What Spam Score measures
Moz's Spam Score is the percentage of sites with similar features that have been penalized or flagged. It reads 17 signals — from thin content to unnatural anchor distribution — and outputs a 0%–100% risk band.
- 0–10% — clean. Safe to work with.
- 11–30% — moderate. Verify traffic and referring-domain quality first.
- 31–60% — risky. Only proceed if you can visit the site and confirm real editorial activity.
- 61%+ — avoid. Almost certainly a PBN or expired-domain flip.
PBN signals we always cross-check
- Backlinks-to-referring-domains ratio above 200:1 with no news coverage.
- High DR with organic traffic under 500/month.
- Topic salad: recipes + crypto + health + travel on the same domain.
- Whois privacy plus a recent expired-domain purchase.
Combine this widget with our DR Checker for a two-minute publisher verdict.