Transparency
How We Rank Businesses
Every ranking on Find The Best is generated algorithmically from publicly available data. No business can pay for a higher position.
Our FTB Rating
Each business receives an FTB Rating from 0 to 100, calculated from six weighted factors. The score determines their ranking within each location. Here's exactly how it works:
Reputation
35%Combines customer rating strength with review volume. A high rating backed by many reviews scores significantly higher than one with just a handful. This is the single biggest factor in our rankings.
Search Rank
25%Where the business appears in leading search engines and local map results for their location. These independent relevance and proximity signals provide a strong quality indicator we didn't have to create ourselves.
Confidence
15%How statistically trustworthy the rating is based on review volume. A business with 200+ reviews gives us far more confidence than one with 5. We use a logarithmic curve so the first 100 reviews matter most.
Sentiment
15%AI analysis of actual review text to detect the real tone — positive, neutral, or negative. This catches businesses where the star rating doesn't tell the full story.
Web Presence
5%Quality of the business's online presence. Having a professional website on their own domain scores highest. Social media only or no website scores lower.
Tenure
5%How long the business has been established, based on publicly available data. Longevity isn't everything, but established businesses have a track record.
Penalties
Businesses that haven't claimed their listing on major search platforms receive an 8-point penalty. Unclaimed listings suggest the business isn't actively managing their online presence, which can indicate lower reliability for customers.
No Pay-to-Play
We don't accept payment from businesses to influence their ranking. Our revenue model is separate from our rankings. This independence is what makes our directory trustworthy.