How We Rank Businesses
We believe in earning trust through transparency. Here's how we decide which businesses to show you first.
✨Our Promise
1What We Look At
We evaluate businesses based on signals that matter to you as a customer:
Customer Ratings
How customers rate their experience. Higher ratings generally mean better service.
Review Volume
More reviews give us confidence. A 5-star rating with 100 reviews is more reliable than 5 stars with 2 reviews.
Profile Completeness
Businesses that show their work, share their services, and provide clear information rank better.
Verified Information
We prioritize businesses with verified contact info, accurate hours, and confirmed locations.
2Quality Tiers
To help you quickly identify quality, we assign badges based on reputation:
Diamond
Exceptional businesses with outstanding reviews and high customer satisfaction. These are the best of the best.
Gold
Highly-rated businesses with strong reputations. Consistently delivering quality service.
Silver
Good businesses building their reputation. Positive reviews with room to grow.
Bronze
Newer businesses or those working to improve. May have fewer reviews but show promise.
3How Search Results Work
When you search, we aim to show you the most relevant, highest-quality options first. Here's how results are organized:
Match Your Search
We find businesses that match your location, category, and search terms.
Sort by Quality
Within matches, higher-tier businesses appear first. Diamond before Gold, Gold before Silver, and so on.
Fine-Tune Within Tiers
Within each tier, we consider rating, review count, and profile completeness to determine order.
4Premium Membership
Some businesses pay for premium membership. Here's what that means (and doesn't mean) for you:
Premium Does NOT Mean
- Automatic top ranking
- Better quality tier
- Higher visibility without quality
- Fake or inflated reviews
Premium DOES Mean
- A “Premium” badge on their listing
- Access to booking tools
- Customer chat features
- Business analytics
Bottom line: Premium is a set of business tools, not a ranking booster. Quality always determines where a business appears.
5How New Businesses Are Treated
Every great business starts somewhere. We believe in giving new businesses a fair chance:
Discovery Section
New businesses appear in a dedicated “New & Growing” section so you can discover fresh options.
Path to Growth
As they collect reviews and build reputation, they move up tiers naturally.
Fair Expectations
New businesses aren't penalized-they simply haven't earned higher tiers yet. Quality takes time.
Achievable Goals
We show business owners exactly what they can do to improve their ranking.
6What We Don't Do
No amount of money can buy a higher position.
All businesses are searchable-quality determines order, not visibility.
We actively work to detect and remove fraudulent reviews.
Size doesn't matter. A solo artist can outrank a chain if quality is better.
7You're in Control
Our ranking is just a starting point. You can always customize your search:
- Filter by tier: Only see Diamond, Gold, or other quality levels
- Filter by rating: Set a minimum star rating
- Sort by reviews: See the most-reviewed businesses first
- Sort by rating: See the highest-rated businesses first
- Filter by location: Find businesses near you
We provide the quality signals. You make the final choice.
?Questions?
We're committed to transparency. If you have questions about how we rank businesses or concerns about a specific listing, please reach out:
support@thelocalgem.com
Use the feedback form in your account