How We Score Opportunities
Every opportunity in ScoreHelm is scored across four pillars: Search Momentum, Competition, Profitability, and Stability. No black box — you can click through to the evidence behind every number.
Evidence-First
Most product research tools show you a score and ask you to trust it. We do the opposite: we show you the evidence first, then explain how we turned it into a score. If something looks off, you can verify it yourself — every data point links back to its source.
The 4 Pillars
Each opportunity is scored from 0–100 based on four weighted pillars. Here's what each one measures and why it matters.
Search Momentum
Is anyone actually searching for this?
What we measure:
- Google Trends search interest (current level and trajectory)
- Growth rate over the last 90 days
- Seasonality patterns — is this a one-time spike or sustained interest?
Why it matters: A product with rising search momentum is easier to sell than one where interest is flat or declining. Search momentum is the foundation — without it, nothing else matters.
Competition
How crowded is this space? Based on listing count and ad saturation.
What we measure:
- Number of marketplace listings (Amazon, Walmart)
- Review counts on top listings — are incumbents entrenched?
- Active ad campaigns in Meta Ads Library — who's spending money here?
Why it matters: High demand means nothing if the space is already dominated by established sellers with thousands of reviews. This pillar helps you find gaps where demand exists but competition hasn't locked it down.
Profitability
Can you make money on this?
What we measure:
- Median price across marketplaces
- Estimated landed cost range
- Target margin (typically 50–70% for viable opportunities)
Why it matters: A product can be trending and low-competition, but if the margins are razor-thin, it's not worth your time. This pillar ensures the math works before you invest.
Stability
How resilient is this opportunity? Accounts for market risk (declining demand, seasonality) and operational risk (IP/brand, compliance, fragility). Higher score = more stable.
Market risk — external factors:
- Seasonality risk (holiday-only products)
- Declining demand trends
Operational risk — execution factors:
- Fragility and shipping complexity
- Food-contact or compliance requirements
- IP/brand competition
- Return rate indicators
Why it matters: Some products look great on paper but come with hidden headaches — fragile items, regulatory hurdles, or seasonal cliffs. A high Stability score means fewer surprises; a low one means proceed with caution.
How the Final Score Works
Final Score = 0.30 × Search Momentum + 0.35 × Competition + 0.25 × Profitability + 0.10 × StabilityEach pillar is scored independently from 0–100, then combined with the weights above. Competition carries the highest weight because even strong demand can't overcome an entrenched market.
Quality Gates
Before an opportunity even gets scored, it must pass a set of quality gates — binary checks that filter out items that don't meet minimum thresholds. If an item fails a gate (for example, zero search interest or no marketplace listings found), it's excluded from the daily shortlist entirely.
This means every opportunity you see has already cleared a baseline quality bar. The score then ranks the remaining opportunities relative to each other.
Example: Over-the-Sink Drying Rack
What We Don't Do
- We don't guarantee results. This is decision support, not a crystal ball.
- We don't use proprietary "magic" scores. Every input is traceable to a public data source.
- We don't hide methodology. This page is the methodology.
- We don't claim 100% accuracy. Data can be delayed, scrapers can miss items, and markets shift. We show you the freshness date so you know what you're working with.
See It in Action
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