Maps Search Evaluation Guidelines

June 2024

1.
Introduc+on
...................................................................................
...........................................................5

1.1.The Rating
Tool...............................................................................
...................................................................................
..................................51.2.RatingWork4low .............................
...................................................................................
...............................................................................111.
3.RatingInterface..................................................................
...................................................................................
...........................................13

1.3.1.Query-Level Navigational Result

Question...........................................................................
......................................................................141.3.2.Resul
t-Level Rating
Checkboxes ........................................................................
...................................................................................
........141.3.3.Result Relevance
Rating.............................................................................
...................................................................................
..................151.3.4.Result Relevance Demotion
Checkboxes ........................................................................
...........................................................................17
1.3.5.Data
Accuracy ..........................................................................
...................................................................................
......................................171.3.6.Comments ............................
...................................................................................
...................................................................................
........17

2.
Understanding User
Intent ............................................................................
...........................................18
2.1.Query
Types..............................................................................
...................................................................................
......................................18

2.1.1.Research
Expectation .......................................................................
...................................................................................
.............................22

2.2.ResultTypes....................................................................
...................................................................................
................................................222.3.LocationIntent...............
...................................................................................
...................................................................................
.............23

2.3.1.Explicit
Location...........................................................................
...................................................................................
..................................242.3.2.Implicit
Location ..........................................................................
...................................................................................
.................................24

3.
Ra+ng
the
Query-Level
Naviga+onal
Result
Ques+on ...........................................................................
....25
4.
Ra+ng
Result-Level
Issues
...................................................................................
.....................................25
4.1.ResultName/
TitleinUnexpectedLanguageorScript..................................................
...................................................................254.1.1.Name of
Business/POI
Results............................................................................
...................................................................................
.........274.1.2.Title of Address
Results............................................................................
...................................................................................
.....................30

4.2.Business/POI is Closed or Does not

Exist .............................................................................
................................................................304.2.1.Closed/Does
Not Exist vs. Inaccurate Name and
Address............................................................................
..........................................314.2.2.Rating Relevance of Closed/Non-
Existing
Business/POI ......................................................................
.................................................31

4.3.Business/
POIStatusisPERMANENT_CLOSURE.......................................................
.........................................................................314.3.1.No
Status
Shown .............................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................32
4.3.2.Status Shown as
PERMANENT_CLOSURE .................................................................
................................................................................32

5.
Relevance
...................................................................................
.............................................................32

5.1.Query-
ResultConnection...................................................................
...................................................................................
........................33

5.1.1.General
Connection ........................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................34
5.1.2. Abbreviation/Alternate Name
Connection ........................................................................
......................................................................34
5.1.3. Category
Connection.........................................................................
...................................................................................
.........................345.1.4. Spell Correction
Connection ........................................................................
...................................................................................
..............355.1.5. Transit Intent
Connection ........................................................................
...................................................................................
...................35
5.1.6. Special Character
Connection.........................................................................
...................................................................................
..........355.1.7. Address-Result
Connection.........................................................................
...................................................................................
................36
5.1.8. Lack of
Connection ........................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................36
5.2. Satisfying User
Intent.............................................................................
...................................................................................
....................385.3.Prominence...............................................
...................................................................................
.......................................................................39
5.4.Distance ......................................................................
...................................................................................
.......................................................40
5.5.Distancevs.Prominence..........................................................
...................................................................................
..................................42
5.6.Many Possible
Results............................................................................
...................................................................................
.....................425.7.FewPossibleResults......................................
...................................................................................
..............................................................45
5.8.FewPossibleResultsandGreaterDistance...........................................
...................................................................................
............46
5.9.RuralAreas.....................................................................
...................................................................................
.................................................47
5.10.Location–
UserIntentDeviation................................................................
...................................................................................
.........48
5.11.RatingforUserInsideandOutsideViewport.........................................
...................................................................................
.......495.12.PartialAddressDoesNotExist...........................................
...................................................................................
..................................51
5.13.City
vs.Municipality ...................................................................
...................................................................................
...............................525.14.Unexpected
Results ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
........................525.15.MultipleTransitPOIswiththeSameName..................
...................................................................................
.................................54
5.16.POIs and Transit
Intent.............................................................................
...................................................................................
...............55

5.16.1.Transit
Queries ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
...................................56
5.16.2.Stops vs.
Stations...........................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................59

5.17.ParkingIntent.................................................................
...................................................................................
.............................................615.18.Relevance:Service-
LevelMismatch......................................................................
................................................................................61
5.19.RatingRelevanceWhentheResultStatusisPERMANENT_CLOSURE.........................
..........................................................64

5.19.1.Expected PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Status ............................................................................
......................................................................64

5.19.1.1.ExpectedPERMANENT_CLOSUREStatus:NavigationalQuery.........................
.............................................................................665.19
.1.2.ExpectedPERMANENT_CLOSUREStatus:Allchainsclosedinarea.........................
...................................................................68

5.19.2.Unexpected PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Status.............................................................................
...............................................................69

5.19.2.1.UnexpectedPERMANENT_CLOSUREStatus:OpenOptionsareNearby....................
................................................................70

6.
Name
and
Category
Accuracy...........................................................................
........................................71
6.1.NameNotApplicable(n/
a).................................................................................
...................................................................................
.....716.2.ResultNames.............................................................
...................................................................................
.....................................................72

6.2.1. Correct
Name...............................................................................
...................................................................................
..................................72
6.2.2.Partially Correct
Name...............................................................................
...................................................................................
................76
6.2.2.1. Minor and Moderate Misspellings and Missing or
ExtraWords ........................................................................
.............................766.2.2.2.Service-
LevelMismatch......................................................................
...................................................................................
...........................79
6.2.2.3.HoldingNameandCorporateStructure...........................................
...................................................................................
......................79
6.2.3. Incorrect
Name...............................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................80

6.3
ResultCategory ....................................................................
...................................................................................
..........................................82

6.3.1. Correct
Category...........................................................................
...................................................................................
................................836.3.2. Incorrect
Category...........................................................................
...................................................................................
............................84

6.4.
Can’tVerify .......................................................................
...................................................................................
...............................................866.5TransitNames...................
...................................................................................
...................................................................................
..........86
6.6.ParkingNames...................................................................
...................................................................................
...........................................876.7.FinalNameandCategoryAccuracyRating
(SummaryTable).....................................................................
................................88

7.
Address
Accuracy:
Components
and
Issues
...................................................................................
...........89
7.1.AddressComponents..............................................................
...................................................................................
....................................89

7.1.1.Street
Number ............................................................................
...................................................................................
......................................89
7.1.2.Unit/
Apt................................................................................
...................................................................................
.............................................917.1.3.Street
Name ..............................................................................
...................................................................................
.......................................92
7.1.4.Sub-Locality and Administrative
Subdivisions.......................................................................
...................................................................937.1.5.Locality
...................................................................................
...................................................................................
...........................................947.1.5.Region or
State..............................................................................
...................................................................................
..................................947.1.6.Postal
Code ..............................................................................
...................................................................................
........................................95
7.1.7.Country .....................................................................
...................................................................................
.........................................................95

7.2.AddressDoesNotExist............................................................
...................................................................................
..................................96
7.3.Language/ScriptIssue
inAddress .........................................................................
...................................................................................
967.4.Country-Speci4ic
Issue .............................................................................
...................................................................................
...................97

7.4.1.Country-Specific Issue vs. Correct with Formatting

Issue..............................................................................
.........................................97

7.5.Other
Issue..............................................................................
...................................................................................
.........................................97
7.6.CorrectwithFormattingIssue.....................................................
...................................................................................
...........................987.7.Can’tVerify ......................................
...................................................................................
.................................................................................98

7.7.1.Can’t Verify for Street

Number ............................................................................
...................................................................................
.........997.7.2.Can’t Verify for Street
Name...............................................................................
...................................................................................
.........99
8.
Address
Accuracy:
Result
Expecta+ons .......................................................................
............................100
8.1.Business/POI
Result ............................................................................
...................................................................................
.....................100

8.1.1.Business/POI Address Research and

Resources .........................................................................
..............................................................1008.1.2.Alternative
Official
Addresses .........................................................................
...................................................................................
..........101

8.1.2.1.DepartmentAddresses........................................................
...................................................................................
.........................................1018.1.2.2.ResultMissingtheStreetAddress..
...................................................................................
.........................................................................1038.1.2.3
.P.O.Box,MailingAddresses,andManagementOf4ices ....................................
..................................................................................1
04

8.1.3.Businesses/POI with Moving

Locations..........................................................................
..........................................................................1058.1.4.
Events.............................................................................
...................................................................................
.................................................105

8.2.AddressTypeResults.............................................................
...................................................................................
..................................106
8.2.1.Address
Result.............................................................................
...................................................................................
..................................106
8.2.2.Address
Formats ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................106
8.2.3.Street
Result ............................................................................
...................................................................................
.....................................107
8.2.4.Locality
Result.............................................................................
...................................................................................
.................................1078.2.5.Postal Code
Result ............................................................................
...................................................................................
..........................108
8.2.6.State/Region/Territory
Result.............................................................................
...................................................................................
.....1088.2.7.Country
Result.............................................................................
...................................................................................
.................................108

8.3.FeaturesWithoutanExpectedAddress...............................................
...................................................................................
............1088.3.1.Natural
Features ..........................................................................
...................................................................................
................................108
8.3.2.POIs Without an Expected
Address ...........................................................................
................................................................................110

8.3.2.1.Minimum
AddressComponent...................................................................
...................................................................................
..............1108.3.2.2.Of4icial Address
Present............................................................................
...................................................................................
...................111
8.3.2.3.No Of4icial
Address ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................113

9.
Pin
Accuracy
...................................................................................
.......................................................115
9.1.General
Considerations ....................................................................
...................................................................................
.......................116
9.1.1.Pin
Resources .........................................................................
...................................................................................
.........................................116
9.1.2.Satellite Imagery vs. Vector
Map ...............................................................................
..................................................................................1
16
9.1.3.Boundaries of the
Feature ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
...............117
9.1.3.1.Half ’nHalf and Tennis
Rules .............................................................................
...................................................................................
.........118
9.1.3.2.Boundaries in Shared
Spaces.............................................................................
...................................................................................
........1209.1.4.Next
Door ..............................................................................
...................................................................................
.........................................122
9.1.5.Can’t Verify (Smallest Identified
Area) .............................................................................
..........................................................................123

9.2.Single
Rooftop ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
...................................1249.2.1.Leaning
Buildings .........................................................................
...................................................................................
...............................1399.2.2.Residential Property with Multiple
Buildings .........................................................................
................................................................141

9.3.Multiple
Rooftops...........................................................................
...................................................................................
............................1429.3.1.Multiple-Rooftop
Rating ............................................................................
...................................................................................
................1439.3.2.Campus
Rating.............................................................................
...................................................................................
...............................1499.3.2.1.Single-
ComplexCampus......................................................................
...................................................................................
.........................1519.3.2.2.DispersedCampus................................
...................................................................................
..........................................................................1549.4.Fe
aturesWithoutaRooftop..............................................................
...................................................................................
.....................1579.4.1.Natural
Features...........................................................................
...................................................................................
................................157
9.4.2.Administrative
Divisions .........................................................................
...................................................................................
..................160
9.4.3.Streets......................................................................
...................................................................................
.......................................................161

9.5.ParkingLotsandStructures.......................................................
...................................................................................
...........................1639.6.TransitPOIs......................................
...................................................................................
............................................................................164

9.6.1.Bus, Tram, and Streetcar

Stops..............................................................................
...................................................................................
...1669.6.2.Transit POI with Multiple
Rooftops/Platforms.................................................................
......................................................................1679.6.3.Tran
sit POIs with a Single
Rooftop............................................................................
................................................................................170
9.6.4.Underground Transit
Stations ..........................................................................
...................................................................................
.......170

9.6.4.1.Howto Establish anEntrance

Polygon............................................................................
.........................................................................1719.6.4.2
.Examples..........................................................................
...................................................................................
...................................................172

10.How
to
Rate
Results............................................................................
..................................................176

10.1.Speci4ic
Address ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
............................17610.2.Non-Speci4ic
Address ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
..................19110.3.Query Address Does Not
Exist .............................................................................
.................................................................................19
910.4.PointofInterest..............................................................
...................................................................................
..........................................201

10.5. Understanding Multiple Query Interpretations: Beyond Viewportand User

Location ..............................................205
10.6. Business
Queries ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
..........................208
10.6.1. Non-Chain
Businesses.........................................................................
...................................................................................
....................209

10.6.2.Chain
Businesses ........................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................212
10.6.3.Chain Business With Location
Modifier ..........................................................................
......................................................................216
10.6.3.1. GeneralLocation
Modi4ier ..........................................................................
...................................................................................
.............216
10.6.3.2. Speci4ic Location
Modi4ier ..........................................................................
...................................................................................
.............224

10.6.4.Back Office and Businesses with No Physical

Location...........................................................................
.........................................228
10.6.5. Business/POI Does Not
Exist .............................................................................
...................................................................................
...230
10.7.Category
Queries ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
..........................231
10.7.1.Demotion for Distance with User Inside
Viewport...........................................................................
....................................................23210.7.2.Demotion for Distance
with User Outside
Viewport...........................................................................
...............................................23410.7.3.Demotion for Distance with
Fewer Possible
Results............................................................................
...............................................236
10.7.4.Category Queries and User
Intent ............................................................................
...............................................................................2381
0.7.5.Category Queries and
Prominence ........................................................................
.................................................................................23
910.7.6.Category Query with Location
Modifier...........................................................................
.....................................................................23910.7.7.Navi
gational Results for Category
Queries............................................................................
................................................................24110.7.8.Clear
Categories ........................................................................
...................................................................................
................................24510.7.9.Soft
Categories.........................................................................
...................................................................................
..................................24610.7.10.Category Query:
Parking............................................................................
...................................................................................
............251

10.8.RatingResultswithPERMANENT_CLOSUREStatus......................................
.............................................................................25510.
8.1.Expected PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Status ............................................................................
...................................................................25510.8.2.Unexpe
cted PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Status ............................................................................
............................................................256

10.9.Other Query
Types..............................................................................
...................................................................................
....................25810.9.1.Routing
Queries ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
..............................25810.9.2.Coordinate and “My Location”
Queries............................................................................
......................................................................260

10.10.Unclear
Results ...........................................................................
...................................................................................
...........................262

11.Top
Ra+ng
Tips ..............................................................................
........................................................269

11.1.What’stherelevancewhenqueryisbusiness/
POInameandaddressandtheresultisonlytheaddress?.......269
11.2.What’stherelevancewhenthequeryisastreetnameandtheresultisasinglebusinessonthat
street?........26911.3.Howdo Iknowwhatthe locationintentis whenuser is
outside/inside afresh viewport?......................................27011.4.Howdo
Iknowwhatthe locationintentis whenuser is outside/inside astale
viewport?......................................27111.5.This full address result
does not exist. How do I rate
it?................................................................................
...........................271

Appendix:
Release
Survey.............................................................................
.............................................273
1. Introduction
Welcome to Maps Search Evaluation. These guidelines will teach you how to use the
evaluation tool
and rate Maps Search results.

For each task, you will be presented with a search query and the results that are
provided to Maps
users. The goals of this task are:

• Search Relevance and Search 2.0: To determine how well the results satisfy the
user’s
query (result relevance)
• Search 2.0 only: To check the data accuracy (name, address, and pin location) of
the results
Note: Examples shown in this document reflected real locations at the time of
publication. The
examples continue to demonstrate the rating principles described even if a business
or point of
interest has changed its name.

