How We Evaluate Local Businesses

Every trust report uses the same 10-category framework. The goal is to document what a business can actually prove — not to manufacture certainty where none exists.

The 10 evidence categories

1Review visibility
Reviews are publicly findable on independent platforms: Google, Yelp, BBB, HomeAdvisor, or similar.
Strong: 50+ reviews across two or more platforms. Moderate: 20–49 reviews on at least one platform. Limited: fewer than 20 reviews or only one platform represented.
2Review consistency
Review dates span multiple years with no suspicious clustering, and ratings are stable over time.
Strong: steady activity across 3+ years, rating consistently 4.3+. Moderate: reviews present but clustered or with notable rating volatility. Limited: all reviews arrived in a single short window, or unexplained rating swings.
3Business transparency
Business name, physical address, phone number, and operating history are publicly verifiable.
Strong: name, address, and phone consistent across Google Business Profile, BBB, and state business records. Moderate: most information present with some gaps. Limited: anonymous operation, P.O. box only, or key details unverifiable.
4Real project evidence
Photos or documentation of actual completed jobs exist and are verifiable as original (not stock photography).
Strong: multiple documented projects with dates and locations, identifiable as real local work. Moderate: some photos present but origin unverified. Limited: only stock imagery or no project documentation found.
5Local relevance
Business demonstrably operates in the claimed service area.
Strong: Google Business Profile with a local address, multiple service-area pages with local content, local phone number. Moderate: some local signals but gaps in operational evidence. Limited: no physical presence signals, or service-area claims that conflict with review locations.
6Claim accuracy
Business claims — years in operation, certifications, awards, project counts — are checked against public records.
Strong: all major claims verifiable via state licensing databases, BBB records, or business registrations. Moderate: some claims verifiable, others unverifiable but not contradicted. Limited / Unverified: key claims conflict with available evidence or cannot be checked.
7Website clarity
The official website clearly identifies the business, services offered, service area, and contact info without misleading copy.
Strong: clear about page, real business photos, honest service descriptions, consistent contact info. Moderate: functional site but missing key clarity. Limited: vague content, missing details, or copy that conflicts with third-party information.
8Service-area clarity
Business clearly states which areas it serves, and those claims are consistent with its operational evidence.
Strong: explicit service area stated, consistent with review locations and operational history. Moderate: implied service area with partial consistency. Limited: claims to serve everywhere, or stated area conflicts with available evidence.
9Contact information consistency
Phone number, address, and business name (NAP) are consistent across all platforms.
Strong: NAP consistent across 5+ platforms including Google, website, BBB, and industry directories. Moderate: consistent on primary platforms but with variations elsewhere. Limited: different contact information on different platforms with no explanation.
10Third-party presence
Business appears in independent directories, news mentions, or professional associations beyond self-managed listings.
Strong: BBB profile, professional association membership, or verifiable news or editorial mentions. Moderate: basic directory presence across standard platforms. Limited: only self-managed listings with no independent third-party footprint.

Scoring labels

Each category receives one of five labels based on the evidence available at evaluation time.

Strong proof
Evidence is present, verifiable, and substantial across multiple independent sources.
Moderate proof
Evidence exists but is thin, limited to one source, or only partially verifiable.
Limited proof
Evidence is weak, sparse, or contradictory. The category is technically met but barely.
Unverified claim
A specific claim was checked against public records and could not be confirmed. Unverified does not mean false.
Needs more evidence
The category could not be fully evaluated due to missing or inaccessible information.

What we do not score

These factors have no effect on a business's trust label:

  • Payment. A business can purchase a formal audit service, but that does not change the trust label that appears on the public report.
  • Affiliation. Whether a business has any relationship with Locally Proofed or its operator does not affect scoring. All reports use the same criteria regardless of ownership relationships, which are disclosed.
  • Proximity. Geography does not affect scores. A business in St. George is evaluated the same way as one anywhere else.
  • Marketing claims about competitors. We evaluate a business against its own claims and public evidence — not against what it says about others.

Overall trust labels

The overall trust label for a report reflects the preponderance of evidence across all 10 categories, not a single score. A business with Strong proof in 9 categories and one Unverified claim receives a label based on the significance of that gap — not a simple average. The report summary explains the reasoning in plain language.

See the Report Format page for how trust reports are structured section by section, or browse the live report archive.