How we rank businesses

Every list starts from public Google data, not from opinion and not from who paid. Here is exactly how a page is built, and how paid placement works.

The five steps behind every list

1

We search Google Maps for that service in that city

For every list we run the same search a customer would, for example "roofing contractors" in Houston, and take up to 20 real businesses from Google Maps. Branches of the same company, and one business listed twice, are merged so one company cannot fill a list.
2

We rank them on rating and review volume together

A 5.0 from 6 reviews is not the same as a 4.8 from 900. Our score combines the star rating with how many customers left a review, so a business needs both a strong rating and a proven track record to rise.
3

We keep the top 3 to 5, not 50

The top 3 always make the list. A 4th or 5th is added only if it holds at least 4.0 stars, has a meaningful number of reviews, and is not far behind the business above it. Where the field drops off sharply, the list stays short. A paying Featured Partner can be added to a list, and is always labelled.
4

We read what customers actually said

Each write-up is based on that business's own recent Google reviews and its own website. Pros, cons and the "best for" note come from what customers report, not from a template.
5

We check every page before it goes live

Automated checks block prices we cannot trace to a source, counts that disagree with the data, health pages without a medical disclaimer, and links to business websites that have been hacked. Every page shows the month its data was last verified.

Every business on a list has a scorecard, so you can check the ranking yourself instead of taking our word for it.

The same Google data, summed up across every list, is on our homepage as local business statistics by category and city.

Rating: The Google star rating, exactly as Google shows it.
Review volume: How many Google reviews the business has, compared with the others we checked.
Confidence: How much weight the rating can carry given the number of reviews behind it.
Recency: How recently a customer last left a review.
Completeness: Whether the business lists a website, phone number and opening hours.

Best in Hood is free to use, and businesses can buy a Featured listing. A paying business is marked ★ Featured Partner wherever it appears.

A Basic listing adds the Featured badge and a link to the business's own website, and adds the business to the page if it is not already there. It does not change its position.
A Premium listing holds the top spot on the page for a year.
When a Featured Partner would also rank first on its scorecard without paying, it shows #1 Overall. When it holds the top spot because of its placement, it shows #1 only.
Paying never changes a rating or a review count. The numbers on every card are Google's, for paid and free businesses alike.

Prices are public on our pricing page.

If a business has moved, closed or changed its details, tell us and we will check it.