1.1. The Rating Tool

This is the web-based rating tool used to rate Search 2.0 and Search Relevance
queries.
Anatomy of the Tool

Name Screenshot Description

Task Bar
The task bar shows:
•
Task Type: The name of the task.
•
Task ID: A number that identifies the
specific task item. Use this number
whenever you communicate about a
task or rating.
•
Request ID: A reference number for
internal use only. Do not use this
number to communicate about a
task or rating.
•
Estimated Rating Time: Time to
rate all results
Rating
Guidelines
The Rating Guidelines shortcut button
opens the guidelines for this task.
Release
Survey
Allows you to skip a survey in rare cases
where a technical or other issue prevents
you from rating. See Appendix for
complete instructions.
Show User
Viewport shortcut buttons provide
convenient controls to pan or zoom to
common map viewport settings. Show
User moves the result viewport to the
user’s location without changing the zoom
level (map scale).
Show
Viewport
Show Viewport moves the result
viewport to the center of the user
viewport and zooms in on the viewport
area.
Show All
Use Show All to return from any zoom
level to the initial display showing the
user, the viewport, and all the results.
Name Screenshot Description
Query
Header
The query header shows:
Query: The term the user entered into the
search bar.
Viewport Age: How long ago the user
moved the viewport.
•
A fresh viewport is indicated by the
word FRESH displayed in green
text.
•
A stale viewport is indicated by the
word STALE displayed in red text.
Locale: The country and language
combination this query is for.
Country: Should match the country in the
Locale field. If it does not, defer to the
country found in the Locale field.
User Lat,Lng: The user’s location.
Top-Level
Question
A top-level question that must be
answered once for each query.
Result
The result returned for a user query.
The color of the result heading
corresponds to the color of the pin on the
map that marks that result’s location. (See
Result Pin on page 9.)
The result address, category and status (if
included) will be shown beneath the result
name/title.
You will evaluate the relevance of each
individual result. If you are rating Search
2.0, you will also rate the name/address/
pin accuracy for each result.
Note: A query can generate more than
one result.
Name Screenshot Description
Status
A result may also display its status. If the
status appears and is set to
PERMANENT_CLOSURE, the result
requires special treatment when rating
relevance.
Result with
no Rating
Choices
` You may occasionally see one or more
normal looking or grayed-out results with
no rating fields beneath them. No rating
is required for these results. This is
expected and is not a technical issue or
a reason to release the survey.
User
Viewport
User viewport: A transparent purple box
centered over a device icon shows the
user’s viewport at the time the query was
issued (if known). The user viewport
represents the map area the user was
looking at when making the query.
The shape of the viewport may vary
depending on the size and orientation of
the device being used.
Note: In some cases, the user viewport
may be so small that it cannot be seen,
but (if the viewport information is
available) the device icon will always be
visible, regardless of the map scale.
Note: The viewports you see in the
examples in these guidelines may be grey.
Name Screenshot Description
Device Icon
This device icon shows the center of the
user viewport at the time of the user
query. The purpose of the device icon is
to make it easier to find the user viewport.
It does not indicate the user's location.
This icon should not be used for
measuring distance. To measure
distance, start from the outer edge of the
user viewport.
This icon has no rating significance. Its
only purpose is to help you find the
viewport on the map.
User
Location
A blue and white icon indicates the user
location at the time of the query (if
known).
Note: Clicking on the icon reveals the
coordinates (latitude/longitude) of the
user’s location.
Result Pin
A pin indicates a result’s location. The
head of the pin is only an indicator. The
tip marks the actual location.
Each pin on the map has a unique
number and color, which matches the
number and color of its corresponding
result heading.(See Result, above)
Note: The pins you see in the examples
in these guidelines may look different
from the pin shown in this chart and the
ones in the tool.
Name Screenshot Description
Pop-up
Information
Box
Clicking any individual result or pin causes
a pop-up box to appear over the pin. The
text within the box may show additional
information and should only be used for
research purposes to help understand the
result:
•
Phone number (for research only,
never call a business)
•
URL
•
Coordinates (latitude/longitude)
Note: Do not rate the information in the
pop-up box. Rate only the information in
the result.
Map Layer
Selector
Allows you to select which map layer is
displayed.
Zoom
Controller
Allows zooming in and out on the map.
Change the zoom level by clicking the +
(zoom in) or – (zoom out) buttons.
Copy to
Clipboard
Click to copy information to a clipboard
Drop
Location Pin
Click the pin icon at the top right of the
map to place a pin anywhere on the map.
A purple pin and a pop-up window
showing the pin’s address and latitude/
longitude will appear.
Name Screenshot Description
Measure
Distance
To measure the distance, click the ruler
icon at the top right of the map.
You can now drop a start pin (green) and
an end pin (red). The tool will display the
distance between them.
Draw Tool
Click to draw custom polygons.
Submit
Click Submit to save your ratings and
display the next available task.

1.2.Rating Workflow

Complete each step of the following workflow before you assign a rating.

Evaluate and rate each rating drop-down independently of the others. Rate result
Relevance based
on whether the result fits the query intent, even if the result is closed or does
not exist or has
incorrect Name, Address, or Pin data. If you are rating Search Relevance you will
stop after you’ve
rated result relevance. If you are rating Search 2.0, you will continue by rating
Name and Category
Accuracy, Address Accuracy, and Pin Accuracy individually.

Note: For any result in a Search 2.0 project, you may be asked to make all of the
possible ratings, some of
them, just one, or none. This is expected and not a reason to escalate or release a
task.

Rate each result on its own merits. Do not demote duplicate or very similar
results.
1.3. Rating Interface
Your ratings and comments will be collected in the rating interface shown below.
You will first answer
one top-level question about the query itself, then rate each individual result
using the other
checkboxes and drop-downs.
1.3.1. Query-Level Navigational Result Question
You will answer a top-level question for each query to indicate whether there are
any results in the
real world that would completely satisfy the user intent.

Query-level question Explanation Notes

Is there a navigational result
for this query?
Are there any results in the real
world that can completely
satisfy the user intent?
You will only need to answer
this question once for each
query.

Query Answer to Query-Level

Question Explanation
[Eiffel Tower] Yes There is only one result in the
real world that can completely
satisfy the user intent.
[Starbucks] No There is not only one result in
the real world that can satisfy
the intent of this query.

Note: If you are presented with a query that has no results, you must still answer
this question and
submit your answer.

1.3.2. Result-Level Rating Checkboxes

For each result, you will be presented with two high-level questions. These will
allow you to highlight
any problems with the result.

High-level
question Explanation Notes
Result name/
title is in
unexpected
language or
script
Result is not in the language of the
query, the test locale, or the result
region (the expected languages) or is
in a mix of expected and unexpected
languages (unless it is an official
company, chain, or brand name).
If you check this box, your rating for this
result will be complete (all other questions
will be unavailable).
High-level
question Explanation Notes
Business/POI
is closed or
does not exist
Research shows that the business is
closed or that no such business exists
at the address listed in the result.
If you check this box, only the relevance
needs to be rated.
Pay attention to the status of the POI. If
the result’s status is
PERMANENT_CLOSURE, refer to 5.19
Rating Relevance when Status is set to
PERMANENT_CLOSURE and 10.8
Permanently Closed Results for rating
instructions.
If the status is blank or displays any other
text, rate the relevance of the result as if it
did exist.
Use thorough research and your best
judgement to determine whether the
result is closed, has never existed, or the
result component(s) are incorrect.See
Unclear Results for further guidance.

1.3.3. Result Relevance Rating

The relevance rating will take into consideration user intent as well as
distance/prominence.
Relevance is always rated independently of any data (name/category, address, or
pin) inaccuracies.
This means that when rating relevance we always assume that the result exists (even
if research
reveals the location is closed) and that the data presented is correct.

Always rate against the real world: If there is a better result available but it is
not shown, demote the
existing result(s) while considering the missing one(s).
Relevance
Rating Explanation Notes
Navigational
The most likely result implied by the user’s
query, location, and/or viewport that
completely satisfies the user’s distinct
intent.
A distinct user intent is defined by a
combination of the following
characteristics:
• Extreme prominence (e.g. Eiffel Tower)
• Uniqueness (e.g. complete address)
• Proximity (e.g. incomplete address that
points to an unambiguous option that is
is extremely close)
A rating of Navigational for one
result does not prevent other
results from satisfying the query to
a lesser degree.
Excellent
A high-quality result that clearly satisfies the
user’s intent. Multiple results can be
considered high quality.
Highest possible initial rating for
ambiguous queries as well as for
queries that are not eligible for a
Navigational rating.
Good Only partially satisfies the user’s intent due
to relevance, prominence, or distance.
Any relevance rating of Good or
below requires an indication of the
reason(s) for the demotion:
•
User Intent Issue
•
Distance/Prominence Issue
Acceptable Technically satisfies the user’s intent but
does so poorly due to relevance or distance.
Bad
Does not satisfy the user’s intent due to lack
of relevance or great distance (when closer
satisfying results are available).
1.3.4. Result Relevance Demotion Checkboxes
If you give a result a Relevance rating of Good or below, you will be presented
with two checkboxes.
Use them to select the reason(s) for your rating:

• User Intent issue

• Distance/Prominence issue
You must also leave a comment explaining your rating.
Checkbox Explanation Notes
User Intent
issue
Select when the demotion is due to a result only
partially fulfilling the query intent.
If both issues were reasons for
your relevance rating, select both
checkboxes.
Distance/
Prominence
issue
Select when the demotion is due to a distance
issue based on the user or viewport location or
when you demoted for a result that is less
prominent based on the initial query intent. You
can also select this option when the query asks
for something at a specific location and the
result is not at or near the requested location.

1.3.5. Data Accuracy

If you are rating Search 2.0, once you've rated relevance, you’ll evaluate three
result components for
data accuracy: Name, Address, and Pin.

1.3.6. Comments
Comments are mandatory for any result relevance rating of Good or below and for any
data issues
not rated Correct/Perfect and should explain the reasons for all rating demotions.
Be sure to:

• Include user intent: Indicate what you think the user intent is.
• Refer to the guidelines: If the demotion is due to a guideline instruction, note
the guideline
section you used to make your decision.
• Include sources: If you find incorrect information in a result, your comment
should include
the correct information and its source. Be sure that any links you include lead
directly to the
information you provide. If they don’t, include a link to the source you used and
explain how to
get to the information from there.
• Use URL shorteners when inserting long links into your comments
• Be concise: Don’t write elaborate comments. Be short and specific.
• Comment in English: Your comments will sometimes be reviewed or used by people
who are
not familiar with your test locale or its language. Comments in English can be
understood by
the widest possible audience.
Issue Expectations Example Rating and Comment
Relevance
Demotions
The comment should explain the
reasoning behind your rating. A demotion
may be due to distance from the user’s
location compared to similar results/
potential results, secondary intent, or
other reasons.
Relevance -> Good (Distance/
Prominence)
Comment: Demoted -1 for a few closer
real world locations in the Middletown/
Anchorage area
Data Issues
Include a comment when you rate a
Name, Address, or Pin something other
than Correct or Perfect or you give a
rating of Closed/Does not Exist or
Unexpected Language.
Address Accuracy -> Incorrect — Street
Number
Comment: Correct street number is: 332
W El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
as found on the official site: https://
www.patelco.org/locations/sunnyvale
Pin Accuracy -> Wrong
Comment: Wrong pin: correct location is:
52.368067, 4.895389

2.Understanding User Intent

Before evaluating any results, you’ll need to understand what the user wanted to
find when they
typed in their query. To determine user intent, use a combination of your own
research and local
knowledge plus the information found in the rating interface, which includes:

• User location
• User viewport
• Viewport age
User intent refers to the interaction between query, user location, user viewport,
and viewport age.

2.1. Query Types

The queries you are evaluating are real queries submitted by users. Because they
are real, they can:

• Be misspelled
• Contain mistakes
• Be inconsistent
• Be ambiguous
• Be badly formatted
• Be, or contain, emojis
• Have no maps intent
The first step in the rating process is to make sure you understand the query.

If you see a foreign-language query, do not release the survey. Research the query
or use an online
translation tool to find out what it means, then rate it as usual.
You will see several types of queries, including:

Address queries

Address queries contain all or part of a complete address, including street number,
street name,
locality, state, country, and postal code.

Query Explanation
[717 E El Camino
Real, Sunnyvale,
CA 94087]
This is an address query in the form of a full address. It contains a street
number, street name, locality, state and postal code.
[Stevens Creek
Blvd, Cupertino
CA]
This is an address query for a street. The user is looking for the location of
this particular street.
[Ireland] This is an address query for a country. The user is looking for the
location of
the country of Ireland.
[New York]
This ambiguous query could refer to New York city or New York state. You
will find more information on prominence, user location, and the viewport in
the following sections to help you determine the intent of this query.

Point of Interest (POI) queries

A point of interest (POI) is a location that people find interesting or useful.

POIs can be locally or
internationally known. These guidelines use a very broad definition of POI in which
businesses are
also considered POIs.

Query Explanation
[London Bridge] This is a query for a famous POI in London.
[Danube River] This is a query for a river in Europe.
[Charing Cross
Station] This is a query for a transit station in London.
[Union Square, SF] This is a query for a location in San Francisco.
Business queries

Business queries contain the name of a specific business.

Query Explanation
[Zola Palo alto]
This is a business query with a location modifier (Palo Alto). The user is
looking for a specific restaurant (Zola) in Palo Alto, CA. Queries can include
location modifiers, like city names, that make them more specific.
[Bookasaurus]
This is a business query with a request for a specific store in Sunnyvale, CA.
The viewport and user location can help pinpoint the desired location for
such a query.
[Starbucks, 7
Boulevard
Poissonnière,
75002 Paris,
France]
This is a query for a chain business followed by a specific address. Chain
businesses are businesses that have more than one location, and include
everything from national chains, like Starbucks, down to small local chains,
like Burrito Boyz. Target, Auchan, Albert Heijn, and Boots are all chain
businesses.
[Target sunnyvale] This is a business query with a request for the chain business
Target and
location modifier of Sunnyvale, CA.

Category queries

A category refers to a group of entities that share a set of characteristics.

Query Explanation
[fast fod]
This query is for locations where fast food is served. Assume the user
wanted the correct version of the query when the query contains a simple
misspelling.
[bus stop] This query requests the locations of bus stops.
[coffee shops] This query requests the locations of businesses that sell coffee.
[gym] This query requests the locations of fitness centers.
[gas San
Francisco]
This query requests the locations of gas stations with a location modifier
of San Francisco.

Product and Service Queries

A product or service query is a query about something that can be purchased at or

is offered by a
business or POI.
Query Explanation
[vanilla latte] This query requests the locations of businesses that sell a
specific type of
coffee drink.
[deep-tissue
massage ]
This query requests the locations of businesses that offer a unique style of
massage.
[school supplies] This query requests the locations of businesses that sell pencil,
pens,
notebooks, and everything else students need for school.
[truck tire repair] This query requests the locations of businesses that offer
truck tire repair
services.
[ATV tours] This query requests the locations of businesses where ATV tours are
available.
[perms] Not every hair salon offers perms, but this query requests the locations of

ones that do.

[deep dish pizza
detroit]
This query requests the locations of places that sell a specific type of pizza
in a particular city.

Coordinate and “My location” queries

Some queries are simply a set of coordinates or the words ”my location” (or
something similar).

Query Explanation
[36.082857,
-115.172916] The user has specified a location using lat/long coordinates.
[my location] The user has typed these (or similar) words to find out where they
are.

Emoji Queries

Some queries are not made using words. Emojis represent the category they picture.
Use the most
literal meaning.

Query Explanation
⛽
The fuel pump represents a search for places to get gas.
🍕
The pizza slice stands for the query “pizza.”
☕
The coffee cup represents the query “coffee.”
Queries with no maps intent

Some queries have no maps intent. They include, but are not limited to, queries
that:

•
Do not refer to a physical location
•
Do refer to a physical location but have an information intent rather than a
location intent
•
Refer to a brand or company with a predominantly online intent, like Groupon or
LinkedIn
•
Ask about the time or weather in a specific location
Rate all results for these queries Bad.
Query Explanation
[eureka
temperature] This is a weather query with no maps intent. Rate all results Bad.
[time in new york
city] This is a “time in” query with no maps intent. Rate all results Bad.
[facebook] This is a query about a company that is mainly used online. It does not
have maps
location intent. Rate all results Bad.
[is cucumber a fruit
or a vegetable]
This is an information-seeking query that has nothing to do with finding a
location.
Rate all results Bad.

2.1.1. Research Expectation

Research will help you understand the user’s query and intent:

• Use a search engine to investigate and understand the query intent

•
Use official resources like businesses’ official websites, national postal service
websites, and
government websites whenever possible
•
Use your own local knowledge
•
Use the information provided in the rating interface
2.2. Result Types
A query can return one of three types of results.

Result Type Explanation Example

Business/POI
Businesses and POI type results
will show a name in the top field,
followed by an address and a
category. The same rating rules will
apply to both Business and POI
results.
Result Type Explanation Example
Address
These results can be one of
multiple address types, including
residential address or locality.
Instead of a business or POI name,
this kind of result will show the first
line of the address in the top field,
followed by the entire address
below. This type of result will not
include a category.
Note: If a result does not include a
category, don’t assume the result
type is an address. You must still
do research to verify this, as not all
POIs will display a category.
Features
without an
expected
address
The results for POIs or features
without an expected address, like
bus stops, bridges, or mountains,
may sometimes look like address
type results. Check to see if the
result includes a category. If it
does, the result refers to a feature
or POI, not an address.
At first glance, the result on the
right might look like it’s for an
intersection. However, since it
includes a category, you can see
that it actually refers to a POI — in
this case, a bus stop.
This result for a landmark square
might be mistaken for a result
referring to a street with the same
name. Since it contains a category,
in this case “Park,” you can see
that it actually refers to a POI.

