Researched rankings in 38 cities across the United States and Canada. Re-checked every 90 days.

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Ranking methodology

How we rank local businesses, and why nobody can buy a spot

We research local businesses using reputation, service quality, experience, credentials, local relevance, customer feedback and editorial evaluation. Rankings are reviewed by an editor before publication and revisited on a schedule. Businesses cannot buy an editorial position, and sponsored placements are labelled and kept separate from ranked lists.

Last updated August 14, 2026Methodology version 1.2Applied to 90 published rankings

Editorial independence

Nothing on a ranked list is placed, paid for or approved by the companies on it.

  • Editorial positions are never sold, and payment cannot change one
  • Sponsorship is sold by a separate team and always labelled
  • An editor is named on every ranking and is accountable for it
  • We publish what we could not confirm rather than filling the gap

Advertising disclosure →

Our ranking process at a glance

Every ranked list follows the same six stages. The criteria applied inside them are written per category.

  1. 01

    Discover

    Identify established businesses that genuinely serve the location being ranked.

  2. 02

    Verify

    Check business information, services, coverage and credentials against available records.

  3. 03

    Evaluate

    Compare reputation, experience, service range and customer feedback against category criteria.

  4. 04

    Rank

    Order the businesses that perform strongest across the full evaluation, not one metric.

  5. 05

    Review

    An editor checks the list, its rationale and every sponsorship label before publication.

  6. 06

    Update

    Revisit the ranking as business information and market conditions change.

What we look at

How the factors are applied

The framework below is shared. The criteria that sit inside it are written per trade.

  • Factors are not weighted equally, and the emphasis shifts by category
  • We publish importance labels rather than invented percentages
  • A single strong metric never carries a position on its own
  • Where a factor cannot be assessed, the page says so

Editorial team →

These factors are not weighted equally, and their importance shifts by category. We use qualitative importance labels rather than publishing invented percentages.

  • High importance

    Local presence

    Whether the company genuinely operates in or serves the target market.

  • High importance

    Reputation

    Review volume, consistency over time, complaint patterns and how issues are handled.

  • High importance

    Credentials

    Licensing, certifications and insurance where the trade requires them.

  • Moderate

    Experience

    Years operating and relevant recent project experience in this category.

  • Moderate

    Services

    Breadth and relevance of what the company actually takes on in this category.

  • Moderate

    Responsiveness

    How quickly and how consistently a homeowner gets an answer.

  • Moderate

    Transparency

    How clearly pricing, scope and warranty terms are set out before work starts.

  • Supporting

    Warranty terms

    What is covered, for how long, and whether it is in writing.

  • Supporting

    Business stability

    Signs the company will still be there when a warranty claim arrives.

Rankings are category-specific

A chimney company should not be judged with the same checklist as a moving company. Each category has its own criteria document, and the emphasis below shows how differently they read.

  • Roofing

    • Insurance and registration status
    • Manufacturer certifications
    • Storm and hail experience
    • Written warranty terms
    • Documented local project history

  • Moving

    • Operating authority and licensing
    • Cargo and liability insurance
    • Service area and interstate scope
    • Damage claim handling
    • Estimate transparency, binding or not

  • HVAC

    • Technician qualifications
    • Emergency availability
    • Equipment and brand expertise
    • System sizing practice
    • Labour and equipment warranties

How we use Google reviews

Google review data is one reputation signal among several. We read the rating alongside review volume, recency, consistency over time, recurring themes and unusual patterns.

A high Google rating does not automatically produce a higher TenBestFind ranking, and a lower rating does not automatically exclude a business.

Google review data

Where a rating appears it comes from Google, unedited.

  • Ratings and counts are read from Google at the time of the last check
  • They move between checks, so the page carries the date they were true
  • We do not filter, weight or edit the review text itself
  • A rating is one signal, never the ranking on its own

Report an issue →

AI-assisted review analysis

Automation helps read at volume. People decide what it means.

  • Tools group recurring themes across large numbers of reviews
  • They surface patterns for an editor to check, and decide nothing
  • Every claim drawn from them is verified before it publishes
  • A named editor remains accountable for the conclusion

Editorial team →

How customer feedback is evaluated

  • Consistency of feedback over several years, not a recent burst
  • Recency, so an old reputation does not carry a current ranking
  • Repeated positive themes such as cleanup, scheduling or communication
  • Repeated complaints, especially about billing or unfinished work
  • How the business responds to criticism where responses are public
  • Unusual patterns that suggest review activity is not organic

How we verify credentials and business information

We check against the issuing body or an official record wherever one exists, then label everything we could not confirm. Verification uses licensing databases, municipal records, professional organisations, certification bodies, insurer documentation where available and company records.

Credential status labels

Credential verification

Five labels, so you can see how far a claim was actually checked.

