§ M — METHODOLOGY
How we score every business
Every rating on this site is computed by software from public data sources — no human edits, no paid placements, reproducible by anyone.
The Weighted Rating · Bayesian
A trust-weighted version of the customer rating. Pulls businesses with very few reviews toward the city-wide average so a brand-new restaurant with five 5-star reviews doesn’t outrank a 4.7-star institution with 800 reviews.
The Overall Score
A 60/40 blend: 60% Website Rating + 40% Weighted Rating. This is the chart’s default metric — our best single answer to “how well does this business serve customers digitally?” A great site without customers ranks lower than a mediocre site with a fanatical following.
The Customer Rating · Google stars
The raw Google review average — exactly what you’d see on Google Maps. We don’t modify, smooth, or filter it. If a business has 4.8 stars on Google, we display 4.8.
The Online Presence Rating · 0–10
A broader composite of website performance, customer signal, and visibility on Google. At a glance, how strongly does this business show up online?
The Website Rating · 1–10
Assesses how quickly a site renders on mobile and desktop, and how search engines perceive it — which directly impacts how many customers Google sends to the business. A lower rating means lower Google ranking; a higher rating means more visibility.
Spot something wrong?
If a number looks off on your listing, email info@bestofcolumbusga.com and we'll re-enrich it on the next pipeline run. We don't adjust scores by hand, but we do fix bugs.