2.3. Location Intent

A result is considered most relevant when it is located in the user’s area of
expected results. There
are two types of Location Intent:

• Explicit: The query is made clearly and indicates a specific location or area
where results are
expected.
• Implicit: The location expectation is not as clear, so you must use context
clues, in the form
of user location and viewport, to discover the area in which the user is expecting
results.
2.3.1. Explicit Location
When there is an explicit location mentioned in the query, you can ignore the user
and viewport
locations. The user has told you exactly where they want to find results. If the
query contains words
like “near me” or “nearest,” the user’s location, not the viewport location, should
be considered the
explicit location intent.

Query Expected results Notes

[bubble tea tully road san
jose]
Places to buy this drink
on Tully Road in San
Jose.
User and viewport locations should be
ignored.
[Boston museums] Museums in the city of
Boston
User and viewport locations should be
ignored.
[kfc Philadelphia]
The queried chain
business within the
stated locality.
User and viewport locations should be
ignored.
[food near me] Relevant POIs near the
user’s location
Viewport location should be ignored,
even if fresh.
[nearby/nearest
starbucks]
Relevant POIs near the
user’s location
Viewport location should be ignored,
even if fresh.
[my location] Result placed on the
user’s location
Viewport location should be ignored,
even if fresh.

2.3.2. Implicit Location

If the user’s location intent is not expressly stated in the query, for example
[chinese] or [479
margarita ave], use the user location, viewport location, and viewport age to
determine the area of
expected results.

Viewport User Location Location Intent

Inside Viewport
When the user is within a fresh viewport, take the user
location as location intent. Results are generally expected in
or near the viewport, and results inside the area cannot be
rated Bad because of distance alone.
Fresh Outside
Viewport
Results are expected in or near the viewport area. All relevant
results inside the viewport are eligible for a rating of
Excellent. If no results can be found in or near the viewport,
consider the user location a secondary location intent.
Missing When the user is missing, the viewport is the location intent.
Viewport User Location Location Intent
Inside Viewport
When the viewport is stale, consider only the user location as
location intent.
Stale
Outside
Viewport
Missing Use the stale viewport as location intent when the user
location is missing.
Viewport Age
Missing
Present or
Missing Consider the viewport fresh when the viewport age is missing.
Present The user location sets the location intent when the viewport is
not present.
Missing entirely
Missing
When the user location and viewport are missing, the test
locale becomes the location intent with a strong focus on
prominent results.

3.Rating the Query-Level Navigational Result Question

Once you have identified user intent, you will need to answer a query-level
question. You must decide
whether the intent is unique and clear enough that there is only a single
(navigational) result in the
real world that could fully satisfy it.

You will answer this question before you rate any results, since you don’t need to
know what the
results are in order to learn if there’s a real-world result that could fully
satisfy the user’s intent:

• If there is a real-world navigational result for the query, answer Yes

• If there are no possible real-world navigational results for the query, answer No

You will answer this question once for each query, whether or not any results are
shown.
4. Rating Result-Level Issues
For each result, you must check to see whether:

• There is an issue with the language/script of the result name/title

• The business/POI is closed or does not exist
4.1.Result Name/Title in Unexpected Language or Script

A result name or title is in an expected language or script when it is:

• In the language/script of the test locale

• In the language/script of the query
• In a language/script of the result region
• Any combination of any of the languages or scripts described above
• An official company, chain, or brand name commonly used in the market, even if
this is not
any of the languages or scripts described above

Below Left: Result name is Walmart Supercenter (in yellow box), address details are
below (in green box).
Below Right: Result is an address, so the first line of the address appears in the
yellow box as the Address title. All the
address details appear below it in the green box.

When all or part of a result name or title is in an unexpected language or script,

users will not
understand it. In these cases, select the Result name/title is in unexpected
language or script
checkbox. No further rating will be required.

Note: When the address details, found below the name/title, are in an unexpected
language or script,
the result can still be understood and rated for relevance and name accuracy. For
more on what to do
when the address details (not the name or title) are in an unexpected language or
script, see

Language/Script Issue in Address.

Minor Differences in Spelling

Don’t consider minor spelling issues, such as missing or added diacritics (e

instead of é), as
Unexpected Language/Script. This also applies to unnecessary or less relevant parts
of a name or
title. Use this checkbox only to report issues that interfere with understanding
the name/title and
issues listed in your Country Specific guidelines.
4.1.1. Name of Business/POI Results
Pay special attention to the language and script of brand and chain names. See your
Country
Specific guidelines for more information.

Expected Language Explanation Example

Query
The query gives clues as to the
language in which the user
expects results. Any result that
matches the most specific part
of the query or corrects a
spelling issue in the query is
considered to be a result in an
expected language. This also
includes remote results in
foreign countries.
But: Consider official result
name variations and default to
the test locale for very short
queries.
Expected language/script:
•
Test locale: en_US
•
Result in California, USA
•
Query: [mystery]
•
Result name: Mystery Spot
Result name is in English and satisfies
the query.
Unexpected language/script:
•
Test locale: en_US
•
Result in California, USA
•
Query: [market]
•
Result name:
The result name is “Market” in Burmese
script.
Test Locale
and
Query Locale
The language of the test locale
is generally considered an
expected language and script.
If the query is so short that the
language cannot be identified,
assume that the query language
is that of the test locale.
When the test locale and the
query locale differ, consider the
query locale an expected
Expected language/script:
•
Test locale: es_ES
•
Result in California, USA
•
Query: [college]
•
Result name: Colegio Skyline
The result name is in Spanish, which
matches the language of the test locale,
so this result title is expected and
acceptable.
Unexpected language/script:
language, as it provides more
detailed information.
In the example below, the Query
Locale is set to English in
Indonesia. Therefore English is
an expected language:
• Query Locale: en_ID
• Test Locale: id_ID
•
Test locale: en_US
•
Result in California, USA
•
Query: [college]
•
Result name: Colegio Skyline
“Colegio” is in Spanish, but the test
locale is in English, so the result title is in
an unexpected language.
Expected Language Explanation Example
Result region
The language/script of the
result’s region is expected as
the result language.
Expected language/script:
•
Test locale: en_US
•
Result in Rio de Janeiro, BR
•
Query: [beach]
•
Result name: Praia de Copacabana
Result satisfies the category “beach” and
the result’s name is in Latin script and the
Portuguese language, which is the
language of Brazil.
Unexpected language/script:
•
Test locale: en_US
•
Result in Rio, BR
•
Query: [beach]
•
Result name: Playa de Copacabana
Though the result name is in the same
script as the test locale and query
language, returning the name in Spanish
is unexpected language because the
language of Brazil is Portuguese.
Expected Language Explanation Example
Brand, chain, and
business names
Any official brand, chain , or
business name in the language
of the result’s region or the
official brand name commonly
used in the market, even if it is
not in the language of the
query, test locale, or result
region, is expected.
In bilingual areas, official
names in any of the languages
of the area are expected,
unless otherwise specified in
the Country Specific
Guidelines.
Expected language/script:
•
Test locale: ar_SA
•
Result in Riyadh, SA
•
Query: [ [‫ماكدونالدز‬
•
Result name: McDonald's
The name of this restaurant is in the
language of the official brand name.
Expected language/script:
•
Test locale: ar_SA
•
Result in Riyadh, SA
•
Query: [ [‫ماكدونالدز‬
•
Result name: [ [‫ماكدونالدز‬
The name of this restaurant is in the
language of the region
Unexpected language/script:
•
Test locale: ar_SA
•
Result in Riyadh, SA
•
Query: [ [‫ماكدونالدز‬
•
Result name: [マクドナルド]
The name of this restaurant is in
Japanese, which is not the language of
the query, the locale, the result region,
or the official brand name.
4.1.2. Title of Address Results
Unlike business/POI results, address results do not have an actual name. Instead,
the first line of the
address appears as the title. Rate Result name/title is in unexpected Language or
Script when
the title (first line of the address) is in an unexpected language or script.

Localized and Non-Localized Components

Address results often cannot be translated and are accepted in the original version
of the result
location. Some features, however, are translated into the test locale’s language,
especially for
bilingual or English-speaking areas. Although the preferred language is the test
locale’s language, the
query language and language of the result’s location are also accepted.

Localized components may include:

• City
• State
• Country
Appropriate localization depends on the result itself and the language it is
translated into. Research
and local knowledge will help you decide if the translation has been done
appropriately.
Components that are not typically localized include:

• Feature type (square, bridge, roundabout, or intersection)

• Street names and street addresses including building names
Use the Address Accuracy Incorrect – Language/Script Issue checkbox if you find
issues of this
nature in any of the address components in the address details (not the address
title) of any result.

4.2. Business/POI is Closed or Does not Exist

Use this checkbox when, after careful research you determine that a result is:

• Closed/non-existent
• Randomly moving (like a food truck without a fixed schedule)
• A non-recurring past event with no further significance that does not carry any
maps intent
Important: If you rate a result as Business/POI is closed or does not exist, you
must still give a
relevance rating as if the place were open or did exist.
Remember, this rating can only be applied to business or POI results, not to
address type results.
Use this checkbox to indicate a POI has closed only if there is evidence to prove
the business
indicated in the result is no longer operational.

When you can’t make a decision about business closure due to lack of resources,
assume the
business could exist and rate the name, address, and pin accuracy as Can’t Verify
(unless there is
an obvious data issue like a missing mandatory address component or a pin in the
ocean).

Note: Businesses and POIs can close for construction, remodeling, vacations, or
other reasons. Treat
all temporarily closed businesses as if they were open when the closure is
announced on the
business/POI webpage or managed social media page. There is no limit to how long
the closure
can be.

4.2.1. Closed/Does Not Exist vs. Inaccurate Name and Address

It is important to understand what the result really is before making your rating.
If your research
reveals that the business has an incorrect name or address, use the drop-down
rating options to
signal precisely what is wrong. Use the Business/POI is closed or does not exist
checkbox only for
the specified purposes. See Unclear Results for more guidance and examples.

4.2.2. Rating Relevance of Closed/Non-Existing Business/POI

Special consideration is required when rating a closed/non-existing business/POI.
Please review
section 4.3 carefully with regards to the status and permanently closed vs. open.

Never automatically demote to Bad simply because of closure. (You may find other
reasons to
demote to Bad, but closure should not be the sole reason for the demotion.)

4.3. Business/POI Status is PERMANENT_CLOSURE

The following chapter offers a high-level introduction to rating closed/non-
existing businesses/POIs
in relation to their status (displayed as part of the result information). It
addresses Relevance and
Data rating. Please also review the more specific guidance in the associated
relevance chapter.

Note: No matter what is displayed in the status section of the tool, you must
always research the
business/POI to determine whether it is open or not.

This chart shows the possible combinations of status displayed in TryRating plus a
result’s actual
state based on your research.

Real-World State Confirmed by

Research TryRating Status Comments
Open/Exists None Rate as usual
Closed/Does not Exist None Rate as usual
Real-World State Confirmed by
Research TryRating Status Comments
Closed/Does not Exist PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Rate relevance based on
whether result is expected/
unexpected. See 5.19.
Open/Exists PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Rate relevance based on
whether result is expected/
unexpected. See 5.19.

4.3.1. No Status Shown

When no result status shown or the status is blank, you must research to determine
whether the
business/POI is open or closed/does not exist in the real world. Use the
Business/POI is closed or
does not exist checkbox when needed.

Rate the result relevance as if the business/POI were open or did exist. Use your
best judgement to
determine how well the result satisfies user intent within the area of expected
results.

4.3.2.Status Shown as PERMANENT_CLOSURE

When the result status is PERMANENT_CLOSURE, follow the research steps to determine
if the
business in fact is open in real world or not, and use the Business/POI is closed
or does not exist
checkbox when needed.

The relevance rating for a result with PERMANENT_CLOSURE status depends on whether
this result
is expected or unexpected based on the specific relevance guidance in 5.19. Rating
Relevance when
Status is set to PERMANENT_CLOSURE and 10.8. Permanently Closed Results

5.Relevance
Relevance for each result is found by assessing the relationship between:

• Satisfying user intent

• Prominence
• Distance
Complete each step of this workflow before assigning your relevance rating.

General Rating Rules

• Rate each result individually and demote based on relevance and distance.
• Always rate against the real world: If there is a better result available but it
is not shown,
demote the existing result(s) considering the missing one(s).
• Ignore the order of the results and evaluate each one individually.
• Ignore duplicate results and rate them individually. Do not demote for
repetition.
• If there are results that are extremely inappropriate or illegal, rate Bad.
Identify such content
by determining if the result is likely to be embarrassing if seen by users.
Rate the relevance of each result without considering the accuracy of the
name/category,
address, or pin.
When judging distance/prominence, ignore closed or nonexistent results.

Adult Content

Businesses and POIs with legal adult content are rated:

• Navigational to Bad if the query clearly requests this type of content

• Bad if the query does not imply such an intent
5.1. Query-Result Connection
For a result to satisfy a query to any degree, there must be some kind of
relationship between them.
Your first task is to understand what this connection is.

Satisfying the user intent is only the first step in the rating process and covers
the minimum
requirements for a result to be considered relevant.

33
5.1.1. General Connection
A result can satisfy user intent for multiple reasons, but most often the result
satisfies the most
specific part of the query’s intent. This kind of relationship between query and
result is called a
General Connection.

User Query Result Type of

Connection Description
[marriot]
San Francisco
Marriott Union
Square
General
Satisfies Intent: Users are likely to start their
search with the name of the brand “Marriott”.
Result satisfies user intent by providing a
Marriott close to a user/viewport located in the
San Francisco area.
[Houston
airport]
George Bush
Intercontinental General
Satisfies Intent: The user is looking for an
airport in the city of Houston. This is an airport
in Houston, which satisfies user intent.
[london,
brighton] London General
Satisfies Intent: The query contains two
different cities, so it’s likely a routing query.
Returning either of the individual results is
expected and should be rated Excellent.

5.1.2. Abbreviation/Alternate Name Connection

The query is an abbreviation or alternate name and the result provides the full and
currently accurate
name.

User Query Result Type of

Connection Description
[ewr]
Newark Liberty
International
Airport
Abbreviation Satisfies Intent: The international airport code
for Newark Liberty International Airport is EWR.
[sears tower] Willis Tower Alternate
Name
Satisfies Intent: The result is the correct name
of what was formerly known as the Sears Tower.

5.1.3. Category Connection

The query is a category and the result satisfies that specific category, which may
or may not be
displayed within the information provided in the result.

User Query Result Type of

Connection Description
[food] La Ciccia Category
Satisfies Intent: A category search for "food"
in a viewport over San Francisco returns an
Italian restaurant there.
5.1.4. Spell Correction Connection
The query is misspelled and the result corrects that issue. This kind of connection
only applies to
obvious issues when no result for the actual query exists at the user’s location or
when the user intent
is clearly satisfied by the spell-corrected results.

This kind of correction also happens when a query address does not exist but the
result address
does, correcting the issue and creating a match.

User Query Result Type of

Connection Description
[aple store] apple store Spell
Correction
Satisfies Intent: The result corrects the user's
spelling mistake.
Lodz Łódź
Spell
Correction
Satisfies Intent: This query suggestion for the
Polish market adds the diacritics the user may
have missed when typing the query.
[23 Clair
street]
23 Clair
Boulevard
Spell
Correction
Satisfies Intent: When there is no "Clair St"
within or around the viewport/user, consider a
“Clair Boulevard" that is close to the viewport/
user as the most likely intent.

5.1.5. Transit Intent Connection

The result satisfies the transit intent of the query. If the query indicates a
specific transit system, the
result must match that system. There is also a transit intent connection when a
station provides
access to more than one transit service and the queried one is included.

User Query Result Type of

Connection Description
[bart] Richmond BART
Station
Transit
Intent
Satisfies Intent: Result satisfies user intent by
providing a close station that runs the requested
transit service for a user/viewport located in the
Richmond area.

5.1.6. Special Character Connection

Always consider the specific language conventions. In general, user intent is
satisfied when:

• The query contains a special character and the result is a valid variation (if
applicable).
• The query does not include a special character but the result with special
characters adds
value to the user and is therefore considered spell corrected.
• The country or language does not have the special character and it is generally
perceived as
a form of expression or style (like “café” in English).
User Query Result Type of
Connection Description
[möllersdorf] Moellersdorf Special
Characters
Satisfies Intent: "oe" is a valid variation for the
special character "ö" in the country/language of
the result (Germany/German).