  • A licence number is checked against the register that issued it
  • The date of that check is recorded and published
  • Where no register exists we say so rather than implying a licence
  • An expired credential stays visible with its date range

Report an issue →

  • VerifiedChecked against the issuing body, with the date recorded.
  • Reported by businessProvided by the company and not independently confirmed.
  • Pending verificationSubmitted and in our queue for checking.
  • Unable to verifyNo public record found; shown as unconfirmed rather than removed.
  • ExpiredWas valid previously and has lapsed, with the date range shown.

Business details we check

Where our data comes from

Primary sources take priority over anything aggregated.

  • Licensing bodies and official records come first
  • Company documentation ranks above directories and review platforms
  • Business-provided information is labelled as reported
  • Every figure on a page traces back to something we can name

This methodology →

  • Business name
  • Address
  • Service area
  • Website
  • Phone
  • Category
  • Years in business
  • Ownership
  • Hours
  • Services offered

Primary sources take priority: licensing bodies, official records and the company’s own documentation rank above directories and review platforms. Business-provided information is labelled as such.

Local relevance

Why a business has to genuinely serve the market

A roofing company ranked in a city should show meaningful coverage of that area, not simply mention it on its website. We look at physical presence, stated service area, recent local work, local customer feedback, familiarity with local conditions and any location-specific licensing.

How businesses enter our research pool

  • Search and local market research
  • Google Business Profiles
  • Industry directories
  • Professional associations
  • Licensing databases
  • User recommendations
  • Business submissions
  • Editorial discovery

Businesses never need to pay TenBestFind to be considered for an editorial ranking.

Minimum qualification standards

  • Actively trading at the time of research
  • Genuinely serves the location being ranked
  • Offers services relevant to the category
  • Business information can be verified from at least one primary source
  • Enough reputation data exists to evaluate meaningfully
  • No unresolved trust concerns surfaced during research

Thresholds vary by industry. Where a market lacks enough qualifying businesses or source data, we do not publish a ranking for it.

Why a business may be excluded or removed

  • Does not meaningfully serve the target market
  • Insufficient information to evaluate
  • Business appears inactive or closed
  • Licensing status we could not confirm where the trade requires it
  • Business information that conflicts across sources
  • Significant unresolved reputation concerns
  • Duplicate entity already represented in the list
  • Category relevance too thin for the ranking

Exclusion is a research outcome, not an accusation. We describe what we could or could not confirm rather than making claims about a business.

How we determine ranking order

Position reflects overall strength across the whole evaluation rather than any single metric. Where two companies are close, the tiebreakers are local relevance, breadth of relevant service and how transparently the business documents its work.

Ranking position and customer rating are different things and are never merged into one score. A company can rank first with a slightly lower rating than a competitor if the rest of the evaluation is stronger.

What “best for” labels mean

Designations such as Best Overall, Best for Replacement or Best for Emergency are editorial distinctions based on the evidence we gathered for that market. They are never sold.

  • Best OverallStrongest across the full evaluation for that market.
  • Best for ReplacementDepth of experience and documentation in that specific type of work.
  • Best for EmergencyVerified after-hours coverage and consistent response feedback.
  • Best for ValuePricing transparency and scope relative to the local median, never lowest price alone.

How sponsorship works

Paid visibility exists. It is labelled, and it buys nothing on a ranked list.

  • Sponsorship is sold separately from editorial research
  • Every paid placement carries a label wherever it appears
  • A sponsored slot sits outside the ranked list and never enters it
  • Ending a sponsorship never changes an editorial position

Advertising disclosure →

TenBestFind accepts advertising and sponsorship. Sponsored placements are labelled wherever they appear, sit outside the editorial list, and never create or improve a ranking position. Paid partners may receive additional visibility in clearly marked slots, and nothing more.

  • Top 10 Winner

    Editorial ranking status. The company currently holds a position in a published TenBestFind list.

  • TenBestFind Reviewed

    Editorial research status. Our team has researched and reviewed this business.

  • Verified Business

    Verification status. Key business information or ownership was confirmed against a primary source.

  • Featured Partner

    Commercial relationship only. It carries no editorial weight and never earns a ranking position.

These four marks mean different things and are never visually or semantically combined.

How often we review rankings

Update policy

Freshness is published on the page, not implied.

  • Every ranking carries its own last-reviewed date
  • Storm-driven categories are revisited more often than stable ones
  • Material changes to a listed business trigger an earlier review
  • A list we can no longer support is unpublished rather than left up

Report an issue →

Each ranking carries its own last-reviewed date. Storm-driven categories are revisited more often than stable ones, and any of the following can trigger an earlier review.

