The short version
- Ratings carry the most weight. Review counts help set how much a Google rating contributes.
- Complete listings and “owner-verified” shops earn a few extra points.
- Paid placements have set spots. “Featured” listings appear only in positions 3 and 6.
- Closer shops appear first. Map and nearby lists use distance to order shops.
How Google reviews affect the score
We blend each Google rating with a typical rating of 4.3 stars, as if the shop had 20 extra reviews at that level. A shop with 5.0 from 2 reviews stays closer to that baseline. With more reviews, the shop's own rating has more weight.
The adjusted rating sets the points available: 3.0 stars earns nothing and 5.0 earns the full 60 rating points. The total score is capped at 90.
Review count sets how much of those points a shop receives, from half credit with no reviews to full credit at about 1,000 reviews. The scale is logarithmic, so early reviews have more effect than later ones. A shop with no reviews starts at 19.5 rating points.
| Google rating | Adjusted rating | Rating points |
|---|---|---|
| 5.0 ★from 2 reviews | 4.36 | 23.7 of 60 |
| 4.7 ★from 400 reviews | 4.68 | 47.1 of 60 |
| 4.8 ★from 30 reviews | 4.60 | 35.9 of 60 |
| 3.0 ★from 1,000 reviews | 3.03 | 0.8 of 60 |
A shop with 4.7 from 400 reviews scores well above a shop with 5.0 from 2 reviews. A shop with 4.8 from 30 reviews also beats a shop with 3.0 from 1,000 reviews.
More reviews don't help a below-average rating. More evidence of a low rating isn't a reason to move a shop up the list.
A complete listing
Each of these listing details adds to the score, up to 20 points in total:
- A phone number: 7 points
- A website: 5 points
- Opening hours: 5 points
- A description of the shop: 3 points
Owner verification
Owner-verified means the owner claimed the listing. Someone at the shop confirmed it's theirs and can add a description and the repairs they do. A claimed listing earns 6 points. Verification through an email at the shop's own website domain earns 10. These points are too small to carry a poorly rated shop past a well-rated shop.
Every open shop's page includes its own phone number, website and directions when we have them, claimed or not. It never shows ads for competing shops.
Drop-off points and service counters
A drop-off point ships devices to a lab without repairing them on site and loses 6 points. A service counter inside a larger store loses 4. Both carry labels on their cards. Independent shops and repair chains have no listing-kind penalty.
Each list includes at most one drop-off point, whichever scores highest, so a mail-in network can't fill a town's list. The town's other drop-off points have links below it without rank numbers.
Duplicate storefront listings
We show each storefront once. Google sometimes has separate listings for a store and its repair counter at the same address with the same phone number. Combining them keeps that storefront from taking extra places in the list.
What never affects the score
- Payment. Money has no place in the formula. Paid listings are added after the order is set, only in positions 3 and 6. They always carry the labels “Featured” and “Paid placement”.
- Using BenchKey. The team behind BenchKey builds RepairSeeker. Shops that use BenchKey follow the same ranking rules as every other shop.
- Clicks and page views. Visits and clicks on this site add nothing to a shop's score.
The map and nearby shops
The map shows every listed shop at its location. Its list uses straight-line distance from your search point, with the closest shops first.
“Other repair shops nearby” starts with shops doing the same kind of repair as the shop you're viewing. If there aren't enough, other repair shops fill the list. Distance is measured from that shop, with closer shops first. Nobody pays to appear there.
Ties and score updates
Equal scores keep a fixed order, so tied shops don't shuffle between visits. We recalculate scores when shop details change, including when we refresh a Google rating or review count.