How we rank

The score

The rank in an area comes straight from the score. An area is a Census metro or micro area, or a county outside one. Ties go to the company with more reviews.

Review quality, 65 points. A 5.0 from 3 reviews should not beat a 4.9 from 400. We use a weighted rating: each company starts with 10 imaginary reviews at the area's average rating, then its real reviews pull the number up or down. A weighted 3.5 or lower earns 0 points, a 5.0 earns all 65, and everything between is a straight line.

Review volume, 35 points. Review count on a log scale against the most reviewed company in the same area. Going from 10 to 50 reviews moves you more than going from 300 to 340.

A worked example

A worked example from real data appears here once the first build is published.

Who qualifies

A company needs a website of its own (not only a social page), at least 5 Google reviews, and enough public detail to make a useful page (address or service area, phone, hours, categories). One listing per website per city: a company with branches in two cities is listed in both.

What we check

• Google Maps profile: rating, review count, categories, hours and phone, as Google shows them on the day we read them.
• The company's own website: we read the home, about and contact pages (respecting robots.txt) for years in business, service-area towns, license numbers and an insurance statement. These are labeled "from company website". We do not verify them.
• Review dates: where we have read them, the date of the latest review and how many came in the last 90 days. We keep dates and counts, never the review text.
• State licenses: not checked yet. When we add a state's license data, every check will carry its source and date.

Website facts and review dates are shown on the page. In v1 they do not change the score.

What never changes a rank

Paying us. Improving a listing. Using Eden Pro or any Eden product. Sponsorship. None of these are inputs to the score. Sponsor blocks are always labeled and always sit after the ranking. We never hide, filter or ask for reviews.

Data and refresh

Every page shows when its Google data was read and when the page last changed. When we refresh the data, those dates move. See data sources.

Versions

Corrections

Own a listed company, or see something wrong? Improve or correct a listing. Read the editorial policy for how we handle corrections and removals.

Who maintains this

Landscape Services Near Me is published by Eden Studio.