (TF) | Quality / trustworthiness of links | Higher = links from more trusted sources |
| Citation Flow (CF) | Quantity / popularity of links | Higher = more links, regardless of quality |
The Trust Flow to Citation Flow ratio (TF:CF) is a useful signal:
- TF > CF — High-quality links, potentially under-promoted
- TF ≈ CF — Balanced, natural link profile
- TF < CF — Many links but low trust; potential spam signals
A TF:CF ratio below 0.5 often indicates a site with many low-quality or spammy links. A ratio above 1.0 suggests a highly trusted site that could benefit from more link-building.
What is a Good Trust Flow Score?
"Good" depends on your niche and competition. Use these benchmarks:
| TF Range | Level | Typical Sites |
|---|---|---|
| 0–10 | Low | New sites, untrusted link profiles |
| 10–25 | Below Average | Small sites, mixed link quality |
| 25–40 | Average | Established sites with decent link quality |
| 40–60 | Good | Strong link profiles, trusted sources |
| 60+ | Excellent | Highly trusted, linked by authoritative domains |
For context, most new websites start at TF 0–5. Reaching TF 20+ typically requires links from moderately trusted sources. TF 40+ usually means links from established publications, universities, or other high-trust domains.
How to Increase Your Trust Flow
Because TF measures link trustworthiness, you can't game it with volume. The only way to raise TF is to earn links from trusted sources:
- Target trusted publications. Links from government (.gov), educational (.edu), and major media sites carry high trust.
- Avoid low-quality link sources. Directories, link farms, and PBNs typically have low TF and won't help yours.
- Audit your backlink profile. Use Majestic or our TF Checker to identify low-trust links and consider disavowing them.
- Focus on relevance. Trusted sites in your niche pass more contextual trust than unrelated trusted sites.
- Build relationships. Guest posts, interviews, and collaborations with authoritative sites build trusted links naturally.
Trust Flow vs Domain Rating vs Domain Authority
Three metrics are commonly used to assess a domain's authority:
| Metric | Maker | What it Measures |
|---|---|---|
| TF (Trust Flow) | Majestic | Trustworthiness of links |
| DR (Domain Rating) | Ahrefs | Strength of backlink profile |
| DA (Domain Authority) | Moz | Ranking potential |
They answer different questions:
- TF = "How trusted are the sites linking to me?"
- DR = "How strong is my overall link profile?"
- DA = "How well could I rank?"
A site can have high DR but low TF (many links from untrusted sources). It can have high TF but low DR (few but trusted links). The complete picture requires checking all three.
Common Trust Flow Misconceptions
"TF is a Google ranking factor."
No. TF is a Majestic metric. Google has its own trust algorithms and does not read Majestic's TF. However, TF correlates with Google's assessment of link quality because both systems reward links from trusted sources.
"A high TF guarantees rankings."
No. A high TF means your links come from trusted sources, not that your content or site will rank. Content quality, technical SEO, and competition matter too.
"I can buy links to increase TF."
Technically yes, but it's risky. Buying links from low-quality sites won't help TF, and buying links from high-TF sites can trigger Google penalties. Organic link-building from trusted sources is the only sustainable approach.
"TF and CF should always be equal."
No. A healthy ratio depends on your niche and link-building stage. New sites often have CF > TF. Mature, trusted sites typically have TF ≈ CF or TF > CF.
How to Check Your Trust Flow
You can check any domain's TF in seconds, free, with no sign-up:
- Go to the TF Checker.
- Enter the domain (e.g.,
yourdomain.com). - Click Check TF.
- Read the TF score alongside CF and the TF:CF ratio.
That's all there is to it. No subscription, no credit card, no limits.
FAQ
What is Trust Flow?
Trust Flow is a Majestic metric from 0 to 100 that measures the trustworthiness of a website's backlink profile. Higher scores indicate links from more trusted sources.
What is a good Trust Flow score?
It depends on your niche. TF 25–40 is average for established sites; 40+ is good; 60+ is excellent. Compare your TF to competitors for context.
Is Trust Flow a Google ranking factor?
No. TF is a Majestic metric. It correlates with Google's assessment of link quality because both reward trusted sources, but Google uses its own algorithms.
What's the difference between Trust Flow and Citation Flow?
TF measures link trustworthiness (quality); CF measures link popularity (quantity). A TF:CF ratio below 0.5 suggests many low-quality links.
How do I increase my Trust Flow?
Earn links from trusted sources: government sites, universities, major publications. Avoid low-quality link sources. TF only increases with trusted backlinks.