Understanding Link Metrics
In the begining there was PageRank, then there was Toolbar PageRank. Then Google took it away. Now we have a dozen competing metrics to check. Google doesn't care about any of them, and worst still most of these are quite easy to manipulate. There are a few metrics that are harder to manipulate, but they are still not perfect. So we begin by looking at traffic.
Organic traffic is one of the clearest signals that Google approves of a website. Consistent search visibility indicates that Google trusts the site enough to rank its pages and expose them to users. However, traffic on its own tells you nothing about a website's underlying SEO power and if it will help you to rank.
How Traffic and Visibility Metrics are calculated
Traffic and visibility metrics are snapshots of a website's estimated organic performance. These estimates are calculated using a combination of factors:
- Estimated click-through rates (CTR) based on search result position
- AdWords reported search volumes for the keywords a site ranks for
- Historical ranking data to show trends over time
It's important to understand that these are estimates, not exact measurements. They provide a useful indicator of a site's organic visibility and can help identify whether a domain has genuine search presence, is only optimised for metrics, and helps flag penalised sites.
Why Organic Traffic Alone Is Not Enough
There are many websites with large volumes of content that naturally rank for thousands of long-tail keywords. This breadth of copy often results in high organic traffic, but that traffic is driven by scale rather than authority. A site like this may have limited ability to pass trust or ranking strength, despite appearing impressive in surface-level metrics.
Conversely, it is entirely possible for a small website with very little content to have an exceptionally strong backlink profile and significant authority to pass. These sites may rank for very few keywords, generate limited traffic, and yet carry substantial influence when it comes to strengthening other pages through links.
In short, organic traffic tells you that Google likes a site, but it does not tell you how powerful a link from that site is.
Understanding SEO Authority Metrics and Why Search Signals Focuses on Trust Flow and Traffic
In SEO, authority is often reduced to a single number such as Domain Authority, Domain Rating, or similar proprietary scores. While these metrics are widely referenced, they are third-party approximations, not Google ranking factors, and many are far easier to manipulate than most businesses realise.
At Search Signals, we prioritise Majestic's Trust Flow alongside real, verifiable organic traffic data. Used together, these signals provide a more accurate and resilient measure of a website's true SEO value. The amount of traffic a website earns, as well as the ratio between Citation Flow and Trust Flow, are the best indicator of rankings.
When we provide your reporting we can report on any of the below, or even all of them, but when building links we focus on Trust Flow and organic traffic because, taken together, they are the most reliable and hardest to manipulate.
The Main Authority Metrics Explained
Majestic Metrics
Trust Flow (TF)
Trust Flow measures link quality rather than volume. It evaluates how closely a site is connected to a curated set of trusted seed websites.
Strengths
- Harder to manipulate than DA, DR, or Citation Flow
- Penalises spam-heavy and artificially inflated link profiles
- Strong indicator of genuine editorial links and topical relevance
Citation Flow (CF)
Citation Flow measures the quantity of backlinks, without assessing link quality. In conjunction with Trust Flow this indicates the quality of a site's backlink profile.
Limitations
- Citation Flow is Majestic's easiest authority metric to manipulate
- Large volumes of low-quality, irrelevant links significantly inflates scores
- High Citation without corresponding Trust is a warning sign
Moz Metrics
Domain Authority is a predictive metric designed to estimate how likely a domain is to rank in search engines. It is calculated on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100 and is heavily influenced by backlink quantity and quality.
Limitations
- It can be inflated through artificial link acquisition, expired domains, or private blog networks
- DA is relative rather than absolute and fluctuates as the wider web changes
- Domain Authority correlates very poorly with rankings
Ahrefs Metrics
Domain Rating measures the strength of a site's backlink profile, focusing primarily on the number and authority of referring domains.
Limitations
- DR strongly rewards link volume
- Sites with limited real traffic or engagement can still achieve high DR through aggressive link building
- DR correlates very poorly with rankings
Why Authority Scores Alone Are Misleading
The SEO industry has unintentionally trained businesses to chase numbers instead of signals. Authority metrics are useful reference points, but when viewed in isolation, they can:
- Be inflated without delivering meaningful rankings
- Mask spam-driven or manipulative link profiles
- Overvalue domains with little real audience or search visibility
For this reason, Search Signals does not assess link quality using DA or DR alone.
Why Search Signals Focuses on Trust Flow and SEMrush Traffic Metrics
Trust Flow Reflects Link Quality, Not Just Link Volume
Trust Flow aligns closely with how Google evaluates links by emphasising editorial relevance, proximity to trusted sources, and resistance to manipulation. A site with moderate Trust Flow and clean, relevant links is often far more valuable than a high-DA site built on link volume alone.
SEMrush Traffic Shows Real-World Performance
Backlinks exist to support rankings, and rankings exist to drive traffic. SEMrush traffic estimates allow us to validate whether a site genuinely ranks for keywords, maintains consistent organic visibility, and has demonstrated resilience through algorithm updates.
A site with strong authority metrics but no organic traffic is a clear signal that its backlink profile lacks real SEO value.
Combining Trust and Traffic Reduces Manipulation Risk
By evaluating both Trust Flow and organic traffic visibility, Search Signals avoids the most common pitfalls in link evaluation, including inflated expired domains, networked PBN sites, and authority-only link sellers.
This dual-signal approach makes it significantly harder for artificial metrics to present themselves as genuine authority.
Our Philosophy on SEO Metrics
At Search Signals, we treat authority metrics as diagnostic tools rather than targets. No third-party score perfectly represents Google's algorithm, but some signals are far more reliable than others.
By focusing on Trust Flow and real organic traffic, we prioritise sustainable rankings, algorithm resilience, and long-term SEO value.
That is why we do not sell DA links. We build trust-driven, traffic-backed authority.