Lead Score: how ULeads ranks local businesses from 0 to 100
By ULeads team · Published
Lead Score is a 0–100 number ULeads gives every business it finds on Google Maps. It starts at 20 and adds 40 for no website, 15 for fewer than 5 photos, 15 for fewer than 20 reviews, 10 for a rating below 4.0 and 10 for a listed phone, capped at 100. Higher means a weaker online presence.
How is Lead Score calculated?
Every business starts at 20 points. Each condition below that is true of its Google Maps listing adds points. The total is capped at 100, so a business that ticks every box still scores 100.
| Signal | Points | Counted when |
|---|---|---|
| Base | 20 | always |
| No website | +40 | the listing has no website |
| Fewer than 5 photos | +15 | the listing shows fewer than 5 photos |
| Fewer than 20 reviews | +15 | the business has fewer than 20 reviews |
| Rating below 4.0 | +10 | the average rating is below 4.0 (no rating scores nothing) |
| Phone number listed | +10 | a phone number is listed |
The table is the whole formula: there is no hidden weighting, no machine learning and no adjustment by city or category. Scores are worked out when a search runs, from the listing as it is at that moment.
Why does a phone number add points but never make a lead?
A listed phone means you can reach the owner, which makes a business a better prospect — so it adds 10 points. But a phone is not a weakness, and counting it as one would turn every established business into a “lead”. So ULeads only treats a business as a lead when it has at least one of the four real weaknesses: no website, fewer than 5 photos, fewer than 20 reviews, or a rating below 4.0. In our measurement that was about a quarter of the businesses in a typical result.
What do real scores look like?
These are illustrative listings, scored exactly as ULeads scores them:
| Listing | Why a lead | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Plumber, 41 reviews, 4.6★, 3 photos, no website | No website · 3 photos | Warm 85 |
| Barber, 9 reviews, 4.9★, 2 photos, no website | No website · 2 photos · 9 reviews | Hot 100 |
| Cleaner, no reviews, no photos, no website, no phone | No website · No photos · No reviews | Hot 90 |
| Café with a website, 15 reviews, 3.8★, 12 photos | 15 reviews · 3.8★ rating | Low 55 |
| Dentist with a website, 230 reviews, 4.8★, 40 photos | Not a lead — nothing to fix | Low 30 |
The third row is the trap: the cleaner scores 90 because everything is missing, but with no reviews, no photos and no phone it may not be trading at all. The plumber and the barber are the calls to make first — real customers, and nowhere online to send them.
What does Lead Score not measure?
- Trends. A rating that is slipping or a burst of new reviews says a lot about a business, but the score reads the listing as it is today.
- Website quality. An outdated or broken website still counts as a website.
- Budget or intent. The score says where an online presence is weak, not whether the owner wants help or can pay for it.
- Anything outside Google Maps. Social media pages and directory listings are not checked.
How do you use Lead Score in practice?
Results are sorted by score, highest first. Use the “Leads” switch to hide businesses with nothing to fix, set a minimum score, or show only businesses without a website. Each lead shows the reasons it scored — the same wording appears in the “Why a lead” column of the export — so your first message can name a real problem instead of a generic offer. Scores 90 and above are marked hot.
You can see the formula at work on the example export, or run a free search on your own market from the home page.
Common questions
Is a score of 100 always the best prospect?
No. A business with no website, no photos and no reviews scores very high but may not be trading at all. The strongest prospects usually combine a high score with signs of demand — a steady stream of reviews and a decent rating.
Can I change the weights?
No. Every business is scored with the same published table, so a score means the same thing in every search and every export.
Does a business with an outdated website count as having no website?
No. Lead Score only checks whether the listing links to a website. Judging whether that site is any good is up to you — open it before you call.
Why does a business with a phone score higher?
Because you can reach it. The phone adds 10 points for reachability, but it is never treated as a weakness: a business with only a phone number and nothing wrong with its listing is not counted as a lead.
ULeads searches a city and a trade on Google Maps, keeps going past the first page until it finds real prospects, and ranks every business by how weak its online presence is.