LINKS · SEO GLOSSARY
Spam Score
Moz\'s proprietary metric (0–100) that estimates the likelihood that a website is spammy based on patterns correlating with Google-penalised sites — including thin content, low domain authority, excessive exact-match anchor text, and link farm signals. Not an official Google metric; used as a proxy for backlink quality assessment when auditing link profiles.
Definition
Spam Score is a metric developed by Moz that estimates how likely a given website is to be considered spam by Google, expressed as a percentage from 0 (no spam indicators) to 100 (many spam indicators). It\'s calculated by Moz\'s algorithm based on 27 signals Moz identified as correlating with Google penalties and low-quality sites — signals like the ratio of followed to nofollowed links, the number of external links per page, thin content ratios, domain age, link pattern irregularities, and other spam-associated features. How Spam Score is used in practice: **Backlink profile auditing** — when reviewing your site\'s referring domains in Moz Link Explorer, high Spam Score domains in your backlink profile are candidates for disavowing. The threshold is typically: Spam Score ≥30% warrants closer review; ≥60% are strong disavow candidates if they\'re clearly low-quality sites. **Link prospecting** — when identifying potential outreach targets for guest posting or link insertion, filtering out prospects with high Spam Scores reduces the chance of acquiring links from manipulative or penalised sites. Important caveats: Spam Score is Moz\'s estimate, not Google\'s own signal. A site with a high Spam Score isn\'t necessarily penalised by Google — it means the site has characteristics that Moz\'s model associates with spammy sites. Equally, a low Spam Score doesn\'t guarantee a site is high-quality. Alternative link quality metrics: Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR), Semrush Authority Score, and Majestic Trust Flow / Citation Flow. Each tool has its own model; cross-reference multiple metrics rather than relying on any single one.
Why it matters for SEO
Backlink quality assessment — determining which inbound links are assets vs liabilities — is a core component of off-page SEO auditing. While Google says it ignores most low-quality links rather than penalising their recipient, a backlink profile dominated by high-Spam-Score domains can correlate with algorithmic suppression or a manual penalty in extreme cases. Spam Score provides a quick proxy for identifying obviously toxic referring domains worth investigating. For sites that have received a Google penalty related to unnatural links (visible as a manual action in GSC → Security & Manual Actions), a disavow process informed by Spam Score and other quality signals is part of the recovery process.
How DeepSEOAnalysis checks this
The audit doesn\'t access backlink databases and therefore doesn\'t calculate Spam Score for referring domains. For backlink quality assessment (including Spam Score), use Moz Link Explorer, Ahrefs Site Explorer, or Semrush Backlink Analytics — all of which show quality metrics for referring domains alongside the backlinks pointing to your site.
Useful tools and resources
GLOSSARY
Related terms
links
Backlink
A link from an external website to a page on your site — the primary off-page ranking signal in Google\'s algorithm.
Read definition →links
Link Building
The practice of acquiring inbound backlinks from other websites to increase a page\'s PageRank and improve its ranking potential for target queries.
Read definition →links
Off-Page SEO
SEO work done outside your own website — primarily building backlinks, brand mentions, and authority signals that tell search engines your site is trustworthy and credible.
Read definition →links
Disavow File
A text file submitted via Google Search Console\'s Disavow Tool that tells Google to ignore specific backlinks when evaluating a site\'s link profile. Used only when a site has a significant number of spammy or manipulative inbound links that may be causing a manual penalty or algorithmic demotion — and only as a last resort after attempting link removal.
Read definition →links
Toxic Backlink
A backlink from a low-quality, spammy, or manipulative source that may harm a site\'s rankings by associating it with link schemes — though modern Google is generally better at ignoring these than penalising them.
Read definition →links
Link Equity (PageRank)
The ranking value passed from one page to another through hyperlinks — derived from Google\'s original PageRank algorithm. Pages with more or higher-quality inbound links have more link equity and pass more equity to pages they link to. Also called "link juice."
Read definition →See how your site scores on Spam Score.
The free DeepSEOAnalysis audit checks spam score and 100+ other signals. Full report, no signup.
Run a free audit →