How we rank doctors
Last updated
Every doctor in the directory is ordered by the same formula, and nobody can pay to move up in it. This page sets the formula out in full, so you can see why one doctor appears before another.
When you search for a name
If you type a name, doctors whose names match what you typed come first, then the closest spellings and sound-alikes (so an Arabic search still finds a name written in English). If you let the site know your location, the nearest comes first among equals. After that, the doctor score described below decides.
The doctor score
On specialty and area pages, and between equal matches in search, doctors are ordered by a score with three parts:
- 45% completeness: a contact number, the address, a website, ratings, the specialty and opening hours.
- 35% the Google Maps rating, adjusted for how many ratings there are.
- 20% reachability: a published phone number for the clinic.
The idea is that the most useful page comes first: a doctor whose address and hours you know, and whom you can call, is more use to you than one you know only by name.
Why two 5-star ratings don't win
An average of two or three ratings says little. So every doctor's rating is calculated as if they started with ten imaginary ratings averaging 3.9 out of 5, and their real ratings are added on top. The more real ratings a doctor has, the less that starting point matters, so a doctor rated 4.7 by 300 patients comes ahead of one rated 5 by two.
Suspicious ratings
We check rating histories for patterns anyone can verify: the same review text repeated word for word across different reviews, or a large burst of reviews on a single day. When a strong pattern shows up, the rating counts for less in that doctor's ranking. We do not remove the doctor or accuse anyone of anything; the listing stays, without the advantage of a rating we cannot trust.
What does not affect the order
- Payment: there is no paid ranking, and no doctor can buy a higher place. If we offer doctors ad spaces, they will be clearly marked "Ad" and sit outside the ranked list.
- Ads: Google ads, and any doctors' ads we offer later, are separate from the results and do not change their order.
- Claiming a page: once claiming opens, a doctor will be able to update their details, but claiming alone will not move them up.
- Our guides: the doctors a guide shows are the top results of the same specialty or area page, in the same order.
Where the ratings come from
The ratings shown today are imported from Google Maps and Facebook pages, and each carries its source. We are working on letting patients rate doctors directly on the site, under their own name and with a date.
If an order looks wrong
If a doctor's details are missing or wrong and that has affected their place, write to [email protected] and we will fix them. Any change to this formula is published here, with its date.