Most business awards are marketing products wearing a sash. Entry fees, sponsored categories, juries nobody can name, and a trophy for whoever pays. Business owners know it, customers half-suspect it, and the whole category has earned its skepticism.
Meritly starts from the one signal that can't be sweet-talked: what your customers already said, in public, with their own names attached. We test a business's live Google record against a single published standard — 4.5★ or better across 30 or more reviews — and issue the verdict. Pass, and the award exists because your customers built it. Fall short, and no amount of money changes the answer.
The digital seal and certificate are free for every business that qualifies. We sell one physical product — the award plaque — because it costs money to make. That's the whole business model, stated in one sentence, which is more than most awards companies will do.
Meritly is run by Norm Lanier, a Texas-based serial entrepreneur. Questions, corrections, or skepticism are all welcome — contact us. If you think we've awarded a business that shouldn't be, we especially want to hear that.