Citation Flow
Citation Flow is a metric developed by Majestic that measures the popularity of a page or domain based on the number of inbound links pointing to it, regardless of their quality. Scored on a 0 to 100 scale, Citation Flow reflects the volume of citations (links) received: the more a URL is linked by other pages, the higher its score climbs. It differs from Trust Flow, which evaluates the trust and quality of links. On its own, Citation Flow indicates a quantity of links, not their actual value. That is why SEOs always analyze it alongside Trust Flow: the ratio between the two (TF/CF) reveals whether a link profile is healthy or artificially inflated by low-quality links. Citation Flow remains a useful indicator for quickly estimating the visibility and scale of a site's link building.
Citation Flow is one of the two flagship metrics of the Majestic tool, alongside Trust Flow. It lets you estimate at a glance the weight of a page or domain based on the volume of links it receives.
How it works
Majestic crawls the web and maps every link between pages. Citation Flow is calculated iteratively: a page receives a higher score the more it is cited by many other pages, which are themselves cited. The principle echoes Google's historic PageRank, but applied to the Majestic index and expressed on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100.
A key point: Citation Flow makes no distinction of quality. A link from a spam site counts as much as a link from a reference outlet. This is its limitation, and the reason it is never interpreted alone.
The Trust Flow / Citation Flow ratio
SEOs use the ratio between the two metrics to judge the health of a link profile. A TF/CF ratio close to 1 indicates a healthy balance between quantity and quality. Conversely, a high Citation Flow paired with a low Trust Flow often betrays artificial link building or toxic links.
Why it matters
For a quick audit, Citation Flow gives a first sense of the scale of a competitor's or a target site's link building. It serves to compare domains, spot link opportunities, and monitor the evolution of your own popularity. At LUWIZ, we use it as a volume indicator, never as a goal in itself: a successful link strategy aims for a high Trust Flow and a balanced ratio, the mark of real and lasting authority.
Questions fréquentes
Citation Flow measures the quantity of inbound links, with no quality judgment. Trust Flow measures the trust and quality of those links. The two are always analyzed together to evaluate a link profile.
There is no universal threshold: a high score is only positive if it comes with a comparable Trust Flow. A Citation Flow far above the Trust Flow often signals low-quality links.
Termes & ressources liés
Une question sur votre visibilité IA ?
Score de visibilité IA de votre site. Gap analysis vs 3 concurrents directs. 5 optimisations prioritaires. Livré en PDF, sans engagement.
Réponse sous 24h · Sans engagement · contact@luwiz.io