5.1.7. Address-Result Connection

When a query address and a result address are not exactly the same, the kind of
connection they
have depends on their relationship:

• Street number is the same in both query and result but the unit number is
different or missing:
• If neither address is a street extension, rate result relevance Good when:
▪
The query contains a unit number and the result does not.
▪
The result contains a unit number and the query does not.
▪
The query contains one unit number and the result contains another.
• The query is full address including street number and name and the result is the
street name
only:
• Since this result is an unlikely secondary intent, rate relevance as Acceptable.
•
Query is for a street [Main Street, Pleasanton, CA] result is just the locality
(Pleasanton, CA).
• Rate the result relevance Bad as it does not satisfy the user intent.
User Query Result Type of
Connection Description
[357 western
ave suite 1]
357 Western
Ave
St. Johnsbury, VT
Address
Satisfies Intent: The result does not include
the unit number requested in the query so its
relevance is rated Good.
[357 western
ave suite 1]
357 Western
Ave Suite 2
St. Johnsbury, VT
Address
Satisfies Intent: The result has the same
street number but a different unit number from
the address in the query, so its relevance is
rated Good.
[357 western
ave suite 1]
Western Ave
St. Johnsbury, VT Address
Satisfies Intent: Instead of returning the full
address requested, the result provides only the
street name. This is an unlikely secondary
intent, so relevance is demoted to an initial
rating of Acceptable.
[357 western
ave st.
johnsbury]
St. Johnsbury,
VT Address
Does not satisfy user intent: Instead of
returning the full address requested, the result
provides only the locality. This does not satisfy
the user intent, so relevance is rated Bad.

5.1.8. Lack of Connection

If the result does not satisfy the user intent either because there is no
relationship between the query
intent and the result or because the connection between the query intent and result
will not be
immediately obvious to the user, rate the result relevance Bad.
User Query Result
Type of
Connecti
on
Description
[airport]
Santa Cruz
Boardwalk
Santa Cruz
None
Does not satisfy user intent: Research
shows that there is no connection between the
query and the result. Rate Bad.
[Raging Waters
2333 South
White Rd
San Jose]
2333 South
White Rd
San Jose
None
Does not satisfy user intent: Result is for
the correct address, but does not include the
business named in the query, so users will
have no way of knowing if this is truly
connected to the business or not. Rate Bad.
[Raging Waters]
2333 South
White Rd
San Jose
None
Does not satisfy user intent: Query is the
name of a business and result is for the
correct address, but does not include the
business name. Users will have no way of
knowing whether or not this address is
connected to the business they asked for.
Rate Bad.
[valley fair mall]
Macy’s
2801 Stevens
Creek Blvd,
Santa Clara
None
Does not satisfy user intent: Result is for a
store, not a mall. This store is inside the
requested mall, but does not satisfy the intent
of the query, which is the whole mall.
Rate Bad.
[macy’s]
Westfield
Valley Fair
2855 Stevens
Creek Blvd,
Santa Clara
None
Does not satisfy user intent: Result is for a
mall, not a store. This mall contains the
requested store, but this result is the whole
mall, not the single store the user asked for.
Rate Bad.
[costco]
Costco
Gasoline
1601 Coleman
Ave, Santa
Clara
None
Does not satisfy user intent: Result is for a
Costco gas station, not a Costco store. The
store and the station are at the same address
and share a brand name, but the result is not
what the user asked for and does not satisfy
the query intent. Rate Bad.
[costco gas]
Costco
1601
Coleman Ave,
Santa Clara
None
Does not satisfy user intent: Result is for a
Costco store, not a Costco gas station. The
store and the station are at the same address
and share a brand name, but the result is not
what the user asked for and does not satisfy
the query intent. Rate Bad.
5.2. Satisfying User Intent
The user’s intent can be determined by considering the query, the user’s
location/viewport, and your
local knowledge. Sometimes queries are ambiguous or can have multiple
interpretations.

In order to determine a query’s primary and secondary intent, look at the

relationship between the
query and the result. Ask yourself:

• Is there a logical relationship between the query and the result?

• How likely is the user to be looking for this result given the query and the
location intent?
Intent Type Definition Highest Initial Rating
Primary Intent Result satisfies the most obvious and likely user
intent
Navigational or
Excellent
Secondary Intent A result which is less likely to be the user’s intent.
Results matching secondary intent are often not as
prominent as the originally queried entity but still
satisfy the intent of the query.
Good (User Intent)
Unlikely Intent A result which matches the query but is very
unlikely to be the user’s intent.
Acceptable (User Intent)
Non-Relevant
Intent
There are issues that make the result useless for the
user.
Bad (User Intent)

For any Relevance Rating of Good or below, you must select the appropriate check
box(es) to
indicate the reason(s)for demotion: User Intent and/or Distance/Prominence. If both
reasons apply,
use both checkboxes.

When determining intent, keep in mind:

• It is rare that a navigational query will have multiple primary intents.

• Rating one result Navigational and one Excellent within the same set of results
is also rare,
but possible (see examples in Navigational Results for Category Queries).
• A navigational query will most often produce one result that satisfies the
distinct intent and
multiple other results that satisfy a secondary intent or do not satisfy the intent
at all. This
means there will be one result rated Navigational and all other results will be
rated Good or
Acceptable for secondary intent or Bad for not satisfying user intent.
• Most non-navigational queries will produce results that are rated from Excellent
to Bad.
• Since the queries were made by actual users, there will be cases where a query is
gibberish or
has no maps intent. Do your best to understand it and see how well the results fit
the user’s
intent, but don't be shy about assigning a Bad rating if a result doesn’t fit.
Satisfying the user intent is only the first step in the rating process and covers
the minimum
requirements for a result to be considered relevant. The rating determined by
deciding how well
intent is met is called the Initial Rating. Distance and prominence will be
considered next in order
to establish the final rating.
5.3. Prominence
Once you’ve made an initial rating by establishing that there is a relationship
between the query and
the result and determining the intent type, consider the result’s prominence.

The prominence of a feature refers to its popularity, including the number of

people visiting and media
sources referencing it. Prominence can vary based on the test locale and even local
knowledge.
Consider the following list to get a general idea how to establish prominence,
ordered from the most
prominent to the least prominent:

• The feature is known internationally

• The feature is known in the country
• The feature is known in the region
• The feature is known locally
• The feature may not even be known locally
A result that may not directly appear to be user intent can be promoted for being
internationally
prominent.

Query Result Rating and Explanation

Relevance Navigational
Sydney, Australia The city of Sydney is clearly the user's primary
intent.
Relevance Good (User Intent)
[Sydney]
Sydney Opera House
Sydney, NSW, Australia
The Opera House does not satisfy primary intent.
However, it is promoted to secondary intent due
to its international prominence.
Sydney Town Hall
483 George St,
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Australia
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
The Sydney Town Hall does not satisfy primary
intent. While the civic center is historically
important, it is not internationally prominent and
will not be promoted to secondary intent.
Sydney Buses Depot
Randwick
34-36 King St, Randwick
NSW 2031, Australia
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
The depot matches the query string but is
unlikely to be the user’s intent and has very low
prominence given how many other internationally
prominent POIs Sydney has to offer.
Agra
Uttar Pradesh, India
Relevance Navigational
Query is for a small locality in India and the result
satisfies the user intent.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Relevance Good (User Intent)
[Agra]
Taj Mahal
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Result is for a prominent site in the queried
locality. The Taj Mahal does not satisfy the user’s
primary intent. However, it is promoted to
secondary intent due to the international
prominence of the feature in the queried locality.
Relevance Navigational
[japan]
(User is in
Seattle)
Japan The country of Japan is clearly the user’s
primary intent.
Sarku Japan
401 NE Northgate Way
Seattle, WA 98125
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
A chain restaurant with “Japan” in its name does
not satisfy the query’s primary intent (the
country of Japan) or any secondary intent
(entities with international prominence).

5.4.Distance

Generally, the farther away the result is from the area of expected results, the
less desirable it
becomes. This is especially true for queries highly driven by distance to the
user/viewport, such as
chain businesses, hospitals, pharmacies, or grocery stores.

Because the user can be offered many possible results that are all very similar,
the closest entities
providing the expected service can be considered the best options. Results which
are farther away
are less relevant and should be demoted according to their additional distance.
Defining what is close
and what is far depends on the context of each individual query. Factors affecting
distance include:

• Number of possible results in the real world

• Distribution of all possible results
• Population density (rural, urban, or suburban)
Distance refers to the direct distance from one point to another and is measured
via a straight line.
There is no need to account for the actual distance required to travel from one
point to the other, such
as driving distance.
Viewport Location Intent (see section 2.3.2)
Fresh Viewport, User Inside
When the user is within a fresh viewport, the user’s location should be
used as the location intent. All ratings made should be based on the
user’s location. Results inside the fresh viewport may be demoted
based on distance to the user but they cannot be demoted by 3 (to
Bad) for distance alone.
Note: Consider the viewport fresh when the viewport age is missing.
Fresh Viewport, User outside
When the user is outside the fresh viewport, the fresh viewport should
be used as the location intent. All ratings should be based on the
fresh viewport’s location and any results within the fresh viewport
receive No demotion for distance.
Note: If no results can be found in or near the viewport, use the user
location as a secondary location intent.
Stale Viewport
When the viewport is stale, the user’s position is considered the
location intent whether the user is inside or outside of the viewport.
Note: If the user is missing, use the stale viewport as location intent.
Do not demote a result for distance when:

•
This is the closest possible result, even if it is far away from the area of
expected results.
•
Other, closer results are found to be closed or non-existent.
Demote a result for distance when:

•
Other results that satisfy the query and provide the same or similar service are
closer.
5.5. Distance vs. Prominence
Once you’ve decided how relevant the result is based on user intent, consider the
result in the
context of all possible results in the real world. Use the distance to the user or
viewport and the
prominence of the result to decide if a demotion should be applied.

A result’s fit to user intent, prominence, and distance should all be relative to
the query and the
context around the query. Before deciding whether to demote because of prominence
or distance, it’s
important to look at:

• The type of area around the result – rural, urban, or suburban

• The number of businesses that satisfy the query
• The distance to the user or viewport
The following examples of multiple query/result pairs will demonstrate how to
interpret the
relationship between distance, prominence, and satisfying the user’s intent. The
examples address
common rating situations and explain how to evaluate the relevance of the results.

5.6. Many Possible Results

Some queries, like [starbucks], have many results that could satisfy the user. In
cases like this,
distance is more important than prominence, so results that are closer to the
user’s location/viewport
should be rated higher than results that are farther away. To illustrate the high
density of Starbucks,
possible results are shown as purple dots.
User Inside Fresh Viewport

When the user is inside the viewport, consider all possible results, including
real-world results not
returned for rating (purple dots), and demote by distance from the user.

Query and Screenshot Result Rating and Explanation

①
Starbucks Relevance Excellent
865 Market
Street
Rate Excellent for Starbucks locations that are in
close proximity to the user.
[starbucks]
User and fresh viewport in San
Francisco, CA
②
Starbucks
170 O’Farrell St
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
Rate Good for locations that are a bit farther
away from the closest relevant locations to the
user.
③
Starbucks
264 Kearny St
Relevance Acceptable (Distance/
Prominence)
Rate Acceptable for relevant locations that are
even farther away from the user but still inside
the viewport.
④
Starbucks
580 California
St
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
When there are many locations close to the user,
rate Bad for locations that are significantly farther
away and outside the viewport.
⑤
Starbucks
140 Mason
Street
Relevance Excellent
Rate Excellent for Starbucks locations that are in
close proximity to the user, even if they are
outside the viewport.
User Outside Fresh Viewport

When a user is outside the viewport, results are expected in or near the viewport.
In cases where
there are a large number of possible results inside the viewport, even if they are
not returned for
rating (purple dots), rate Bad for those outside it.

Query and Screenshot Result Rating and Explanation

Relevance Excellent
①
Starbucks
865 Market
Street
Rate any Starbucks within the fresh viewport
Excellent when the user is outside the viewport.
[starbucks]
User in Alameda with fresh
viewport in San Francisco, CA
②
Starbucks
170 O’Farrell St
Relevance Excellent
Rate any Starbucks within the fresh viewport
Excellent when the user is outside the viewport.
③
Starbucks
264 Kearny St
Relevance Excellent
Rate any Starbucks within the fresh viewport
Excellent when the user is outside the viewport.
④
Starbucks
580 California
St
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
When there are many possible results within the
viewport, including those not returned for rating
(purple dots), rate Bad for results outside it.
⑤
Starbucks
140 Mason
Street
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
When there are many possible results within the
viewport, including those not returned for rating
(purple dots), rate Bad for results outside it.
5.7. Few Possible Results
When the query has only a few results in the real world, be more lenient when
considering distance.
Because there are only a few Zara clothing stores in Miami, results for the query
[zara] are demoted
more leniently for distance than the many Starbucks locations in the example above.

Query and Screenshot Result Rating and Explanation

① Zara Relevance Excellent
19501 Biscayne
Blvd, Aventura Rate Excellent for the closest Zara location, even
when outside the fresh viewport.
②
Zara Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
[zara]
User and fresh viewport in North
Miami Beach, FL
420 Lincoln
Rd, Miami
Beach
When there aren’t any possible results in the
fresh viewport, rate Good for locations that are a
bit farther away from the user/viewport.
③
Zara
590 Collins
Ave, Miami
Beach
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
When there aren’t any possible results in the
fresh viewport, rate Good for locations that are a
bit farther away from the user/viewport.
④
Zara
701 S Miami
Ave, Miami
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
When there aren’t any possible results in the
fresh viewport, rate Good for locations that are a
bit farther away from the user/viewport.
⑤
Zara
7535 N Kendall
Dr, Miami
Relevance Acceptable (Distance/
Prominence)
The Zara store is located significantly further
away than the second closest stores and is
therefore rated Acceptable.
5.8. Few Possible Results and Greater Distance
Leniency on distance is acceptable when there are only a few possible results for
the query in the
requested area. For example, a user close to Berlin queries for [Wartestraße],
which is a street
name. There are only four streets in Germany called “Wartestraße” that can satisfy
the user’s intent
and all four streets are returned as results. Because of the limited number of
results, each result’s
relevance remains fairly high even over longer distances.

Query and Screenshot Result Rating and Explanation

[Wartestraße] Relevance Excellent
User and
fresh viewport close to Berlin,
Germany
①
Wartestraße,
Gransee
Wartestraße in Gransee is the closest to the
user and viewport and is therefore the most
relevant.
②
Wartestraße,
Siegen
③
Wartestraße,
Wiesbaden
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
Wartestraße in Siegen is far away from the
user, but is the second closest possible result.
Wartestraße in Wiesbaden is at a similar
distance from the user as the one in Siegen
and receives the same rating.
④
Wartestraße,
Geislingen
[Wartestraße]
User and
fresh viewport
close to Berlin,
Germany
Relevance Acceptable (Distance/
Prominence)
Wartestraße in Geislingen is the fourth closest
result but significantly farther away. Given all
other results and their distances, this result is
rated Acceptable.
5.9. Rural Areas
Results are often farther away in rural areas, but can still be considered relevant
if there are no
reasonable results close to or within the fresh viewport. In a rural area,
generosity can be applied to
ratings with respect to distance. The criteria for rating are similar to the [zara]
example in the Few
possible results section, but with an emphasis on distance. Here is an example for
the query
[american legion] in North Dakota.

Query Result Rating and Explanation

①
American
Relevance Excellent
[american legion]
Legion This result is closest to the user
based in Bismarck, ND.
②
American
Legion
Relevance Good
The second-closest result is
significantly further north than the
closest result.
③
American
Legion
Relevance Acceptable
While quite remote from the user, this
result is still a good option for the
user given that there are only two
closer results.
􀋠􀀁American
Legion
Relevance Acceptable
Like result 3, this location quite far
away but is still an acceptable result
given that there are only two
significantly closer results available
to the user.
5.10. Location – User Intent Deviation
When the location intent and user intent do not allow for a clear result (because
either the user or
viewport are in an atypical location, like the middle of the ocean), rate with a
focus on high
prominence. For example, the query [Hong Kong] in a test locale set to en_US with
the viewport and
user location around Naples, Italy. There is no real change in rating if the user
is inside or outside of
the viewport, or if the viewport is fresh or stale.

Query and Screenshot Relevance Rating Explanation

[Hong Kong]
User and
Fresh Viewport close to Naples, Italy
Navigational The most prominent result is the
territory of Hong Kong in Asia.
Excellent
Businesses/locations with the same
name that are within the viewport or
close proximity to the user and
prominent. (This will be rare.)
Bad (Distance/
Prominence)
Locations that are too far away and
less prominent to be considered
relevant should be rated Bad. A
restaurant in Rome named “Hong
Kong” should be rated Bad
because it is very far away from the
user location, which is in Naples.
5.11. Rating for User Inside and Outside Viewport
The following two examples show the differences in rating when a user is inside and
outside a fresh
viewport. The query is for a chain business called Great Wolf Lodge found across
the United States.
The examples show all possible results within and around the large viewport.

