Every listing on TheBoBs carries a quality score. This page explains exactly how it is calculated, so you can judge our judgments.

The five criteria

The BoBs Quality Score is the average of five criteria, each weighted equally at 20% and scored by an editor on a 0–5 scale:

  • Content depth (20%). Does the blog go beyond surface takes? We look for original reporting, first hand experience, worked examples, and posts that would be hard for a casual writer to fake.
  • Community feedback (20%). What do readers say? We weigh comments, discussion on forums and social platforms, and how the blog is cited by other writers in its field.
  • Accuracy and originality (20%). Are facts checkable and checked? Is the writing the author’s own? Substantial plagiarism or fabricated claims are not a low score — they are grounds for exclusion.
  • Authority and trust (20%). Is it clear who writes the blog and what their relationship to the topic is? Disclosed affiliations, consistent authorship and a track record all count here.
  • UX and readability (20%). Can you actually read the thing? Clean layout, working pages, tolerable ads and clear writing score well; intrusive ads and broken navigation score badly.

How scoring works in practice

  • An editor reads a sample of the blog’s recent and older posts before assigning any score. Scores are set by people, not generated by software.
  • Scores are revisited when we re review a listing — a blog that improves or declines will see its score move.
  • Scores cannot be bought. Inclusion is free, there is no paid placement, and no advertiser relationship can change a score. If you believe a score is unfair, email [email protected] with specifics and an editor will take a second look — see How We Review Blogs.