Real photos. Real names. Real work.

What the check looks at.

9 checks. Your report drops any that don't apply to your business.

• Real authors

  At least one author page with the author's photo, and a byline that links to the author on at least 7 in 10 of the articles we opened.

• The owner or technician is the author

  The named author on your articles listed on your team page as an owner, technician or manager.

• Your own photos and job data

  No more than 40 percent of content images coming from stock-photo sites, and a project gallery or job-story page linked from the homepage or a service page.

• About page that says who you are

  At least three of these four on your About page, homepage and contact page: years in business or founding year, named team members with photos, your address (or, if Google lists you as a service-area business, the city you serve), and real numbers such as jobs completed.

• Outside validation

  At least one award, press mention, trade-association membership or manufacturer program (such as GAF Master Elite) on the pages we opened, with a link that backs it up.

• Trust basics

  A street address (or, if Google lists you as a service-area business, the city you serve), a phone number and a privacy policy link on your homepage, contact page and About page, plus a licence number where your trade is licensed statewide (plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling in most states); otherwise a missing licence number is noted, not counted against you.

• Reviews shown on your home page

  Customer reviews or a review feed shown on your home page, with a link to where they came from. A review count or star rating counts only next to that link.

• Licensed or insured shown

  Wording on any page of your site except blog posts that says you are licensed, insured or bonded (such as "licensed and insured", "fully insured" or "liability insurance"), or a licence number. Any one of them is enough, and a customer's review does not count. Trust basics asks separately for a licence number where your trade is licensed statewide.

• Videos on your site

  At least one video you can play (an embedded video player or a video file) on any of the pages we saved from your site. A muted background clip that loops does not count.