In general, when the user is outside the fresh viewport, no result within the
viewport is demoted for
distance. The only exception to this is when the viewport is large enough to
include an unusually
large area, like an entire continent, and the results within it would not
realistically be useful or
interesting to a user with this query.

(Note that even though the viewport in the example below is large, because of the
limited number of
Great Wolf Lodges with it, the results still might be useful or interesting to a
user with this query.)

Query and Screenshot Result Rating and Explanation

[great wolf lodge]
User in Savannah outside large,
fresh viewport
①
Great Wolf Lodge
Atlanta
Relevance Excellent
The result is within the fresh viewport
and fulfills the primary user intent.
②
Great Wolf Lodge
Charlotte
Relevance Excellent
The result is within the fresh viewport
and fulfills the primary user intent.
③
Great Wolf Lodge
Williamsburg
Relevance Excellent
The result is within the fresh viewport
and fulfills the primary user intent.
④
Great Wolf Lodge
Pocono Mountains
Relevance Good/Acceptable
(Distance/Prominence)
The result is outside the fresh viewport.
Because there are a limited number of
possible results within the viewport and
this one is relatively close, demote to
Good or Acceptable.
⑤
Great Wolf Lodge
Niagara Falls
Relevance Excellent
The result is within the fresh viewport
and fulfills the primary user intent.
⑥
Great Wolf Lodge
Traverse City
Relevance Good/Acceptable
(Distance/Prominence)
The result is outside the fresh viewport.
Because there are a limited number of
possible results within the viewport and
this one is relatively close, demote to
Good or Acceptable.
When the user is inside the fresh viewport, the user's location is used as location
intent and results
are demoted for distance.

Query and Screenshot Result Rating and Explanation

[great wolf lodge]
User in Savannah inside large,
fresh viewport
①
Great Wolf Lodge
Atlanta
Relevance Excellent
This result is amongst the closest
possible to the user and is inside the
fresh viewport.
②
Great Wolf Lodge
Charlotte
Relevance Excellent
This result is amongst the closest
possible to the user and is inside the
fresh viewport.
③
Great Wolf Lodge
Williamsburg
Relevance Good (Distance/
Prominence)
Though still inside the fresh viewport,
this result is significantly farther away
from the user location with closer
options available.
④
Great Wolf Lodge
Pocono Mountains
Relevance Bad (Distance/
Prominence)
This result not only is very far away from
the user, it is also outside the fresh
viewport.
⑤
Great Wolf Lodge
Niagara Falls
Relevance Acceptable
(Distance/Prominence)
While very far away from the user, this
suggestion is still within the fresh
viewport and therefore rated
Acceptable.
⑥
Great Wolf Lodge
Traverse City
Relevance Bad (Distance/
Prominence)
This result is not only very far away from
the user, it is also outside the fresh
viewport.
5.12. Partial Address Does Not Exist
Relevance is always rated independently of any data (name, address, or pin
accuracy) issues the
result may have. This includes results for addresses that do not exist in real
life.

When judging distance for existing addresses do not factor in any returned non-
existent addresses.
Evaluate distance separately for existent and non-existent addresses. Do not demote
existing
address results when closer, non-existent addresses are returned.

For example, a user in Half Moon Bay, CA is looking for [2373 chestnut] and is
presented with three
residential addresses. The address in San Francisco is the only one that actually
exists. The results in
Oakland and Redwood City are not supported by the postal authorities and no
evidence can be found
that the addresses in either city exist.

Note: For cases where the query is a unique full address that does not exist and
the result matches
the query, see Query Address does not Exist.

Query and Screenshot Result Rating and Explanation

Relevance Excellent
[2373 chestnut]
User and Fresh Viewport
around Half Moon Bay, CA
2373 Chestnut St,
San Francisco
This is the closest existing result. The address
in Redwood City is disregarded and its
relevance is not promoted nor demoted for
Distance/Prominence because it does not
exist.
2373 Chestnut St,
Redwood City
Relevance Excellent
This is closer to the user than the existing
result in San Francisco. Because data issues
are not part of the relevance rating, the result
is rated Excellent due to proximity and user
intent. Address accuracy is rated Incorrect –
Address does not exist.
2373 Chestnut St,
Oakland
Relevance Good/Acceptable
(Distance/Prominence)
This is significantly farther away than the
existing result in San Francisco and the nonexistent
result in Redwood City, and is
demoted in relevance. Address accuracy is
rated Incorrect – Address does not exist.
5.13. City vs. Municipality
In many cases, a city and a state/county/municipality (or other similar market-
specific components)
have the same name, but the city is typically more prominent. In this case, the
chances that a user is
looking for the state/county/municipality and not the city, are very small, but
still a possibility.
Therefore, states, counties, and municipalities will be treated as a secondary
intent and given an
initial rating of Good. Consider the relationship between the city and the
municipality in terms of their
locale and adjust if necessary. On the other hand, if the query specifically
requests the state/county/
municipality, that result’s relevance should be rated as Navigational and the city
should be rated
Bad.

See your Country Specific guidelines for more information.

Query Result Rating and Explanation

[new york]
New York City
New York, USA
Relevance Navigational
The result is for the city, which is considered more
prominent than the state.
New York State
New York State, USA
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
Result is for the state, which is less prominent than the
city.
[santa clara]
Santa Clara
Santa Clara, CA
Relevance Navigational
Query is for the city, which is considered more
prominent than the county.
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, CA
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
Query is for the city, which is considered more
prominent than the county.
[santa clara
county] Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, CA
Relevance Navigational
Query is specifically requesting the county, so the
result for the county will be rated Navigational.
Santa Clara
Santa Clara, CA
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Query is for the county and a result for the city is
considered irrelevant for the query.

5.14.Unexpected Results

Straightforward queries can have unexpected results which at first glance might not
fit the query
intent. For these kinds of results, consider:

• Is there a logical relationship between the query and the result?

• How likely is it that the user is going to be looking for this result given the
query and location
intent?
A result can partially satisfy a secondary intent due to:
• Prominence of the feature
• Transit intent
Promoting for prominence should only occur for internationally prominent POIs.

In the examples below, two ratings are provided for some results: Good and
Acceptable. The
difference between the two ratings rests in how well the result satisfies user
intent. Choose Good if
there is a strong likelihood that it will satisfy user intent and Acceptable if it
is less likely to satisfy.

Query Result Rating and Explanation

[mission & 14th
street]
User and fresh
viewport in San
Francisco, CA
Mission St & 14th St
San Francisco, CA
Relevance Navigational
Query is for an intersection and the result
satisfies the user intent.
Mission St & 14th St Bus
Stop
San Francisco, CA
Relevance Good/Acceptable (User Intent)
Result is for the bus stop at the queried
intersection. The bus stop carries the name of
the intersection and users tend to look for
intersections when seeking transit POIs.
[soho]
User and viewport in
London, UK
Soho
London, UK
Relevance Navigational
Query is for a neighborhood in London and the
result satisfies the user intent.
Mildreds Restaurant
45 Lexington St, Carnaby,
London W1F 9AN, UK
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Result is for a specific restaurant in Soho. It is
very unlikely to satisfy the user intent.
[stevens creek
blvd cupertino]
User and fresh
viewport in
Cupertino, CA
Happy Lamb Hot Pot
19062 Stevens Creek Blvd,
Cupertino, CA, 95014
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
The query is for a street and the result is a
specific business on that street. This specific
result is unlikely to satisfy the broad intent of the
query.
19062 Stevens Creek
Blvd
Cupertino, CA, 95014
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
The result includes a street number when the
query is for a street, making this result too
specific for the more general query.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
[The Slanted
Door
One Ferry
Building #3
San Francisco,
California 94111]
One Ferry Building #3
One Ferry Building #3 San
Francisco, CA 94111
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Result is for the address and not the business
requested in the query, so it does not satisfy the
user intent.
[One Ferry
Building #3 San
Francisco,
California 94111]
The Slanted Door
One Ferry Building #3
San Francisco, CA 94111
Relevance Navigational
The query is for an address and the result is the
business at this address. Including the business
name provides additional correct information.
[san francisco]
User and fresh
viewport in San
Francisco, CA
San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Relevance Navigational
Query is for the city of San Francisco and the
result satisfies the user intent.
San Francisco
International Airport
San Francisco, CA
Relevance Good (User Intent)
The result represents the airport within the
queried locality, which satisfies the secondary
transit intent.
The Pruneyard
The Pruneyard
1875 South Bascom Ave
Campbell, CA
Relevance Navigational
The query is for a mall and the result is the mall
the user asked for.
Pruneyard Cinemas
1875 South Bascom Ave
Campbell, CA
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
The query is for an entire mall and the result is
for a cinema inside the mall. Even though the
cinema shares the mall’s name and address, it
does not match the query intent.

5.15. Multiple Transit POIs with the Same Name

Many large transit POIs include multiple means of transportation at the same
location. For example,
large airports can have metro or train service within the same location, or train
stations can be a hub
for trains, metros, and buses. Other transit POIs at the queried transit POI should
be treated as
secondary intent with an initial rating of Good, but can also be considered
Acceptable if the result is
less likely to satisfy the user’s intent. Additional demotions can be applied based
on the prominence
of the returned feature.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Hamburg Airport Relevance Navigational
22335 Hamburg, Germany Result is for the queried airport.
Relevance Good (User Intent)
[hamburg airport]
User and fresh
viewport in Germany
Hamburg Airport Station
22335 Hamburg, Germany Result refers to the train station at Hamburg
Airport.
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Lufthansa Basis
22335 Hamburg, Germany
The result is for a small bus stop that seems to
service the Lufthansa training center. The result
does not share the same name as the queried
transit. Therefore, the result is not relevant.
Relevance Navigational
[Embarcadero
Station]
User and fresh
viewport in San Jose,
CA
Embarcadero Station
San Francisco, CA
The query is for a unique transit station. The
result (a unique BART station) fully satisfies the
user’s intent.
Ferry Building &
Embarcadero Station
San Francisco, CA
Relevance Acceptable (User Intent &
Distance/Prominence)
The result (a historic streetcar) name includes
the queried station name, but has low
prominence, given that there is a unique
Embarcadero Station. Therefore, the result
should be demoted based on user intent.

5.16. POIs and Transit Intent

A non-transit POI can be associated with a transit POI with the same name. You can
establish the
relationship between the two entities by using local knowledge, researching
prominence, and
understanding how well the result satisfies user intent. This way you will learn
whether the query has
a distinct navigational intent or if the prominence of the two POIs that share a
similar name is so
strong that both can be the intent.

Query Result Rating and Explanation

[mall of America]
Mall of America
Relevance Navigational
User and fresh viewport
in
Minnesota
60 E Broadway,
Bloomington, MN
55425 United States
Result is POI requested in the query.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Mall of America
Station
8240 24th Ave S
Relevance
Good/Acceptable
(User Intent &
Distance/Prominence)
Minneapolis, MN
55425
United States
Even though the station has the same name as
the POI, it is not prominent and therefore
demoted.
Relevance Excellent
[Piccadilly circus]
User and viewport in
London, UK
Piccadilly Circus
London, UK
Result is for famous square in London. The
square and the train station are both equally
prominent and local users would be looking for
the station while tourists would be looking for
the square. As both features are equally
prominent, it is hard to establish a distinct user
intent.
Piccadilly Circus Relevance Excellent
Station
London, UK
Result is the famous station that is just as
prominent as the square.
Dam Square Relevance Navigational
[dam square]
Dam Square,
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
The result is the famous square in Amsterdam.
User and viewport in
Amsterdam
Dam Square Line 2
Dam Square,
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Relevance Good/Acceptable
(Distance/Prominence)
Result is for the tram stop for line 2. The stop is
on a street adjacent to Dam Square. However, it
is not prominent and should be demoted.

5.16.1. Transit Queries

The criteria described above should be applied to understand the transit queries.
Additionally, if it is
determined that a query has a clear navigational intent, all other results will be
Bad (see [12th st
oakland bart] example below). If a result is promoted to Navigational, other
results that could
potentially satisfy the user intent should be demoted further for distance and
prominence (see
[BART daly city] and [stockport station] examples below). In general, the fewer the
results that
satisfy the user intent, the farther away the results can be and still be
considered relevant. The more
available results that can satisfy the user intent, the closer they need to be.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Relevance Navigational
[12th st oakland
bart]
12th St. Oakland
Station
Oakland, CA
The query is for a specific BART station with a
unique name that is not the same as the name of
the locality where the station is found. (Compare
this to the examples below). This result matches the
query exactly and fully satisfies the user’s intent for
this specific station.
User and viewport in
California
19th St. Oakland
Station
Oakland, CA
Relevance Bad (User Intent Issue)
The query intent is for a specific BART station with a
unique name that is not the same as the name of the
place where the station is located. The result
returned is for a different BART station and does not
satisfy the user intent. This result should receive a
rating of Bad.
Relevance Navigational
Daly City Station
Daly City, CA
The query intent is for a BART station in Daly City.
Research shows that there is only one BART station
in Daly City and its name is Daly City Station, so this
result fully satisfies the user’s intent.
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
[BART daly city]
User and viewport in
California
Colma Station
Colma, CA
The query intent is for a BART station within Daly
City. This result fits intent as it is a BART station.
This station is in a neighboring locality just outside
of the requested locality. Even though the station is
outside of the requested locality, it provides a
choice of BART stations in the area for the user.
This result is demoted due to distance.
San Francisco
International Airport
Station
San Francisco
International Airport,
CA
Relevance Acceptable (Distance/Prominence)
The query intent is for a BART station in Daly City.
This result fits intent as it is a BART station. This
station is in a neighboring locality, but is farther
away than the Colma station and is demoted due to
distance.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
[stockport
station]
User and viewport in
Stockport, England
Stockport Station
Stockport, England
Relevance Navigational
The query intent is for a station in Stockport.
Research shows that there are several stations in
Stockport, but only one named Stockport Station,
so this result fully satisfies the user’s intent.
Davenport Station
Stockport, England
Relevance Excellent
The query intent is for a station in Stockport. There is
one station with a name that matches the query
exactly, which receives the Navigational rating. All
other stations within the queried locality should
receive Excellent.
Heaton Chapel
Station
Stockport, England
Burnage Station
Manchester, England
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
This station is just outside of the requested locality,
in a neighboring locality. Even though the station is
outside of the requested locality, it provides a choice
of stations in the area for the user. The fewer choices
there are available, the farther away the results can
be and still be relevant. This result is demoted due to
distance.
[san jose station]
User and viewport in
California
San Jose Diridon
Station
San Jose, CA
Relevance Excellent
The query intent is for a station in San Jose. There
are several stations in San Jose, but no stations with
a name that matches the query exactly, so we should
rate every station within the queried locality equally.
There are two stations that match the user’s intent,
so both results should be rated Excellent.
Tamien Station
San Jose, CA
Lawrence Caltrain
Station
Sunnyvale, CA
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
This station is just outside of the requested locality,
in a neighboring locality. Even though the station is
outside of the requested locality, it provides a choice
of stations in the area for the user. The fewer choices
there are available, the farther away the results can
be and still be relevant.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Sunnyvale Caltrain
Station
Sunnyvale, CA
Relevance Acceptable (Distance/Prominence)
This station is just outside of the requested locality,
in a neighboring locality. Even though the station is
outside of the requested locality, it provides a choice
of stations in the area for the user. The fewer choices
there are available, the farther away the results can
be and still be relevant.
Palo Alto Train
Station
Palo Alto, CA
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
Result is far from the queried station. The farther
away the result is from the queried station, the less
likely it is that it will be considered relevant, so the
relevance rating should be lowered.

5.16.2. Stops vs. Stations

A transit stop is a location typically designated by a bench or covered waiting
area, a posted sign, or
street markings. Transit stations, on the other hand, are typically larger areas
associated with major
structures including, but not limited to, platforms, ticketing offices, enclosed
waiting/seating areas, or
terminal buildings/structures encompassing the transit area. The term “station” is
primarily used to
refer to transit locations that are larger and typically a terminal housing
multiple routes. All stations
are stops, but not all stops are stations.

Since all stations are stops, but not all stops are stations, returning a station
for a stop query is ok, but
returning a stop when the query is station should result in a rating of Bad with
the User Intent
checkbox selected. Try to identify these corresponding terms in the test locale and
understand the
relationship between them.

