Glossary
Citation Flow
A Majestic metric scoring a URL or domain from 0–100 based on how many links point to it — a measure of link quantity and influence, not quality.
Citation Flow is one of two flagship metrics from the SEO tool Majestic. It predicts how influential a URL might be based purely on the number of links pointing to it, scored from 0 to 100. Crucially, Citation Flow measures quantity and link-based influence, not quality — a page can rack up a high Citation Flow from many low-value links. That's why it's meant to be read alongside its sibling metric, Trust Flow, which weights links by how trustworthy their sources are. Comparing the two tells a story: a healthy site usually has Trust Flow and Citation Flow in reasonable balance, while a site with high Citation Flow but very low Trust Flow often signals spammy or manipulative link building. Use Citation Flow to gauge raw link volume and to screen prospects, but never in isolation — a big number means little if the links behind it come from junk sites. As with all third-party metrics, it's an estimate to inform decisions, not an official ranking signal from search engines.