How the30top ranks companies

• Every company in a category is scored out of 100 with the30top Score: six factors with fixed, published weights.
• We score every eligible company first, then publish the top 30. Lists are never cut alphabetically or by hand.
• Payment, plan level and sponsorship are not inputs to the score.
• Imported reviews are labeled as imported and count at half weight. We do not call any review verified.
• Every list shows how many companies were considered, how many were scored, and the date its data last changed.

This method ranks service providers: agencies, consultancies and development firms. It produces every service category page (for example SEO), every industry page and the Top 30 on our homepage.

AI agent tools and software products are researched differently, because buyers judge a product on other things than an agency. Those lists are explained in AI agent tools and software.

A company must meet all three rules to receive a score in a category.

1. Rule 1

   Listed in the category

   The company has a live profile on the30top and lists the category as its main service or as an additional service.

2. Rule 2

   Lists a website

   Buyers need a way to check the company. A profile without a website is shown in search but not ranked.

3. Rule 3

   In good standing

   Profiles flagged for a rule breach, such as false information or review manipulation, are not ranked while the flag stands. We may also leave a company out under our editorial policy.

A list with fewer than 10 ranked companies is still published, but we ask search engines not to index it until it fills. A short list is not useful enough to send searchers to.

Each eligible company is scored out of 100. The weights below are the exact numbers in our ranking code. We score every eligible company in the category, sort by score, and publish the top 30.

The review factor in detail

We count effective reviews: each review written on the30top counts as 1 and each imported review as 0.5. Volume points grow quickly at first and stop growing at 20 effective reviews, so a company cannot win on volume alone. Rating points use the weighted average of all reviews, and reach full weight only at 10 effective reviews, so a single 5-star review is weaker evidence than ten.

Ties

When two companies have the same score, the one with more reviews written on the30top ranks higher. If that is also equal, more delivery evidence wins, and after that the order is alphabetical.

What is not an input

• Payment, plan level or a sponsored placement
• A request from the company or anyone else
• Our opinion of a company. No one at the30top can move a company up or down by hand.
• Which company is most recently updated. Editing a profile does not raise a score unless it adds evidence.

An illustrative company, not a real listing: ranked in its main category, 4 reviews written on the30top averaging 4.5, 6 imported reviews averaging 4.8, 3 portfolio items, verified ownership, founded in 2016, and a complete profile except for team size.

Every company on a ranking page has a "why this rank" panel with the same six numbers, so you can check any position yourself.

There are two kinds of review on the30top, and we treat them differently.

The full rules for writing, reporting and removing reviews are in our review guidelines.

Delivery evidence

Portfolio items and case studies are added by the company or from its public website. They show the work a company says it delivered. We remove items that are reported and confirmed as false, and a company that repeatedly adds false items is flagged and stops being ranked.

Verified ownership

A company can claim its profile for free and prove it controls its domain in one of four ways:

• A meta tag added to the company's homepage
• Our badge placed on the company's website
• A DNS TXT record on the company's domain
• A one-time code sent to an email address on the company's domain

Website checks are repeated every day. If the proof disappears for 7 days in a row, the verification is removed and the 10 points go with it. Verification confirms who manages a profile. It does not mean we endorse the company.

Buyers use the30top for free. Companies can list and claim a profile for free. We earn money from paid plans for companies, which add profile tools and visibility features, and from labeled sponsored placements.

What money never buys

• A rank position or a place in any Top 30
• Inclusion in a Get Matched shortlist
• Reviews, ratings or the removal of a fair review
• Ownership verification
• Awards or badges
• Followed (dofollow) links

Plan details are on our pricing page.

AI agent tools

Our AI agent tool lists are research scores, not review scores. Our team scored each product from public information (product pages, pricing pages, integration lists and compliance documents) on autonomy, deployment effort, pricing transparency, integrations, compliance, data handling and fit for the category. The scores were last reviewed on 5 August 2026, and each product page shows its own review date. User reviews are not part of these scores yet. Vendor payments are never an input.

Software

Software category pages are directories, not rankings. We do not yet hold enough user reviews to score software fairly, so products are listed without a score and you can sort them by price or name. We will add a score only when the data can support one.

Scores are calculated from live data. When a company adds evidence, completes its profile or receives a review, its score changes and the list reorders, usually within minutes.

Every list shows the date its data last changed: the newest change to a ranked profile or review. It is never set to today's date by default, so a list that has not changed keeps its old date.

When we change the method itself, we raise the version number, record the change below, and apply it to every list at once.

Awards are calculated from the same data as the rankings. Each award follows published, rule-based criteria taken from this method, and awards are never sold. No awards are active today.

We would rather you know the limits than over-trust a number.

• We do not visit offices or audit company finances, headcount or revenue. Team size and founding year are what the company or public sources report.
• We do not test each company's work. Portfolio items show what a company says it delivered, and we remove items reported and confirmed as false.
• A lower score often means a thinner profile, not worse work. A strong company that has not completed its profile can rank below a weaker one that has.
• A ranking is a starting point for a shortlist, not a recommendation for your project. Speak to references before you sign.

1. 1Email hello@the30top.com with the page URL, what is wrong, and any evidence.
2. 2We check the claim against the profile, the company's own website and public records.
3. 3If we confirm the error, we fix the data. The score and the list update on their own.
4. 4Material corrections to this method are recorded in the change log on this page.

Companies can also claim their profile and correct their own information. Claim or list a company.

1. 24 October 2026 · Version 1.0

   Published the30top Score with six factors and fixed weights. Every eligible company is scored before a list is cut to 30. Imported reviews count at half weight and are labeled with their source.