For the category [bus stops], relevance should be based mainly on distance from the
user location
or fresh viewport and the physical size of the bus stop. If the result is a small
bus stop in a rural area
and the bus stop is among the closest ones to the user’s location intent, it should
be rated Excellent.
On the other hand, if the result is a large bus hub that is a bit farther away from
the user, it should still
receive an Excellent because of its size, regardless of the fact that there are
closer, smaller bus
stops. Results close to the user should not be demoted because there is a larger
bus stop farther
away, instead, the large bus stop should be promoted because of its importance.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
[bus station in san
francisco]
User and viewport in
San Francisco, CA
Greyhound Lines
200 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94105
Relevance Excellent
This is a major bus station in San Francisco
where a user can take Greyhound buses.
Main St & Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94105 Relevance Bad (User Intent)
These results are small local bus stops and do
not satisfy the user intent for a bus station. 5th St & Howard St
San Francisco, CA 94103
Sacramento Bus
Station
420 Richards Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95811
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
This result is another Greyhound station, but it is
in Sacramento, quite far from San Francisco.
There are closer real world results we could
return. This result is too far and should be
demoted due to distance.
[bus stop]
User and viewport in
Chicago, IL
Chicago Bus Station
630 W Harrison St
Chicago, IL 60607
Relevance Excellent
The query intent is for a bus stop. This result is
a Greyhound station, which fully satisfies the
user's intent. This result is close to the user.
W Harrison St & S
Jefferson St
Chicago, IL 60607
Relevance Excellent
The query intent is for a bus stop. This result is
a Greyhound station, which fully satisfies the
user's intent. This result is close to the user.
Harlem Ave & W 115th
St
Worth, IL 60482
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
The query intent is for a bus stop. This result is a
bus stop and matches the user's intent, but
there are many bus stops closer to the user in
the real world we should be returning instead.
Therefore, this result should be demoted due to
distance.
5.17. Parking Intent
When evaluating [parking] queries, note that:

• Free and paid parking are equally relevant.

• Parking time limits do not affect relevance rating. Your rating should not be
changed by the
fact that a parking lot is long term, short term, or limited-time (like a two-hour
limit) parking.
• Parking for small cars, large cars, RVs, or motorcycles is equally relevant.
• If you can find evidence that a result is for private parking that cannot be used
by the general
public, give it a rating of Bad.
Public parking vs Private Parking

Public parking is:

• Parking that is a mix of residential/staff/permit and visitor parking and is not

in a gated
community
• Parking that can be used only when visiting a certain business (limited-use
parking)
Private parking is:
• Parking that is residents only, staff only, or by permit only
• Parking in a gated community
If you cannot confirm whether parking is public or private, give the result the
benefit of the doubt
and consider it public parking.

5.18. Relevance: Service-Level Mismatch

Sometimes a query specifically requests a certain level of service, which may or
may not be reflected
in the result. Common requests include:

• Specific stores (e.g. Walmart Supercenter)

• Outlet stores (e.g. J. Crew Factory)
When the query requests a specific level of service which is not reflected in the
result, give an initial
rating of Good and demote as necessary depending on how well the result would
satisfy the user
intent.

When the query requests a type of business with a generic level of service,
providing a result that
offers more service than requested still satisfies user intent and should receive
an initial rating of
Excellent.

When the query does not specify the type of service, any relevant result can be
rated Excellent.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
[walmart]
Walmart Supercenter
3435 East Broadway
Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85716
Relevance Excellent
Query is for a generic Walmart and the result is a
Walmart Supercenter store that offers more
services than the average Walmart store. User
intent has been met and there is no need to
demote for service level.
Walmart Neighborhood
Market
5500 E 22nd St, Tucson,
AZ 85711
Relevance Excellent
The query does not specify the type of Walmart,
and any Walmart can be rated Excellent. Demote
further for distance.
[walmart
supercenter]
Walmart Neighborhood
Market
5500 E 22nd St, Tucson,
AZ 85711
Relevance Good (User Intent)
Query is for a store with specific level of service.
Walmart Supercenters are very large stores that
have a full range of grocery and general
merchandise. A Walmart Neighborhood Market is
generally smaller with a more limited array of
grocery and general merchandise.
[nordstrom
rack]
Nordstrom
55 E Grand Ave, Chicago,
IL 60611
Relevance Good (User Intent)
The query is for an outlet store, but the result is for
a full-price store. The result satisfies the query
intent, but to a lesser degree.
[bank of
america]
Bank of America
10900 Orangewood Blvd,
Orlando, FL 32821
Relevance Excellent
When the query is for a bank or a general bank
brand, an ATM or a branch location of that specific
brand are equally relevant.
Bank of America ATM
10900 Orangewood Blvd,
Orlando, FL 32821
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Relevance Excellent
[ATM]
Citibank
3333 E Tropicana Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89121
The result is a bank branch location. Since many
branches contain ATMs, and would be able to
provide the same level of service as an ATM, this
result usually fulfills the user’s intent.
Note that if research indicates the result does not
offer cash services, rate it Bad.
Citibank ATM 7-Eleven
Relevance Excellent
3421 E Tropicana Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89121
This is an ATM located inside a 7-Eleven
convenience store. It satisfies the primary intent of
the category.
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
[burger king]
McDonald’s
6875 Sand Lake Rd,
Orlando, FL 32819
A user has asked for a specific fast food restaurant
and the result is another fast food restaurant that
offers similar food and service. Even though the
service level in the two restaurants is similar, this
result does not match the user intent for the
named restaurant.
5.19. Rating Relevance When the Result Status is PERMANENT_CLOSURE
A business/POI that has its status set to
PERMANENT_CLOSURE requires special consideration
during relevance rating.

Note: A result without any status indicated should be

rated as usual, including when research indicates the

business/POI is closed or does not exist.

There are some situations where you can expect to see results with the status
PERMANENT_CLOSURE and others where such results are not expected. The following
sections will
describe how to identify and rate them.

5.19.1. Expected PERMANENT_CLOSURE Status

Sometimes you can expect to see results whose status is shown as PERMANENT_CLOSURE.

This can happen when:

• The permanently closed result satisfies the user intent completely.

AND

• There is/are no other result(s) that satisfy the actual user intent in the area
of location intent.
Examples of results where PERMANENT_CLOSURE status is expected

• Navigational queries:
• Queries that can only return a single result, which is permanently closed. This
could be
because the POI or business name is unique or the query contains location intents
like
locality or street components.
• Chain queries for closed chains:
• All chain locations within the area of location intent are permanently closed and
the closest
open chain result is significantly farther away.
Rating Approach

Rate results with an expected status of PERMANENT_CLOSURE as if they were open.

This means
that in most cases the rating will be either Navigational or Excellent, because
even though they are
closed, these are the best or only results that could ever be returned.
5.19.1.1.
Expected
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Status:
Naviga@onal Query
The user is looking for a unique business in a specific location.

Query User and Viewport

[99 bottles santa cruz] User and fresh viewport in San Luis Obispo, CA
Result Rating and Explanation
Relevance Navigational
①
99 Bottles Of Beer On The
Wall
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
110 Walnut Ave, Santa Cruz, CA
Business/POI
Closed/Does not
exist
Yes
This permanently closed restaurant is the only result that
meets the user intent, which makes it expected. Choose the
Business/POI Closed/Does not exist checkbox and rate the
business as if it were open.
②
99 Cents Only Stores
260 E 10th St, Gilroy, CA
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
The 99 Cents store does not match the user intent and is rated
Bad.
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
⓷
99 Bottles & Cocktails
8901 Katella Ave,
Anaheim, CA
While also a restaurant with a name that starts with 99 Bottles,
this is not in Santa Cruz, does not match the user intent, and is
rated Bad.
5.19.1.2.
Expected
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Status:
All
chains
closed
in
area
Chico’s has closed all of its locations in Canada. The closest locations to the
user are across the
border in the United States.

Query User and Viewport

[chico’s] Fresh viewport in Toronto, ON, user in Hamilton, ON

Result Rating and Explanation

Relevance Excellent
①
Chico’s
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
100 City Centre Dr,
Mississauga, ON
Business/POI Closed/
Does not exist Yes
The permanently closed location for Chico’s is in the center of the
fresh viewport. Since there are no open locations anywhere close
to the area, this result is expected. Choose the Business/POI
Closed/Does not exist checkbox and rate the business as if it
were open.
Relevance Excellent
②
Chico’s
5151 Main St,
Williamsville, NY
United States
The open Chico’s closest to the user is just across the border.
Because it is the closest open result, it is rated Excellent.
Result Rating and Explanation
⓷
Chico’s
3349 Monroe Ave Ste 45,
Rochester, NY
United States
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
As the second-closest open location, the Chico’s in Rochester is
demoted to Good.

5.19.2. Unexpected PERMANENT_CLOSURE Status

These are results whose status is shown as PERMANENT_CLOSURE, but are not expected
to be
shown at all.

Results with the status PERMANENT_CLOSURE are unexpected when there are also open
results in
the area of location intent that would satisfy the actual user intent fully without
changing or altering
the user query.

Examples of situations where results with PERMANENT_CLOSURE status are not expected

• Category queries:
• There are always a large number of possible results for category queries like
[restaurant]
or [hair salon]
• Note: In cases where there is only one match for the category query within a
large area and
it is marked with the PERMANENT_CLOSURE status, consider it an exception and choose

Business/POI is closed or does not exist, then rate it as if it were open. This
should be
extremely rare.
• Queries with several possible interpretations:
• These are queries could have several possible results and/or result types
available, and do
not depend on PERMANENT_CLOSURE results.
• Most chain queries:
• There are often multiple locations of a chain available within the area of
location intent, and
a permanently closed result does not need to be shown in these cases.
Rating Approach

Unexpected permanently closed results should be demoted by 2 for relevance which

means the
highest rating starts at Acceptable.
5.19.2.1.
Unexpected
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
Status:
Open
Op@ons are
Nearby
There are many options available near the user for this category query, so there is
no reason to show
a permanently closed business.

Query User and Viewport

[vintage store] User and fresh viewport in Washington, DC
Result Rating and Explanation
①
Meeps Vintage
2104 18th St NW, Washington,
DC
Relevance Excellent
Meeps Vintage matches the user intent and is close to the user
within the fresh viewport.
②
Miss Pixie's
1626 14th St NW, Washington,
DC
Relevance Excellent
Miss Pixie’s sells vintage clothing and is among the closest
results for this category query.
⓷
Buffalo Exchange
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
1318 14th St NW, Washington,
DC
Relevance Bad or Acceptable
(User Intent)
Business/POI Closed/
Does not exist Yes
Result Rating and Explanation
The permanently closed Buffalo Exchange did sell vintage
clothing, but since there are other open stores that do this in the
area of location intent, this result is unexpected. The relevance
rating starts at Acceptable. Given the abundance of nearby
results, this could be rated Bad, as well.

6. Name and Category Accuracy

The Name and Category Accuracy rating is used to evaluate the accuracy of a
Business/POI name.
Your final rating will take into consideration both the accuracy of the
Business/POI name and the
category assigned to it. Inaccuracies in either or both of these elements will
result in rating
demotions.

You’ll see this rating referred to throughout the guidelines as both “Name
Accuracy” and "Name and
Category Accuracy.”

Business/POI Name and Category Accuracy can be rated as:

• n/a
• Correct
• Partially Correct
• Incorrect
• Can’t Verify
If you give a final Name and Category Accuracy rating of Partially Correct or
Incorrect, you may be
presented with two checkboxes:

• Name Issue
• Category issue
If they appear, use one or both them to select the reason(s) for your rating.
6.1. Name Not Applicable (n/a)
The n/a rating should be used for all address type results, including residential
addresses, streets,
localities, and so on.

Unlike Business/POI type results, address type results do not actually have a
result name. Instead, the
first line of address type results appears as the result title. This is because
this field is meant to
present the most relevant part of the address information.
Since address results do not have a name or category, their Name and Category
Accuracy cannot be
evaluated. This is why the n/a rating should be selected.

Result Rating and Explanation

1703 NW Taylor St
1703 NW Taylor St
Topeka, KS 66608
Name and Category Accuracy n/a
This is a residential address, not the name or title of a business or POI.
1600 Pennsylvania Ave Name and Category Accuracy n/a
1600 Pennsylvania Ave,
Washington, DC, 20500
United States
Although this is the address of a well-known POI (the White House), it
is still an address result and contains no name or title. It cannot be
rated for Name Accuracy.
Paris, France
Paris, France
Name and Category Accuracy n/a
This is the name of a locality and country, not the name of a business
or POI.

6.2. Result Names

Your final Name and Category Accuracy rating will take into consideration both the
accuracy of the
Business/POI name and the category assigned to it.

First, consider the name.

6.2.1. Correct Name

A business/POI result name is accurate when it is used on the POI’s official
website or on other official
resources. Even if the official website does not use the name, if it is used on
other official sources, the
name is correct. Note that the name has to be used to refer to the particular POI.
The corporate name
by itself is not automatically the correct name.
Business Name

Every name that a specific business location uses to refer to itself is considered
correct. These
names can be listed in a variety of ways in different sections of the entity's
official website or official
social media website(s):

•
Chain business locator page on the official website
•
About/About Us section on an entity’s official website
•
Signs and storefronts seen on official sites or social media pages
•
Claimed social media pages
If these resources are not available, other reliable sources that can be used for
researching business
names include:

• Signs and storefronts seen on recent street or online imagery or crowdsourced

review pages
• Recent articles in primary publications (newspapers or similar publications that
do their own
reporting)
• Official restaurant menus (user photos or scanned images from restaurants)
If the name cannot be confirmed with these resources and there is nothing
objectively wrong with it,
rate it Can’t Verify.

Corporate name

The corporate name (and sometimes brand or product name) is often used to refer to
a particular
entity, but might be not the preferred name for a specific location. This depends
on the particular
company and the specific result.

Some official websites have a local language and an international (English)

version. Consider the
name given in the international version only if English is the language/script of
the test locale, the
query, or the result region, or if the official company, chain, or brand name is
commonly used and
understood in English in this market. If it is not, select the Result name/title is
in unexpected
language or script checkbox. No further rating is required.

Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation

Name Accuracy Correct
McDonald’s McDonald’s The chain calls all stores McDonald’s and has the
name in front of all locations as corporate
branding.
Name Accuracy Correct
Peet’s Coffee &
Tea Peet’s -Polk Street
The name is considered Correct, because it is
used on the sign on the storefront. The store is
officially called “Peet’s -Polk Street” on the
website, as it refers to the Polk Street location.
Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
Name Accuracy Correct
Best Buy Best Buy San Jose
The chain Best Buy uses a location modifier in
their store names, but their store sign (logo)
shows only the corporate brand name “Best Buy”
and can be rated Correct.
Name Accuracy Correct
Microsoft Microsoft Store
The Microsoft storefront shows only the Microsoft
logo without any text. On the webpage, stores are
referred to as “Microsoft Store” or named
together with a location modifier such as
“Microsoft Store – South Coast Plaza”. Because of
the close similarities between the result name and
the store name, rate Correct.

Location modifier or affiliation

Businesses can include the name of the locality or the larger complex or
organization they belong to
as additional information. These modifiers, even when not specifically used by the
official resources,
can be considered correct. A name with missing modifier can also be considered
correct as long as
the modifier isn’t crucial for understanding the particular result. If a modifier
is present, it must be
spelled correctly. If it is misspelled, the name is partially correct.

See your Country Specific guidelines for cases where the location modifier is
essential for
understanding the result.

Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation

Name Accuracy Correct
Apple Apple Valley Fair The result name is missing the location modifier
(Valley Fair) given on the official website, but is still
considered Correct.
Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
Name Accuracy Correct
Peet’s Coffee Peet’s – Ferry Bldg SF The result name is Correct because it is used
as
the name on the official website, while the specific
store has an optional location modifier.
Name Accuracy Correct
Old Navy – Belle
Isle Station Old Navy Old Navy doesn’t officially use the mall name as
part of the store name, but the location modifier is
correct, so the business name is rated Correct.
Delgado
Community
College –
Charity School of
Nursing
Charity School of
Nursing
Name Accuracy Correct
The result for the Nursing School includes the name
of the college that it is affiliated with. Even though
this form is not official, it is rated Correct.

Stylized logos and letters

A variation is still correct when a business uses stylized logos and letters (like
the backwards “R” in
Toys ”R” Us) that are outside the regular set of letters.

Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation

Name Accuracy Correct
Toys ‘R’ Us Toys Я
Us This business uses a special character in its name,
so the name is still considered Correct.

“The” is missing or added

•
Missing: The use of definite articles depends on the individual result. When a
company using
“the” is often referred to without it, the name is correct both with and without
the article.
•
Added: A business/POI that does not officially include a definite article in its
name but has one
included in the result should be considered partially correct.
Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
Name Accuracy Correct
Home Depot The Home Depot The official name of this business is “The Home
Depot,” but since it is so often referred to as
“Home Depot” the name is considered Correct.
6.2.2. Partially Correct Name
A partially correct name differs from the official versions but can still be
recognized by the user.
Partially correct names can include minor and moderate misspellings, service level
mismatches, and
missing or unnecessary name parts, including holding names/corporate structures.
When the
business name on the storefront does not include the corporate status (Ltd., Inc.,
etc.) seen in the
result, it is partially correct.

