RestoreRadarHow RestoreRadar calculates award tags
See how each tag is calculated, which details count, and which companies qualify. Payment cannot buy a score or award.
A computed ranking — not a vote
Some listings on RestoreRadar carry an award tag such as “Top 10 Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration — Dallas 2026”. Every one of these tags is a computed ranking: the output of the scoring formula published on this page, run over the sourced data already shown on each listing. No customers, judges, panels, or industry bodies vote; there are no nominations, entries, or fees; and no company can pay for a tag or a higher score. Paid featured placements are a separate product, always labeled “Sponsored,” and have no effect on award scoring. An award tag means exactly one thing: when the ranking was last computed, that company's sourced data placed it in the top N for that service and city.
Who is eligible
A company is ranked only when it has a sourced Google rating — pulled from its own Google Business Profile, never self-reported — with at least 10 reviews. For a given service and city, award tags are issued only when at least 6 companies are eligible; the tag then covers the top N, where N is one third of the eligible pool, never fewer than 3 and never more than 10. A company that is not eligible is simply not ranked: absence from an award list is never published as a negative, and never means a company is unrated, unlicensed, or uncertified.
The exact scoring formula
| Signal | Max points | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| Sourced Google rating (Bayesian-adjusted) | 50 | The company's public Google rating, adjusted toward the directory-wide average rating with a prior weight of 25 reviews — so a perfect score from a handful of reviews cannot outrank a slightly lower score earned across hundreds. The adjusted rating is scaled linearly: 3.5 stars or below scores 0 points, 5 stars scores the full 50. |
| Review volume | 10 | Logarithmic in the Google review count, reaching the full 10 points at 500+ reviews (log10(reviews + 1) / log10(500) x 10, capped at 10). |
| IICRC Certified Firm | 15 | Counted only when the company is verified in the official IICRC Global Locator registry — a company's own "IICRC certified" marketing claim never counts. |
| State mold-remediation license | 10 | Counted only when the company is matched to an ACTIVE/CURRENT record on an official state roster (Texas TDLR, Florida DBPR, or Louisiana LSLBC). |
| Domain-matched Google Business location | 5 | Counted only when the company is matched to a Google Business Profile by its website domain and that pin sits inside the metro it is listed under (within 50 miles). |
| 24/7 emergency response | 5 | Counted only when the company's source record contains that website statement. Confirm current availability directly. |
| Bills insurance directly | 5 | Counted only when the company's source record contains that website statement. Confirm current billing practices directly. |
Ranking within a service and city is by total score; a tie goes to the company with more Google reviews, then falls back to a fixed alphabetical order so the result is fully deterministic.
Where the data comes from
Google rating and review count. Pulled from each company's own Google Business Profile and bound to that exact business identity (website domain match) — never typed in by the company and never invented by us.
IICRC certification. Verified against the official IICRC Global Locator registry. A company's own “IICRC certified” marketing claim never sets this signal.
State mold credential. Matched to ACTIVE/CURRENT records on the official state rosters: Texas TDLR, Florida DBPR, and Louisiana LSLBC. Florida rows are individual mold-remediator credentials; the listing must carry separate affiliation evidence, and the public receipt states the distinction.
Domain-matched Google Business location. A Google Business Profile pin matched by the company's website domain, counted only when it sits inside the listed metro.
24/7 response and direct insurance billing. Recorded when a company website states them. They do not guarantee current availability, arrival time, insurance coverage, or how a particular claim will be handled; confirm each detail directly.
The year, and how often this recomputes
Each award label carries the calendar year in which it was computed — a 2026 tag was computed in 2026. Rankings are recomputed with each data refresh, so a tag can change hands or disappear as ratings, certifications, licenses, and availability change. An award tag is a dated snapshot of sourced data, not a permanent title.
For award holders: embedding your badge
If your company currently holds an award tag, you are welcome to show it on your own site with the snippet below. The link back to RestoreRadar carries rel="nofollow" on purpose: the badge exists to inform your customers, not to exchange links, and RestoreRadar does not run link schemes.
<a href="https://restoreradar.com/awards-methodology/" rel="nofollow"
title="Computed ranking from sourced data — RestoreRadar">
RestoreRadar: Top 10 Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration — Dallas 2026 (computed ranking)
</a>Replace the tag text with the exact award label shown on your listing, and please keep the words “computed ranking” — these tags may never be presented as a vote, a customers' choice, or third-party recognition.