Spam Score & Domain Trust
A plain-English guide to Spam Score — what it means, how to read it, and why it only tells half the story without Domain Rating (DR). Check any domain's DR below for free.
Heads up: DR Studio doesn't calculate a numeric Spam Score (yet). For that, use Moz Link Explorer. What we do give you — instantly and free — is the Domain Rating, which pairs with Spam Score to judge link quality.
What is Spam Score?
Spam Score is a trust signal — a shorthand for "how sketchy does this site's backlink profile look?" Moz popularized the 0–17 scale, where higher means riskier. Common flags include an unusually high ratio of anchor-text-matching links, links from expired or thin-content domains, private blog networks (PBNs), and link-exchange footprints.
It's a complement to authority scores like Domain Rating (DR), not a replacement. A site can score DR 60 and still be spammy if most of its authority comes from low-trust sources.
How to read the score
- 0–4 — low risk. Backlink profile looks natural.
- 5–7 — medium risk. A few suspicious signals; worth a manual review.
- 8–17 — high risk. Strong PBN, link-farm, or manipulation footprints.
DR + Spam Score together
Use Domain Rating to answer "how strong is this site?" and Spam Score to answer "how trustworthy is that strength?" A guest post on a DR 70 site with a Spam Score of 2 is a great link. The same DR 70 with a Spam Score of 12 is a liability.