Off-Page SEO & Links

Citation Flow

Quick Definition

Citation Flow is Majestic's 0–100 metric measuring the quantity of links pointing to a page or site.

In context

Citation Flow above Trust Flow can indicate spammy link patterns; Trust Flow above Citation Flow indicates a quality-focused profile. Used together they reveal link quality vs quantity balance.

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Related terms

Editorial Link

An editorial link is a backlink earned naturally because a publisher chose to link to your content as a citation or reference.

Negative SEO

Negative SEO is the practice of deliberately harming a competitor's rankings by directing spammy links, scraping content, or other manipulation.

Link Insertion (Niche Edits)

Link insertion is the practice of adding a backlink to an already-published, indexed article on a third-party site — typically negotiated with the site owner, sometimes paid.

Brand Citation Without Link

A brand citation without a link is a mention of a brand name in third-party content with no clickable hyperlink — historically lower-value than linked mentions, increasingly meaningful as a brand-trust signal.

Toxic Backlink

A toxic backlink is one that could potentially harm rankings — links from spam sites, link farms, hacked sites, or sites unrelated to your industry.

Brand Mention

A brand mention is any reference to your business name on another site, even without a direct hyperlink.

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