Citation Flow is a metric that indicates how many websites are linking to yours. But do more links automatically mean a better score? In this article, you’ll learn how Citation Flow actually works—and why it plays a key role in your online visibility.
What is Citation Flow?
Citation Flow is a metric designed to predict how influential a website might be, based on the number of backlinks it receives. It is expressed as a score ranging from 0 to 100. In simple terms: the more websites that link to your site, the higher your Citation Flow is likely to be.
However, the quality of those referring domains also matters. If you receive backlinks from websites with a high Citation Flow themselves, this will positively influence your own Citation Flow score.
Citation Flow works in tandem with Trust Flow—also known as Majestic Trust Flow—which focuses on the quality of those backlinks. Together, they form the Majestic Flow Metrics. These metrics provide a reliable indication of a website’s authority and are especially useful for improving your SEO and online discoverability.
Why is a high Citation Flow important?
A high Citation Flow is important because search engines interpret backlinks as signals of popularity and authority. The more backlinks your site receives, the more influential it appears—at least in terms of link volume.
However, the quality of those incoming links and referring domains also plays a crucial role in establishing your authority. A higher authority typically translates to better rankings in search engine results. To get a complete picture, it’s essential to consider both Trust Flow and Citation Flow, as well as the ratio between the two—commonly referred to as the Trust Flow Ratio (or Trust Ratio). You calculate this ratio by dividing Trust Flow by Citation Flow. The resulting number is an important indicator of the balance between link quantity and link quality.
How is Citation Flow calculated?
Citation Flow is calculated based on the number of inbound links to your website. Backlinks from sites with high Citation Flow carry more weight and contribute more to your score. You can check your own Citation Flow using tools like Majestic, the original developer of the Majestic Flow Metrics.
How can you increase your Citation Flow?
The only way to increase your Citation Flow is by boosting the number of inbound links (backlinks) to your website.
A higher number of backlinks directly contributes to a better Citation Flow—provided they come from domains with a solid reputation. You can achieve this through link building, writing guest posts on other websites, and consistently improving the relevance and quality of your content. High-quality content attracts more organic traffic, which in turn increases the chances that others will link to your site.
Important note: A strong SEO strategy doesn’t focus on Citation Flow alone. It aims to balance both Citation Flow and Trust Flow, working to improve each. This balance ensures that you’re not only getting more links, but also high-quality ones that boost your site’s authority and visibility.
