Content relevance as a key aspect of Google's algorithm
Since the disappearance of the Google PageRank indicator (2013), another metric system has emerged to reflect the relevance index of the content of a site or web page: Trust Flow. It can be any value between 0 and 100 and may be obtained very quickly via the site Majestic.com (Majestic SEO).
Trust Flow scans all the backlinks (inbound links) that point to the page or site whose trustworthiness it seeks to quantify. Based on the principle that inserting a backlink in a piece of content is a way to recommend external content (in this case, another web page), this "recommendation" is interpreted by Google as a credential (called "Trust"). This data then “feeds” the algorithm that determines relevance, helping rank Google’s search engine results. This element alone would weigh around 15% in all the ranking criteria of the MUM algorithm.
A qualitative audit of backlinks
Combined with the quantitative indicator Citation Flow, Trust Flow provides qualitative information on inbound links.
For Google search engine, quality takes precedence over quantity when it comes to auditing external links leading to a website or a web page.
The Google Penguin filter, fully integrated with the Google algorithm, indeed penalizes poor quality links. Conversely, a site with relatively few but good quality backlinks – which, as we all know, are important Google ranking signals – has more chance to be displayed at the top of the first page of search results for a given query.
How to boost your Trust Flow score
The very first thing to do is to take stock of the situation. The good news is that it can’t be easier. Just copy/paste the url of your homepage on majestic.com and you’ll get the result after a few seconds.
In most cases, we observe a Trust Flow score lower than the Citation Flow score. This is normal and nothing to worry about, but your goal should be to gradually increase that number to bring it closer to the score obtained for Citation Flow. A Trust Flow score of 40 and higher is considered very satisfactory.
In the long run, the idea is to develop quality content – fresh and innovative – on a given topic that naturally acquires authoritative backlinks. This is an organic strategy that will obviously take time and careful consideration. But it is the surest way to build a solid foundation for your brand.
