Link Building
Citation Flow
Quick definition
Citation Flow is Majestic's 0–100 metric measuring the quantity of backlinks pointing at a site, regardless of their quality.
Citation Flow rises with raw link volume. A site with many low-quality backlinks can have a high Citation Flow but low Trust Flow.
Why Citation Flow matters
Compare Trust Flow vs. Citation Flow ratios when vetting prospects. A site with TF 10 and CF 60 is heavily linked but largely untrusted.
How Citation Flow works in practice
Don't use Citation Flow in isolation. It's most informative when paired with Trust Flow, organic traffic, and topical relevance.