  • Business information changes, such as ownership or service area
  • Review volume or rating moves materially
  • Credentials lapse, renew or change status
  • A ranked business closes or merges
  • New qualifying competitors enter the market
  • The methodology itself is updated
  • A significant new reputation issue surfaces
  • Current
  • Review due
  • Under review

Freshness labels appear on ranking pages so you can see whether a list is current or due for review.

Methodology version history

  1. August 2026Updated review-recency weighting, formalised credential status labels and added freshness labels to ranking pages.
  2. July 2026Added explicit separation between sponsored placements and editorial lists, and defined the four badge types.
  3. February 2026First published methodology covering discovery, verification, evaluation, ranking and review.

Human editorial review and AI assistance

Automated tools help us organise public data, group review themes, summarise research and flag inconsistencies. They do not decide rankings. An editor checks every list before it publishes, and subject-matter reviewers check technical claims where a category requires it.

No ranking position is ever set by an automated system without editorial review.

AI-assisted research

We use tools to help draft, and people to decide what is true.

  • Tools help gather and organise public information at volume
  • Every published fact is checked by a person against a named source
  • A named editor is accountable for what appears on the page
  • Corrections are made by people, and the page records when

Editorial team →

Meet our experts and reviewers →

What an editor checks before publishing

  • Business identity and that entries are not duplicates
  • Service relevance to the category being ranked
  • Local coverage claims against evidence
  • Key credentials and their status labels
  • Reputation signals and any contradictions
  • The written rationale for each position
  • Every sponsorship label on the page
  • Factual consistency with linked profiles and guides

Example: evaluating a roofer

A simplified walkthrough of the framework in practice. This is an illustrative evaluation, not a published ranking.

  • Local coverageVerified work across the county and northern suburbs, not a mailing address alone.Confirmed
  • ReputationConsistent feedback over several years, no recurring billing complaints.Confirmed
  • Experience18 years operating, with recent comparable replacements.Confirmed
  • InsuranceCurrent liability certificate on file, expiry recorded.Verified
  • Service breadthRepair through full replacement, plus storm response.Confirmed
  • WarrantyWritten ten-year workmanship terms, separate from the material warranty.Confirmed
  • PricingQuotes above the local median, itemised and consistent.Noted
  • SchedulingSlower response in storm season, acknowledged by the company.Noted

Editorial conclusion

Strong across local coverage, credentials and warranty documentation, with pricing above the local median and slower scheduling in storm season. Suited to a top position with a Best Overall designation, and not designated Best for Value.

Claiming, submissions and corrections

  • Claim a business profile

    Owners can claim a profile to correct and maintain factual information. Claiming does not affect ranking position.

    Learn about claiming →

  • Submit a business

    Anyone can suggest a business for consideration. Submission does not guarantee publication, verification or a position.

    Submit a business →

  • Report an error

    Tell us about incorrect details, closed businesses, changed services, outdated credentials or duplicate entries.

    Suggest a correction →

  • Removal requests

    A business may be removed after closure, loss of eligibility, material change or a verification issue we cannot resolve.

    Contact the editorial team →

Claiming a profile or submitting a business lets you correct factual information. Neither guarantees inclusion in a ranking, and neither affects position.

Ranking methodology FAQs

  • Can a business pay to rank number one?

    No. Editorial positions are not for sale. Sponsored placements are labelled and sit outside the ranked list, and payment cannot create or improve a position.

  • Does the company with the highest Google rating always rank first?

    No. Google data is one reputation signal weighed alongside credentials, experience, service range, local relevance and transparency. A slightly lower rating can still rank higher on the full evaluation.

  • How often are rankings updated?

    Every ranking carries its own last-reviewed date and is revisited on a schedule, more often in storm-driven categories. Material changes to a listed business can trigger an earlier review.

  • Can businesses request removal?

    Yes. Owners can contact the editorial team, and we remove listings after closure, loss of eligibility or a verification issue we cannot resolve. We also remove entries we can no longer support with evidence.

  • How does TenBestFind verify credentials?

    Against the issuing body or an official public record wherever one exists. Where no register exists, or where we could not confirm a claim, the page says so rather than implying a licence.

  • Is any of this decided by a machine?

    No ranking position is set by an automated system without editorial review. Tools help organise public data and flag inconsistencies; an editor decides and is named on the page.

Learn more about our editorial process

About this methodology

Corrections policy

Getting something wrong is not the problem. Leaving it wrong is.

  • Anyone can report something that is wrong or out of date
  • We check the report against the source before changing anything
  • Corrections are made by a person and dated on the page
  • Where a claim can no longer be supported, we remove it

Report an issue →

Current version
1.2
Originally published
February 2026
Last reviewed
August 2026
Last updated
August 14, 2026
Reviewed by
TenBestFind editorial team
Expert contributors
2 category reviewers