6.2.2.1.
Minor
and
Moderate
Misspellings
and
Missing
or
Extra
Words
Consider names partially correct when they contain issues that don’t prevent the
user from
identifying the business:

• Name contains repeated, redundant, or missing information or parts

• Incorrect or missing punctuation or special characters
• Unnecessary or missing spaces
• Unexpected use of lower/upper case and ALL CAPS letters
• Acronyms are often expected in ALL CAPS: YMCA, TGIF
• Minor and moderate misspellings that don’t influence the user’s understanding.
See your
Country-Specific guidelines for more information on misspellings.
• Mix of expected languages in the result title. Expected languages are the
languages of the
query, test locale, or region, or of an official business name.
Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
Macys Macy’s
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
The result is missing an apostrophe.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
HM H&M Missing the “&” in H&M is a misspelling but the
name is still recognizable.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
uhaul uhaul U-Haul
The result name is duplicated and in all lowercase
with no “-”.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Seven Eleven 7-Eleven The name is in an unexpected form not used by the
business itself.
Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
GAMESTOP GameStop
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
The name written in ALL CAPS is not expected for
this business and demoted.
Mosjaw Moosejaw
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
The name of this outdoor store has two missing
letters but is still identifiable.
Ecofuture
Buildng Co Ecofutures Building Inc
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
The business shows two misspellings and the
incorrect business structure (Co. vs. Inc.).
Napoli
Coffeehouse &
Pastries
Napoli Coffee
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
The result name has additional parts not used by
the business. Because the additional parts are in
line with the business and don’t make the result
ambiguous, it is considered Partially Correct.
GAP Superstore GAP
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
The additional “superstore” is not used officially,
but also does not change the user’s ability to
identify the well formatted and correct corporate
name and is therefore considered Partially
Correct.
BerkeleyLaw
Univerzitní of
California
BerkeleyLaw
University of
California
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
The query [law] was issued in a cz_CZ (Czech)
locale and the result locale is the US (English).
Consider this Partially Correct due to the mix of
expected languages: English and Czech.
Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Aqua Spa 夢幻⽔
都
Aqua Spa -Ocean
City
The query [aqua spa] was issued in the zh-Hant_HK
(Hong Kong) test locale and the result locale is in
the US (English). Consider this Partially Correct
due to the mix of expected scripts.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
att AT&T
URLs can give an indication of a businesses’ official
name, but because a URL lacks formatting choices,
it should generally not be used to confirm the
official business name. Similar restrictions exist for
certain social media such as Twitter.
The company’s name is confirmed by the URL
(att.com), but the name stated in the URL, “att”, is
clearly poorly formatted, but still recognizable.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
University of
California
University of California
Irvine
Irvine is more than a location modifier for this
university. The city name differentiates the Irvine
location from other universities in the University of
California network.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Nike NIKELAB 21M NYC
Even though the Nike symbol appears on this
store’s official website, the preferred store name
for this specific location is not the general brand
name but the NIKELAB name seen on the store
sign and website.
Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
The Sears Sears Sears does not use “The” in any of their official
webpages. Adding it to the company name gives
the name a rating of Partially Correct.

6.2.2.2.
Service-Level
Mismatch
Chain businesses often indicate the level of service provided at that location in
their name. If the
result name does not reflect the correct type, it is considered a service-level
mismatch and is
considered partially correct.

Result Name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation

Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Patagonia Outlet Patagonia The result name suggests that the store is an outlet,
which it isn’t.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Delhaize Delhaize Supermarkt
Depending on its size and the services available,
this chain business comes in five varieties. The
result is missing part of the name indicating its
service level.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Best Buy Best Buy Express A Best Buy Express is a vending machine and not a
store. This is a service-level mismatch and
considered Partially Correct.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Best Buy Express Best Buy The user is expecting a vending machine where
there is a store. This is a service-level mismatch
and considered Partially Correct.

6.2.2.3.
Holding
Name
and
Corporate
Structure
Holding names or corporate structures are not considered correct if they are not
explicitly used by
the individual stores. Holding names or names that include corporate structure are
considered
partially correct or incorrect depending on how recognizable the name is in context
with the particular
business.
Result Name Official Business Name Explanation
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
IT’SUGAR LLC IT’SUGAR The addendum “LLC” refers to the corporate
structure and should not be used for the store,
However, this name is still recognizable.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Nordstrom, Inc. Nordstrom
The addendum “Inc.” refers to the company’s
corporate structure and should not be used for
the store. However, the store can still be
recognized.

6.2.3. Incorrect Name

An incorrect result name is one that can’t be recognized because of severe
misspelling or ambiguous
or unnecessary/missing parts in the name.

Consider names incorrect when they contain issues including:

• Severe misspellings that prevent the user from identifying the business because
of:
• Change in meaning
• Misspelling that results in an entirely different word or gibberish
• Holding names that are completely different than the recognized name
• Unnecessary or missing parts in the name that prevent the user from recognizing
the
business
• Slang and inappropriate language
• Using the previous name of the same entity that is not a variation of the current
name and
therefore cannot be identified
Note: If a result name is incorrect, the final Name and Category Accuracy rating
will always be
Incorrect, even if the category is correct.

Result name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation

Name Accuracy Incorrect
JAB Holding
Company Peet’s Coffee The holding company name is completely
different than the store name.
Result name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
Name Accuracy Incorrect
IEA IKEA In short business names, even small errors can
prevent the user from recognizing the business.
Name Accuracy Incorrect
Zatas Tacos +
Tequila
Zacatecas Tacos +
Tequila
The misspelling is severe and does not allow the
user to identify the business with certainty. The
user is likely under the impression that it is a
different restaurant.
Name Accuracy Incorrect
Taco Bull Taco Bell
The misspelling changes the meaning, which
makes the name ambiguous: It could be a “Taco
Bell” chain store or a different business named
“Taco Bull”.
Name Accuracy Incorrect
Walgreens Pizza Walgreens
With the unnecessary word “Pizza,” the name
becomes ambiguous and the user does not know if
this is a pizzeria named Walgreens or a wrongly
labeled Walgreens pharmacy.
Name Accuracy Incorrect
Cheesecake The Cheesecake Factory When missing the word “factory”, the result name
“Cheesecake” is not specific enough and the chain
business cannot be identified with certainty.
Result name Official Business Name Rating and Explanation
Name Accuracy Incorrect
UPS USPS USPS (United States Postal Service) and UPS
(United Parcel Service) are both in the delivery
business, but are entirely different companies.
Name Accuracy Incorrect
Starbucks &
Spencer Marks & Spencer By switching Marks with Starbucks, the business
can no longer be identified.
Name Accuracy Incorrect
Mickey D’s McDonald’s Mickey D’s is British slang for McDonald’s brand.
However it is not an official variation of the brand
name.
Name Accuracy Incorrect
Sommet Center Bridgestone
Arena
Showing a former name that is not shown on the
arena’s official webpage is not a good experience.
Even when the name might still be in use among
users, if a result shows a former name, rate it
Incorrect.

6.3 Result Category

Once you have determined the correctness of a result’s name, you must evaluate the
accuracy of its
category in order to determine the final Name and Category Accuracy rating. The
category of a result
refers to the category of the Business/POI.

Not every result will include a category, but when one appears, you will find it
below the address
details

If the category is missing or listed as N/A, make your final Name and Category
Accuracy rating based
on the name alone.
6.3.1. Correct Category
When a business or POI is categorized correctly, the category accurately reflects
the business,
service, or function of the entity. This includes broad or alternate
categorizations that are not the
preferred choice but are not misleading.

A correct name paired with a correct category is rated Correct for Name and
Category Accuracy.

• Not every result will include a category. If the category is missing or listed as
N/A, do not
demote.
• Some categories may seem slightly too specific or too general. As long as the
categorization
is not misleading, consider it correct.
• Categories can vary for similar POIs and vary per market. Localization of
categories should be
taken into account when deciding on correctness.
Result Name and
Category Category Rating and Explanation
Category Accuracy Correct
Restaurant Toqué
French Cuisine Restaurants are commonly classified by their respective cuisines.
French
Cuisine is an appropriate category for the result.
Jocko’s World Famous
Chicken and Seafood
Seafood Restaurant
Category Accuracy Correct
This categorization may seem a bit too specific but it is not misleading.
Although this restaurant sells more than just seafood, categorizing it as a
seafood restaurant still properly reflects the nature of this entity.
Category Accuracy Correct
Walmart
Grocery Store
As long as research shows that the particular Walmart location
represented by the result sells groceries, this would be an appropriate
category. This is because grocery is a major department in this store and
represents a large part of what it sells.
Walmart
Discount Store
Category Accuracy Correct
This category accurately represents the POI. Walmart is known to offer
merchandise at low prices.
6.3.2. Incorrect Category
When the category is wrong, the final Name and Category Accuracy rating is always
Incorrect. This
is true whether the result name is Correct, Partially Correct, or Incorrect.

Consider the category incorrect when it is:

• Wrong
• Misleading
• Misspelled
• Incomplete (missing parts or has uncommon/odd abbreviations)
• In an unexpected language/script. The category must match the language/script of
the query,
test locale, or result region
Result Name and
Category Expected Category Final Rating and Explanation
Incorrect (Category Issue)
Denver Zoo
Active Life Zoo Category is wrong since the result is a zoo. This
category does not represent the nature of the result.
Final Name Accuracy rating is Incorrect.
Incorrect (Category Issue)
Macy’s
Bar Department Store
The result is a department store and should not be
categorized as bar. Final Name Accuracy rating is
Incorrect.
Result Name and
Category Expected Category Final Rating and Explanation
Incorrect (Category Issue)
Macy’s
Shoe Store Department Store
Category is misleading. The result is a department
store and it should be categorized as one. Although
this store does sell shoes, the category does not
reflect the wide variety of other merchandise it
offers. It is misleading to categorize this result as
simply a shoe store. Final Name Accuracy rating is
Incorrect.
Incorrect (Category Issue)
Fry’s Electronics
Electrnics Electronics Store
Category is misspelled. Any misspelling in the
category name should be considered wrong. Final
Name Accuracy rating is Incorrect.
Incorrect (Category Issue)
Macy’s
Depart Store Department Store
Category is incomplete. The category shown is not a
common abbreviation for “Department Store” and
appears incomplete. Final Name Accuracy rating is
Incorrect.
Result Name and
Category Expected Category Final Rating and Explanation
Incorrect (Category Issue)
Aral
Gas Station Tankstelle
Test Locale: Germany
Category is in an unexpected language or script.
The category “Gas Station” is in English instead of
the expected German “Tanskstelle.”
English should be considered an unexpected
language in this locale (even if it could be understood
by a user there). Final Name Accuracy rating is
Incorrect.
Incorrect (Name Issue, Category Issue)
Macys
Bar Department Store
The result name should be considered partially
correct because it does not include the proper
punctuation: “Macys” should be “Macy’s.” The
category of Bar for this department store is wrong.
When the name is partially correct and the category
is wrong, rate Name Accuracy Incorrect.

6.4. Can’t Verify

When, due to a lack of available data online, the business or POI name cannot be
confirmed, rate
Can’t Verify. This can be because of a lack of official resources or street
imagery, or can be the case
for small businesses that don’t maintain their own webpage or social media profile.

6.5 Transit Names

Transit stations and other transit results (like airports and shipping ports), are
often named after the
locality or street where they are located and can include a transit indication such
as "Station" or
“Subway.” The transit indication in the result name/title is considered optional
and can be missing
and still be considered correct. The user query for [san mateo station] can
therefore return the
name San Mateo Station or simply San Mateo to be Correct. The category of the
result will help you
correctly interpret the result because categories for transit POIs should be a
reference to transit.

Keep in mind that some transit POIs located on street intersections may have a
result title that is the
name of the street intersection (e.g. “Lincoln Way & 19th Avenue”). This is also
considered Correct.

If there are multiple transit systems operating out of the same station, any of the
systems can be
included in the name to be Correct. If transit stations are close to each other,
but users have to walk
outside to get from one building to another, consider the results for the two
stations as two separate
POIs.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Millbrae Name Accuracy Correct
[Millbrae
station]
Millbrae, CA
Category: Train Station
“Millbrae” has no transit indication in the result
name, but the category indicates it is a train station.
Millbrae BART Name Accuracy Correct
User and
viewport
in Palo Alto, CA
Millbrae, CA
Category: Train Station
“Millbrae BART” has a transit indication for the
BART system in the result name.
Millbrae Amtrak
Millbrae, CA
Category: Train Station
Name Accuracy Incorrect (Category Issue)
“Millbrae Amtrak” has an incorrect Amtrak transit
indication. Only BART and Caltrain operate from
Millbrae station.

6.6. Parking Names

A parking lot may or may not have a name. Confirm this on the lot’s official
webpage:

• The generic names “Parking,” “Garage,” or “Lot” (or any other words that indicate
parking
can take place at the location) are considered Correct when no official name can be
found.
• If an official name can be found, rate the generic names “Parking,” “Garage,” or
“Lot” (or any
other words that indicate parking can take place at the location) as Partially
Correct.
• If the parking lot is specialized (for instance, motorcycle-only parking), and
the result’s name
doesn’t reflect that specialization, the result should be rated Incorrect for name
accuracy.
Accept the following combinations of names as Correct if no official name is found:

•
(Business name/Plaza name/Shopping area name) + (parking/ garage/lot)
• Without the addition of parking/garage/lot, the name is Incorrect
•
Parking/ Garage/Lot (or any other words that indicate parking can take place at the
location)
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Name Accuracy Correct
Union Square Garage
This garage’s official website confirms its name.
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
Parking
(Result is for the Union
Square Garage)
Research shows that the official name for this
parking location is Union Square Garage
[Parking] Safeway Parking Name Accuracy Correct
User and viewport
in San Francisco, CA
(Result is for the parking
lot attached to a
Safeway store in San
Francisco)
This parking lot has no official website or name, but
is associated with a Safeway store.
Query Result Rating and Explanation
Parking
(Result is for the parking
lot attached to a
Safeway store in San
Francisco)
Name Accuracy Correct
This parking lot has no official website or name.
Safeway
(Result is for the parking
lot attached to a
Safeway store in San
Francisco)
Name Accuracy Incorrect
Without the words “Parking,” “Garage,” or “Lot,”
users will have no way to know they can park at this
Safeway.

6.7. Final Name and Category Accuracy Rating (Summary Table)

This table shows the final ratings produced by different combinations of name
correctness and
category accuracy.

Name/Title Correctness Category Accuracy Final Name and Category

Accuracy Rating
Correct Correct or N/A Correct
Correct Incorrect Incorrect
Partially Correct Correct or N/A Partially Correct
Partially Correct Incorrect Incorrect
Incorrect Correct or N/A Incorrect
Incorrect Incorrect Incorrect

Remember: If you give a final Name and Category Accuracy rating of Partially
Correct or
Incorrect, you may be presented with two checkboxes:

• Name Issue
• Category Issue
If they appear, use one or both to select the reason(s) for your rating.
7. Address Accuracy: Components and Issues
Address Accuracy is split into two main parts: Components and Issues and Result
Expectation. This
section will discuss Components and Issues and the next section will discuss Result
Expectations.

7.1. Address Components

Address components are the elements used to form the address details
for each result. These components include street number, unit/apt,
street name, locality, region/state, postal code, and country. The
components are defined in these guidelines with a global approach in
mind. There may be variations for specific markets that are not
addressed here. See your Country Specific guidelines for more
information on the address component requirements for each type of
result.

This section covers the issues that can be associated with the address
components as well as the possible issues that can be associated with the address
itself. It refers to
the checkboxes presented in the rating interface when Incorrect is selected.
Checkboxes should be
selected for incorrect or missing information. Issues can occur within parts of the
address or the
entire address.

Choose all identified incorrect or missing components. If the issue is not tied to
individual
components but to an issue pattern, choose the appropriate issue instead.

Never select issues and components at the same time to report the same problem.
That is, do not
rate Incorrect —Language/Script issue for the entire address and also Incorrect—
Street Name
because street name is in an incorrect language.

When a Language/Script issue is present, make sure to check the address components
for
accuracy and to select the appropriate checkbox. For instance, if you select
language issue for the
entire address, you can also mark street number as incorrect, since this is an
error that's not
language related.

7.1.1. Street Number

If the result address has an incorrect or missing street number rate Address
Accuracy as Incorrect –
Street Number.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

7-Eleven
836 E Fremont Ave,
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
834 E Fremont Ave,
Sunnyvale, CA
94087, USA
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
Select the Street number checkbox because the
street number in the result address is incorrect.
Result Official Address Rating and Explanation
Defour
Potgieterstraat, 1053
XS Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Potgieterstraat 47,
1053 XS
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
Select the Street number checkbox because the
street number is missing in the result address.

