How we rank the results.
Which providers you see in search, in what order, how ads work and where money plays a part. No small print.
In short: fixed rules decide who appears (service, service area, free dates, the provider’s rules for dogs). The order comes from a score made up of seven factors; reviews and distance count most. Paid ads are shown separately and labelled “Ad”. Providers with an active Boost also get a limited uplift on their score, which moves them up the normal list. Those results are labelled “Sponsored” there.
1. Who appears at all
All of these conditions must be met. They cannot be bought.
- The profile is live and neither paused nor blocked.
- The provider offers the service you are looking for, for the animal group you chose (dogs or cats & small pets), with a price, in the country you search in.
- Your postcode is in the service area: within the radius the provider sets, or on their list of postcodes. For boarding and day care we use one and a half times the radius, because you bring the dog to them.
- Your dog or pet matches the provider’s rules (number, size, age, neutering), as far as you give these details.
- If you enter a date: the provider is available. For walks and visits one free slot in the period is enough; for boarding and overnight sitting every night must be free; for day care every day.
- Your filters: instant booking only, minimum rating, group or solo walk.
2. The order
Every matching provider gets a score made up of seven factors, each with a fixed weight:
| Factor | Weight | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | 25% | Average rating. With few reviews we pull the value towards a middle value of 4.5 stars, so a single review does not decide everything. |
| Distance | 20% | Distance between your postcode and the provider, relative to their service area. |
| Reliability | 15% | Acceptance rate, response time (under one hour scores full points) and how rarely the provider cancels. New providers start with a neutral value. |
| Fit | 15% | Whether the price fits your budget and whether size and walk type match what you entered. The budget only changes the order, it hides nobody. |
| Popularity | 10% | How often profile views turn into bookings, smoothed over the last 90 days. |
| Profile quality | 10% | Photos, description, complete prices and verified documents (identity, liability insurance, animal welfare permit). |
| New provider bonus | 5% | For the first 60 days after going live, then decreasing to zero, so new providers get a fair chance. |
Not part of the order: which app plan a provider pays for, the level of the normal commission, and whether you have booked with someone before. We do not build a profile of you; the order depends only on your search.
3. Variety
Among the first ten results there are at most three providers with exactly the same price and service, so you have a real choice. Every eighth position goes to a new provider if none appeared in the seven positions before.
4. Ads and Boost
Ad slots
Above the results there can be a separate area with up to two ads. It is labelled “Ad”, and every ad shows who pays for it: always the provider shown in the ad.
Why you see a particular ad:
- The provider matches your search (same rules as in section 1: service, service area, free dates, rules for dogs).
- They have activated Boost or booked an ad package for this service and region.
- They meet a quality threshold: at least 4.0 stars (if already rated), at least 80% of requests answered (if already measurable) and a complete profile.
- If more providers qualify than there are slots, the ads rotate randomly every hour.
For ads we use no data about you other than your current search. The ad slots themselves do not change the list below; a provider can appear in both. How Boost affects the list is explained in the next section.
Boost in the order and the “Sponsored” label
Boost is a performance-based advertising option for providers: if a booking from a new client comes in through an ad slot, the provider pays 5, 8 or 10 percentage points of extra commission. While Boost is active and the provider meets the quality threshold, their score from section 2 is multiplied by 1.10, 1.15 or 1.20. Boost is therefore a paid, limited improvement of the ranking. It never overrides the fixed rules in section 1.
Every result whose position in the normal list was improved this way is labelled “Sponsored” right on the result and names the advertiser, which is always the provider. Results without this label are where they are without money having influenced their position. The ad slots above the list are separate and labelled “Ad”.
Premium partners
Providers on the Pension Premium plan are premium partners. They carry the “Premium Partner” badge in the marketplace, and their score from section 2 gets a permanent boost for as long as the subscription runs (factor ×1.10, only when the same quality threshold as for Boost is met). This is a paid improvement of the ranking. It never overrides the fixed rules in section 1, and every result improved this way is labelled as an ad, just like Boost (“Sponsored”), and names the provider as the advertiser.
5. Reviews
Only people who booked and paid through GetDogWalkers, and whose appointment took place, can leave a review. Owner and provider review each other blind; reviews become visible once both have reviewed or after 14 days. We publish positive and negative reviews alike. Bought or fake reviews are prohibited; we check reviews that are reported.
6. What you control
Service, date, number and size of dogs or pets, minimum rating, instant booking and walk type narrow down the list. The budget only changes the order.
7. Changes and questions
If we change the main parameters, we update this page and tell providers at least 15 days in advance. Send questions or complaints about the ranking through the support form.
Last updated: 3 November 2026 · Legal basis: P2B Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 Art. 5, Digital Services Act Art. 26 and 27, § 5b and Annex No. 11a German Unfair Competition Act (UWG).