Metrics?

[seoman10]

I have a puzzle which I'm trying to get my head around.

Trying to get a domain ranking for some keywords, competition is low and the main page authority is very similar to a competing domain.

However trust flow and circulation flow are substantially more for the competitor, the competitor also has a fairly substantial link profile. When I look at their link profile it mostly seems spamy, yet that seems the only difference is the size of the link profile.

Is Google not so fussy about spam as it makes out??

Or is there something that I'm overlooking??

[MattAntonino]

A couple years ago I wrote an article that may help:

https://moz.com/blog/going-beyond-moz-metrics-to-answer-why-is-this-site-outranking-me

(I disagree now with a few of my own ideas of what else may matter ... but the idea remains the same.)

Metrics aren't everything and can be skewed by things like volume, spam, and things that affect ranking that have nothing to do with link metrics. Keep in mind - link & domain metrics are one small part of ranking. Age of the domain, website speed, content of course ... all these things could play into rankings.

What does the content look like? Page titles related to KWs? H1 & H2s used similarly on both sites? Duplicate content on one?

Just keep in mind that these metrics are just a piece. You wouldn't think you bought a car if someone just handed you a steering wheel, right? Check the tires. Check the engine.

[MoosaHemani]

Haha, I love how Matt explained this.

I agree, steering Wheel is not the car in itself you still have to look in to other areas.