How we rank
Organic order on city × service lists is data-only. No one can pay to change rank.
Ranking formula
When a list has enough Google-matched profiles, we sort by a Bayesian average of Google Business Profile ratings, then add a small completeness bonus from public profile fields.
- R — Google star rating
- v — number of Google reviews
- m — prior strength, fixed at 10
- C — median Google rating among matched notaries in that city list
- completeness — small capped bonus (max 0.12) from public fields only: claimed profile, bio, services, service areas, hours, years in business, and E&O listed
Ties break by Google review count. Profiles without a usable Google rating sort after matched profiles. A 5.0 from a handful of reviews does not outrank a slightly lower rating backed by many reviews.
When we say “Top-rated”
The heading “Top-rated [service] notaries in [City]” appears only when at least 5 listed notaries have a high-confidence or admin-approved Google Business Profile match. Otherwise we keep a neutral “Notaries for [service] in [City]” heading.
Data sources
- Google Business Profile — star ratings and review counts via Google Places, shown with Google attribution on list cards. Google stars are used only for approved Places matches. They are never mixed into NotaryHub’s own ratings and are never published as star markup.
- Texas Secretary of State — commission and directory fields used to build and maintain notary profiles.
- Public profile fields — claimed status, bio, services, service areas, hours, years in business, and whether E&O is listed on the profile.
Yelp business names may help us match a listing to Google Places. We never use Yelp ratings or reviews. NotaryHub’s own hire reviews are not part of this organic score until there is enough volume for a separate, labeled signal.
Paid placement stays separate
No one can pay to change organic rank. If sponsored placements are offered later, they will render outside this ranking order and will be labeled as sponsored.
Questions? Contact us