Transparency
Around Madison Score
The Around Madison Score is our organic quality signal for local businesses. It helps surface useful, complete, and current listings — not the businesses that simply paid the most.
What the score means
Each published business receives a score from 0–100 based on listing quality, verification, freshness, engagement on Around Madison, and reputation signals when they are available and reliable.
Category pages, search, recommendations, and Ask Around Madison use this organic score after any clearly labeled sponsored results.
What contributes
- Listing quality — name, category, address, coordinates, phone, website, description, hours, and images.
- Verification & claim status — verified and owner-claimed listings earn confidence.
- Freshness — recently verified or updated listings rank ahead of stale ones; closed businesses are penalized.
- Engagement — factual Around Madison interactions such as views, website, phone, and directions clicks (with anti-abuse smoothing).
- Reputation — only when reliable rating volume exists; a single five-star review does not dominate.
Sponsored placements
Businesses may purchase promotional placements (Sponsored / Featured Sponsor). Those results appear first when relevant and are always disclosed.
Paying for a placement never increases a business's organic Around Madison Score. Advertising and organic ranking are separate systems.
How businesses improve
- Claim and keep the listing accurate
- Add hours, photos, website, and a clear description
- Keep information freshly verified
- Engage customers with real events and Local Perks
Suggest a correction via Contact or claim your listing from the business profile.
Exact anti-abuse internals are not published. Factor weights may be adjusted as the directory grows.