Hot 100 Ranking Methodology

When a web surfer arrives at the SkagitValley.com web site, they can 'Search', view the 'Full Directory' or click on one of the business links on the home page.

Monthly Hits

When (for example) the surfer clicks on the link for the Holiday Inn Express, another 'hit' is added to the 'monthly hit count' for the Holiday Inn Express. If they click on five (or fifty) more links during their visit to the web site, each of those organizations' 'hit count' is incremented by one.

Since June of 2000, we have been keeping track of the number of 'hits' that each listing in the directory receives.  On the 15th of each month, we save the data for the previous 30 days and reset the counter.  The saved data is used to create the "Hot 100" lists that are published on the 1st day of the next month.

The Hot 100

The Hot 100 lists that are published on July 1st (for example) are based on data that was collected from May16th until June 15th. We call these the "Hot 100 Lists for June" instead of saying the "Hot 100 Lists for May16th through June 15th". We chose the 15th as the cut-off day, by the way, so that we could prepare flyers on months we put an insert in the Chamber newsletter. The current lists are the Overall (all listings) along with lists for top Restaurants, Lodging, Recreation and Real Estate listings.

The Home Page

The listings you see on the home page of the SkagitValley.com reflect the current Hot 100 listings, except for "New Listings" and "Featured Listings". The home page is updated on the 1st day of each month.

Not 'Best of'... 'most clicked'

The Hot 100 lists are not based on which hotel has the fluffiest pillows or who serves the best hamburger. The lists are based solely on how many times an organization's listing on the web site is clicked by visitors during a 30 day period.

Questions?

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Click on the Feedback link (above) or send an e-mail to support@skagitvalley.com