Practical guide to understand where the figures displayed in the catalog come from, how often they are updated, and how to react if you notice a delay.
Somaire
TL;DR
- eReferer aggregates metrics from third parties (Majestic, Semrush, Similarweb). There is no single clock: each source has its own pace and eReferer reflects them with variable latency.
- Majestic: Fresh Index targeted daily; Historic Index ~monthly. Variations in TF/CF can therefore change almost every day.①
- Semrush: Authority Score recalculated about every 2 weeks. The Domain Overview metrics (keywords, traffic/cost) follow a Live Update with daily/weekly/monthly granularity depending on keyword popularity.②
- Similarweb: daily data published at D+3 and monthly data no later than the 10th of the following month.③
- Delays: if a figure seems “frozen,” first suspect the source’s pace and the ingestion latency on the aggregator platform side before assuming a bug.
eReferer: where do the metrics come from?
eReferer’s catalog typically exposes indicators from third-party SEO suites: Trust Flow and Citation Flow from Majestic, Semrush metrics (keywords, cost/traffic volume, sometimes Authority Score), as well as traffic estimates from tools like Similarweb. eReferer does not publish its own “in-house” refresh schedule; it primarily reflects the freshness of the providers. Consequently, two neighboring sites may display different update speeds depending on crawl density and the popularity of their keyword corpus.④
Official update frequencies by provider (2025)
Majestic
Fresh Index targeted daily. Historic ~monthly. Build dates are indicated on the Majestic site and documentation.
Impact: TF/CF can vary almost daily if the link profile changes.
Semrush
Authority Score: every 2 weeks (global recalculation). Domain Overview: live refresh depending on query popularity (daily/weekly/monthly).
Impact: AS evolves in “jumps,” whereas cost/traffic volume can fluctuate day-to-day on popular queries.
Similarweb
Daily published at D+3 (e.g., data from the 14th → published on the 17th, EST timezone). Monthly: ≤ 10 of the following month.
Impact: a “delay” of a few days is normal; two days’ data can appear all at once.
References: Majestic (Fresh/Historic), Semrush (KB Authority Score + blog), Similarweb (Methodology FAQs + note “Last 28 days”).①②③
Why can a delay appear between the source and eReferer?
| Probable Cause | Observed Symptoms | Remedy/Best Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Ingestion latency on the aggregator side | The source (Semrush/Similarweb) has moved, eReferer has not | Allow 24–72 hours (Semrush Domain Overview) or D+3 (Similarweb daily). Beyond that: report it. |
| Different granularity (day vs week vs month) | “Smoothed” curves, plateaus on small sites | Compare over 28–90 days. Favor stable KPIs (TF/CF) for prospecting. |
| Variable crawl coverage | New links detected late | Cross-check with Majestic & Semrush Backlinks. Patience: propagation needed. |
| Internal filtering (e.g. noise/fraud prevention) | Small oscillations ignored | Observe bi-weekly “jumps” (AS) or monthly (Similarweb/DA). |
Step-by-step diagnostic procedure (timelines & evidence)
- Check the source: open Majestic (TF/CF), Semrush Domain Overview (keywords, traffic, cost), and Similarweb (Last 28 Days). Note the update dates.
- Note the timestamp of eReferer for the same fields (if visible). Otherwise, record the date/time of your observation.
- Compare on D, D+1, D+2, D+3: Semrush Domain Overview should update within 24–72 hours; Similarweb daily appears at D+3; Authority Score takes 14 days.
- Quantify the “lag”: calculate the day difference between the Semrush series and eReferer values. If ≥ 21 days and stable ≥ 1 week: open a ticket.
- Log: keep a CSV “day → value” for TF, AS, Semrush traffic/cost, Similarweb traffic. Set alert thresholds (e.g. |ΔTF| ≥ 3; |ΔAS| ≥ 3 pts; |Δtraffic| ≥ 25%).
- Escalate: attach screenshots “source vs eReferer”, exact dates, and affected domains.
Smartly leveraging freshness windows
- TF/CF (Majestic): perfect for measuring the impact of a 301 or new backlinks almost in real time.
- Authority Score (Semrush): plan your reviews at D+14 (+ 24–72 h margin). Base your client presentations on periods rather than a single point in time.
- Traffic/Cost Domain Overview: use 7–28 day moving averages to reduce the “sawtooth” effect.
- Similarweb: for monthly, wait until the 10th. For daily, don’t worry before D+3.
- Communication: if a score is slow to appear on eReferer, indicate the primary source and the date of its refresh.
FAQ
How long does it take for my new TF to appear on eReferer? If Majestic (Fresh) has already taken it into account, generally allow 24–72 hours for the aggregator to display it. Why doesn’t the Authority Score move even though my links are increasing? Because the AS is recalculated every 2 weeks. You will see jumps rather than daily micro-variations. Is Similarweb’s “Last 28 Days” in real time? No. The daily data is published at D+3 (EST timezone). It can happen that 2 days are released on the same day. What to do if eReferer is a month behind Semrush? Measure the lag (shifted correlation) and open a ticket if it is ≥ 21 days over a full week, with screenshots as proof. Meanwhile, communicate the source figures specifying the date. Can I rely on a single indicator to buy/sell a link? Avoid it. Cross-check TF/CF, Authority Score, traffic (Similarweb/Semrush), and thematic relevance. The metrics are complementary.
