Data and ranking methodology

Primary source

The seed dataset is the U.S. Small Business Administration Franchise Directory, a weekly workbook used by lenders and Certified Development Companies when evaluating brands for SBA financing eligibility. The current import contains 3,324 brands and is effective 2026-08-20.

We preserve the SBA reference number, franchise identifier, FTC-definition field, certification field, start date, recertification date, notes, effective date, and a hash of the source row. We do not treat SBA inclusion as an endorsement.

What “trending” means

The launch signal is deliberately narrow: brands recently added to the SBA directory and brands with a recent recertification date. Results are ordered by the public record date and then alphabetically. Recency does not imply growth, profitability, buyer satisfaction, or investment merit.

If first-party reader interest is added later, it will appear as a separate labeled measure with its window and sample size. Paid placement will never enter an editorial trend score.

Refresh and change handling

The importer discovers the current workbook from the SBA’s canonical page, validates required columns, keys every row by its SBA reference number, and stores a deterministic row hash. Re-running the same workbook changes no records. A brand removed from a later workbook is retained for auditability but hidden from public results rather than deleted.

Search-index policy

Every current, active record from the SBA Franchise Directory is eligible for the sitemap while the tenant-level publication switch is enabled. The page shows the source’s FTC-definition, certification, date, and notes fields exactly so readers can distinguish fully documented franchise records from other SBA-listed business relationships. A record removed from a later source workbook is retained for auditability but hidden and removed from indexing.

What this directory cannot tell you

The SBA workbook does not provide current franchise fees, total investment, royalties, unit counts, closures, earnings claims, franchisee contacts, litigation detail, territory availability, or buyer satisfaction. Those facts belong in the current Franchise Disclosure Document and in independent professional review. We do not infer them.