The trust document
How The 701 List ranks
Every list on this site is built from real customer reviews, using one published formula — the same math for every business, in every town. No opinions, no favorites, and no positions for sale. Here's exactly how a business earns its spot.
Review rating
PrimaryThe star rating a business earns across Google, Yelp, and Facebook — combined into one number. We weight for volume, so a handful of perfect reviews can't outweigh a long, consistent track record.
Review volume
MajorHow many people have actually weighed in — log-scaled, so the jump from 5 to 50 reviews matters more than 300 to 350. Depth of evidence counts.
Recency & consistency
TiebreakerRecent, steady reviews beat an old burst of praise. A business that was great five years ago but has gone quiet shouldn't outrank one earning happy customers today.
Breadth of sources
TiebreakerA 4.8 that shows up on Google, Yelp, and Facebook alike is more trustworthy than a 4.8 from a single platform. Agreement across sources raises confidence.
Two rules that keep it fair
Volume-smoothed scoring
New businesses with a few glowing reviews don't leapfrog established pros with hundreds. Statistical smoothing keeps the ranking honest as review counts grow.
Monthly re-scoring
Ratings are pulled fresh and the whole list is re-scored every month. A business that slips — or one that steps up — moves accordingly. Rankings are earned continuously, not once.
The Verified badge
Rankings come from reviews — but any business can claim its listing and go a step further. When a business verifies its active North Dakota contractor license and insurance with us, it earns a Verifiedbadge on its profile. It's an extra trust signal for homeowners — nota way to buy a better rank. A Verified business and an unverified one are scored by the exact same review formula.
The pay-to-rank pledge
Positions on this site are not for sale — not to anyone, at any price. A business may purchase a clearly-labeled Featuredplacement, and it's always marked as distinct from the earned rankings, never mixed into them. That separation is the whole point. It's the one thing the national directories structurally can't offer — and it's why this list is worth trusting.