How NWA Public Ranks Businesses

1. Finding every business

For each category we search Google Places across Benton and Washington counties, plus a separate search centered on each of 9 cities (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, Bella Vista, Centerton, Siloam Springs, Lowell, Farmington) so smaller businesses aren't missed. A business is included only if Google reports it in Benton or Washington County, Arkansas, and marks it as operational.

2. Ranking

Businesses with fewer than 5 Google reviews are dropped, and so are businesses whose Google listing doesn't match the category (a dentist on the orthodontists list, an apartment complex on the golf courses list). The rest are sorted by total Google review count, highest first. When two businesses have the same count, the higher average rating ranks first. City pages use the same order, limited to businesses with an address in that city.

Review count measures how many customers took the time to write about a business. It favors established, busy businesses over new ones, which is why we also publish the Rising report of businesses gaining reviews fastest.

3. What's on each page

Review counts, ratings, addresses, phone numbers, hours, price levels and Google's one-line summaries all come directly from Google. We don't write claims about businesses that the data doesn't support.

4. Updates

Region-wide rankings refresh on the first of every month. City-level searches refresh quarterly. Every page shows the date its data was last updated.

5. Independence

Rankings are never for sale. A category page may show a clearly labeled "Featured" box, but it sits outside the ranked list and never changes anyone's rank. Businesses in a top 10 can display a free badge linking to their ranking.

6. Corrections

If a business has closed, moved, or is listed in the wrong category, email noah@nwapublic.com. We fix factual errors; we don't change rankings on request.