Methodology

How the Vouched Score Is Calculated

A composite 0–100 score for every provider listed on VouchedPros. It blends public-record signals, customer-review signals, and an editorial assessment so visitors can compare providers on the same scale, even when one platform has more reviews than another.

The signals we look at

Each provider's score is a blend of the signals below. They cover three angles: an editorial read of the provider's profile, customer-experience evidence from independent review platforms, and publicly verifiable credentials.

Signal	Source
Editorial assessment A reviewer reads each provider profile (services, hours, contact, web presence) and anchors the score with a 1–100 quality rating.	Internal review
Google rating Average of Google customer reviews, weighted so a strong rating from a meaningful sample of customers carries the trust signal it deserves.	Google Maps Places API
Google review volume Total Google reviews, weighted toward providers with enough customer evidence to make the rating statistically meaningful.	Google Maps Places API
Google search position Where the provider ranks in the area-specific Google Maps result for the category — a market-validation signal beyond rating alone.	Google Maps Places API
Review recency How fresh the most recent reviews are. A long-dormant profile scores lower than one with reviews from the past few months.	Google Maps Places API
Review sentiment Aggregate sentiment from review text — captures themes (response times, professionalism, pricing transparency) the star rating alone misses.	Customer review text
Years in business Operational tenure. Established providers score higher; newer providers can still rank well on other signals.	Public records / website
Yelp rating Independent rating from Yelp's review base, used as a cross-check on Google's.	Yelp business profile
BBB record Better Business Bureau letter rating and accreditation status. Complaint counts factor in when published.	BBB business profile
Owner response rate How often the business responds to reviews — a proxy for active customer-service investment.	Google Maps Places API

How missing signals are handled

If we have no Yelp profile for a provider, no BBB record, or no website to scrape for credentials, those signals are simply absent from the calculation — not held against the provider as if they were negative.

This means a smaller, newer provider with strong Google reviews and verified credentials can score competitively with an older provider that has deeper public records.

We never substitute a default value (e.g. assume \"C\" BBB rating when none exists). Missing means missing.

When a score isn't shown

We only display a Vouched Score when enough independent signals exist to support it. If we have only a single source (say, Google reviews and nothing else), we keep the provider listed for completeness but don't show a score and don't index the page in search — this avoids implying confidence we don't actually have.

What the score is not

Not a guarantee of service quality on any specific job — it's a rolling assessment of public-record reputation.
Not paid placement. No provider can buy a higher score; rankings reflect signals only.
Not a substitute for getting written quotes and verifying licensing yourself before a major job.

If a provider's circumstances changed recently (new ownership, recent complaints, license lapses), the score may lag the change until our next refresh.

Refresh cadence

Provider data is re-pulled and the score is recomputed when a city's listings are republished — typically when ranking content is refreshed. Each provider page shows a "Profile last updated" date in its footer. The schema's dateModified field reflects the same timestamp.

Disagree with a score?

If a provider believes their score doesn't reflect current performance — e.g. they've added new credentials, resolved a BBB complaint, or had a Yelp profile change — we accept correction requests. Email [email protected] with the provider name, city, and what should be updated.