The way street numbers are assigned varies by country and area. Some patterns you
may see:

Street Number Extensions

Some markets use a street number extension system. Street number extensions are
part of the street
number, not a further breakdown of it like building or unit numbers. If a street
number extension is
incorrect or missing from a POI address it should be treated as an
incorrect/missing street number.
Refer to Country Specific Guidelines for more details.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
Elkjøp Halden
Walkersgate 8, 1771
Halden, Norway
Walkersgate 8c,
1771 Halden,
Norway
In Norway, street number extensions are part of the
street number and are not unit numbers. The street
number in the result is missing a street number
extension ‘c’ which is listed as part of the official street
number.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
REMA 1000 Tynset
Elfengveien 4 A,
2500 Tynset, Norway
Elfengveien 4 B,
2500 Tynset,
Norway
In Norway, street number extensions are part of the
street number and are not unit numbers. The street
number in the result has an incorrect number
extension ‘A’ when ‘B’ is listed as the official street
number extension.

Address Range

Address ranges are used to assign numbers to a stretch of road. Given the nature of
these ranges,
not all numbers will have a building assigned to them.
When an address range is given by the query or returned as a result, consider it
Correct when:

• The result street number is within the queried range

• The result address range exists and contains the queried street number
• The range or number matches the odd/even numbering system for left/right side of
street
required by the country
The same criteria apply to POI addresses.
Suggestion Official Address Rating and Explanation
The Crutched Friar
39 Crutched Friars,
London 39-41 Crutched Friars,
London EC3N 2AE,
Address Accuracy Correct
No need to select the Incorrect – Street Number
checkbox since the street number in the
suggestion is within the official address range.
The Crutched Friar
45 Crutched Friars,
London
United Kingdom Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
Select the Incorrect – Street Number checkbox
because the street number in the suggestion is
outside of the official address range.
26 Winchester
Avenue
Burpengary East Qld
4505 Australia
25-27 Winchester
Avenue, Burpengary
East Qld 4505 Australia
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
Select the Incorrect – Street Number checkbox
because the number 26 is even while the official
address range is odd.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
Apartamentos Oporto
Rua de Dom Hugo 1-45
Porto
Rua de Dom Hugo 17
4050 Porto
Portugal
Select the Incorrect – Street Number checkbox
because the street range in the suggestion does
not exist. This is a random address range and
should be considered incorrect even if it contains
the official street number.

7.1.2. Unit/Apt
A street number can be divided into unit, apartment, or building numbers. Commonly
seen forms
include the use of letters: A, B, C as well as the character # in front of a
number: #420. Less common
are forms like ½.

A unit number should be correct and present when the official address of a
business/POI contains a
unit number.

When a business does not list a unit number and the unit number cannot be
confirmed, no unit
number should be given in the result. Rate Incorrect – Unit/Apt when unit number is
present in the
rating tool in these cases.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Vuori
333 Santana Row
Suite #1110
San Jose, CA 95128
Address Accuracy Correct
This is the correct address listed on the official
website of the business.
Vuori 333 Santana Row
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Unit Number
333 Santana Row
San Jose, CA 95128
Suite #1110
San Jose, CA 95128
This result address is missing the unit number listed
on the official website. Unit number checkbox should
be selected.
Vuori
333 Santana Row
Suite #2490
San Jose, CA 95128
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Unit Number
This result address has a different unit number than
the one listed on the official website. Unit number
checkbox should be selected.

7.1.3. Street Name

If the result address has an incorrect or missing street name rate Address Accuracy
as Incorrect –
Street Name.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Van Gogh Museum
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Correct
This is a correct address as displayed on the official
website of the business.
Van Gogh Museum
Van Baerlestraat 6,
1071 DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Museumplein 6,
1071 DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
This address has the wrong street name. Street
name checkbox should be selected.
Van Gogh Museum
6, 1071 DJ
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
This address has a missing street name. The street
name checkbox should be selected.

Alternative Street Names

A street can have alternate names or route

numbers, as well as multiple names in different
languages in bilingual areas. Consider a street
name correct when the name used is still valid and
in the language expected given the test language,
result region, or user query. If the street name has
changed and the older name is no longer in use,
consider the old name to be Incorrect – Street
Name if returned.

Misspelled Street Names

Misspellings in the street name, including missing diacritics (e instead of é, l

instead of ł) may be
rated Incorrect – Street Name. See your Country Specific guidelines for more
information.
Result Official Address Rating and Explanation
Van Gogh Museum Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
Musuemplein 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Museumplein 6,
1071 DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
The result street name is misspelled (“ue” instead of
“eu”), so the street name checkbox should be
selected
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
Bozego Ciala
Bozego Ciala,
Wrocław, Poland
Bożego Ciała,
Wrocław, Poland
The result street name is missing diacritics in two
letters (ż
and ł) which should be treated as a
misspelling in the Polish market. The street name
checkbox should be selected.

Street Directions and Types

Street directions (North (N), East (E), South (S), West (W)) as well as street
types (Street (St),
Boulevard (Blvd), Avenue (Ave), etc.) are part of the street name. If they are
incorrect or missing, the
street name is wrong and rated Incorrect – Street Name. Exceptions are when such
elements of a
street name are used interchangeably for the same street.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
Van Gogh Museum
Museumkade 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Museumplein 6,
1071 DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
This address has the wrong type of street: both
“plein” (square) and “kade” (quay) are street types.
The official street type is listed as ‘plein’, therefore
the type of street is considered wrong and the
checkbox for street name should be selected.
118 El Camino Real 118 E El Camino Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
118 El Camino Real,
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Real, Sunnyvale, CA
94087
This address is missing the direction. Therefore, the
street name checkbox should be selected.
Blue Stones
3530 E El Camino
Real, Santa Clara, CA
95051
3530 El Camino
Real, Santa Clara,
CA 95051
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
This result address has additional direction, which is
wrong and does not exist in real life.

7.1.4. Sub-Locality and Administrative Subdivisions

Some countries or areas require an additional subdivision, like sub-locality, for
correct address
information. See your Country Specific guidelines for specific guidance. The
general guidance is to
rate a wrong sub-locality as Incorrect – Sub-Locality. This is also true if the
sub-locality is required
but missing.
7.1.5. Locality
Misspellings within the locality name, including missing diacritics (e instead of
é, l instead of ł) may be
rated Incorrect – Locality. See your Country-Specific Guidelines for more
information.

Every result requires the correct locality component within its address details. In
cases of local
government reforms or other changes in naming, the result has to reflect the
official name.
Exceptions are made when alternate names are accepted.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Van Gogh Museum
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Utrecht,
Netherlands
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Locality
This address has the wrong locality. Locality
checkbox should be selected.
Van Gogh Museum
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Netherlands
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Locality
This address has a missing locality therefore
locality checkbox should be selected.
Jana Matejki Jana Matejki Address Accuracy Incorrect – Locality
Jana Matejki
90-237 Lódz
Polska
90-237 Łódź
Polska The locality within the street result is missing
diacritics in two letters (Ł
and ź) which should be
treated as a misspelling in the Polish market.

7.1.5. Region or State

Each country has its own understanding of what is expected (correct) or unusual
(incorrect) for
region or state components. See your Country Specific guidelines for more
information.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

1384 Navarro Dr
1384 Navarro Dr,
Sunnyvale, 94087, USA
1384 Navarro Dr,
Sunnyvale, CA 94087,
USA
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Region/
State
This address is missing the state, which is a
mandatory component in the USA. Region/State
checkbox will be selected for missing state.
Van Gogh Museum
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam, North-
Holland, Netherlands
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Correct with
formatting issue
Region is not a mandatory component in the
Netherlands, but if present has to be correct.
Since the region is not necessary, it is a
redundant address component and should be
flagged as a formatting issue.
Result Official Address Rating and Explanation
Van Gogh Museum
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam, North-
Brabant, Netherlands
Museumplein 6, 1071
DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Region/
State
Region is not a mandatory component in the
Netherlands, but if present has to be correct.
The correct region for the city of Amsterdam is
North-Holland, therefore the region/state
checkbox will be selected.

7.1.6. Postal Code

The postal code accompanies the locality name and provides further detail about
where a feature is
located. See your Country Specific guidelines for more information on when postal
codes are a
mandatory address component.

If a postal code is not mandatory but is present in the result address, rate
Correct as long as the
postal code applies to at least part of the feature (street, locality, large POI
without an expected
address, etc.).

For many localities, more than one postal code may apply. As long as the returned
postal code is
correct for at least a part of the feature (street, locality, large POI) rate
Correct. Columbus, OH, for
example, contains 45 postal codes.

Postal code standards differ between locales so be sure to consult your Country
Specific guidelines
for details.

Consider any country specific conventions when it comes to the use and correctness
of shortened
postal codes. For example, the US postal code does not need the four-digit
extension that follows the
five digit main code. Ignore it if it appears.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Van Gogh Museum Address Accuracy Incorrect – Postal Code
Museumplein 6, 1071
DM Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Museumplein 6,
1071 DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
This address has the wrong postal code “DM”
instead of the correct “DJ.” Postal code checkbox
should be selected.
Van Gogh Museum
Museumplein 6
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Museumplein 6,
1071 DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Postal Code
This address has a missing postal code. Postal code
checkbox should be selected.

7.1.7. Country
The country is a “nice to have” piece of information, but should always be included
when the result is
located in a country other than the test locale. If missing, rate Incorrect and
select the Country
checkbox.
Test
Locale Address in Result Address in Reality Rating and Explanation
1384 Navarro Dr, 1384 Navarro Dr, Address Accuracy Correct
en_US Sunnyvale, CA
94087
Sunnyvale, CA
94087
This is a correct address since the test
locale is the USA.
1384 Navarro Dr, 1384 Navarro Dr,
Address Accuracy Correct
de_DE Sunnyvale,
CA,94087, USA
Sunnyvale, CA
94087, USA
This address includes the country name
since it is outside of Germany, which is the
test locale.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Country
en_US
Museumplein 6,
1071 DJ
Amsterdam
Museumplein 6,
1071 DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
The country is mandatory in this example
because the address is in the Netherlands,
which is outside the user's US test locale.
Country checkbox should have been
selected.

7.2. Address Does Not Exist

An address-type result needs to be associated with a building or with a plot of
land that has been
officially assigned that address. If you find strong evidence that there is no
building at the address or
that no plot of land has been officially assigned the address, rate Incorrect –
Address does not exist
and leave a detailed comment including links. If there are not enough resources
available to make an
informed decision, rate Can’t Verify.

Within markets that use street number extensions, if the result offers an address
with a generic street
number, but the street number alone does not exist without an extension (e.g.
result returns “163
Main St.”, but only “163A Main St.” and “163B Main St.” exist), rate the address as
Incorrect –
Address does not exist, since the street number without the extension is not a
valid, real-life address.
Note that street number extensions differ from the building numbers referred to in
Unit/Apt section.

In rare cases, an existing street address can be found in a different locality.

Always mark such cases
as Incorrect – Address does not exist and not as Incorrect – Locality.
Use the Incorrect – Address does not exist checkbox for any address result that
doesn’t
exist, like a street or sub-locality result. This rating should not be applied to
POI addresses.

7.3. Language/Script Issue in Address

The address details must be in a language and script that matches the test language
(like en_US), the
user query, or the result region.
Use the Address Accuracy Incorrect – Language/Script Issue checkbox if you find
issues of this
nature in any of the address components in the address details of any result. (For
business/POI
names and address titles in unexpected languages, see Result title/name in
unexpected language.)

These examples show incorrect language and script for the result “Cafe Timber, 1066
Hippy Hollow
Rd, Red Boiling Springs, TN 37150” with a user in the US using English.

Any combination of unexpected language or script is considered Incorrect. An

exception can be
made in cases when only special characters are added that are not used in the
expected language.

Results located in a market with different scripts are hard to verify. Use the
normal research steps to
confirm the address. It is not expected that you understand markets and address
formats outside
your local knowledge expertise, so do the best you can without doing more research
than normal.

Rate mixed languages and scripts found in any address details as Language/script
Issue when
they use a different language or script than the one used in the query, test, or
result location.

7.4. Country-Specific Issue

The variety of address formats and distinctive country specific issues is broad. In
general, use the
checkbox for Country Specific Issue when there is an address problem that is not
covered by the
available checkboxes. This includes things like instances when an address also
requires a
municipality in addition to locality and state, but those components are either
missing or incorrect.
See your Country Specific guidelines for more information.

7.4.1.Country-Specific Issue vs. Correct with Formatting Issue

Any additional components beyond the regular address format for a country are
rated:

• Correct with formatting issue if correct

• Incorrect – Country Specific Issue if very unusual or wrong
7.5. Other Issue
Issues not mentioned in these guidelines are reported using the Incorrect – Other
Issue checkbox. If
you choose this option, be sure to leave a comment as well as links to the
resources you used to
identify the issue. The checkbox is also used for:

• Duplicate address components

• Name of POI reappears in the address details
• Natural features that contain street address elements (see Natural Features)
• P.O. Box addresses
You may also use this checkbox if you notice formatting issues along with any
Incorrect
components you’ve already selected. This is because once you mark a component
Incorrect, you
can no longer choose Correct with Formatting issue.

7.6. Correct with Formatting Issue

When all the result address information is correct and present, but not in the
format expected, mark it
as Correct with Formatting issue. Formatting issues include the order of address
components and
other minor issues that are not necessarily considered wrong. They do not include
misspellings
which are addressed under the relevant individual components. Some reasons to rate
Correct with
formatting issue:

• Components are in unexpected order

• Non-required but correct address components
• Extra spacing
• Double comma [,,]
• Rate Incorrect if a required component is missing
• Valid but redundant or unnecessary components (See your Country Specific
guidelines for
more information)
If optional components already discussed in this chapter appear in the address, use
the guidance
provided in the section that applies to those components, not the Correct with
formatting issue
rating. If your market has additional address components, consult your Country
Specific guidelines
before demoting.

7.7. Can’t Verify

An address is rated Can’t Verify when it cannot be confirmed as Correct or
Incorrect. This is
usually the case when there is a lack of resources or an unexpected address format
is given on the
official website.

• Lack of resources:
• No official webpage found
• No official address listed
• General lack of official resources
• Lack of street imagery
• Unexpected address formats used by official resources can include:
• Intersection address (Main St and 2nd St)
• Exit address (Exit 5, Hwy 101)
• Descriptive address (Main St between 6th and 7th Streets)
Ask yourself: Is the location given by the result address at least not wrong given
all information I
have found? Use the following examples to learn how reach a conclusion.

Note: If an address contains missing or incorrect components, it can be confirmed

as Incorrect.
Mark the individual incorrect components. See your Country Specific guidelines for
more information
on missing or incorrect components.
7.7.1. Can’t Verify for Street Number
The following example shows address details for a business called “Utopia.” No
information online
confirms the address and only a few street numbers can be confirmed with official
resources.

Rule and Explanation Example

The street number has to fall within the possible
range of addresses.
The street number 165 falls within the possible
street numbers ranging from 103 to 175.
Those are the houses closest to the result
address that could have been confirmed.
Rate the address Can’t Verify.

7.7.2. Can’t Verify for Street Name

The following examples give different address details for a business called Aztec.
The official address
is “Granite Ave & W Babcock St, Bozeman, MT” and is in a different format than the
result addresses.

Rule and Explanation Example

The result address has to provide access and
be within the possible range of street numbers.
W Babcock St provides access to the business
and the number appears to be within the range
of addresses we can confirm.
Rate the address Can’t Verify.
Granite Ave provides access to the business
and the number appears to be within the range
of addresses we can confirm.
Rate the address Can’t Verify.
8. Address Accuracy: Result Expectations
You will see three kinds of results:

• Business/POI results
• Address type results
• Features without an expected address
Different address details are expected for each result type. For example, the
Amazon river has no
street address but its name is accompanied by the country, while the fast food
place Wienerschnitzel
shows a complete address. You will need the appropriate expectations in order to
rate addresses
accuracy.

Wienerschnitzel
75 Saratoga Ave
Santa Clara, CA 95050
United States
Eiffel Tower
5 Avenue Anatole France
75007 Paris
France
1 Church St
1 Church St
Burlington, VT 05401
United States
Grand Central Terminal
Manhattan
New York, NY
United States
Amazon
Brazil Natural Feature
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
WY 82190
United States

8.1. Business/POI Result

The address details of a business or POI generally consist of: street number,
street name, locality,
region, postal code, and country.

The address given is confirmed Correct when it points to the same physical location
listed on the
official webpage or other official resources and all mandatory components for your
market are
present. See your Country Specific guidelines for details on mandatory address
components.

8.1.1. Business/POI Address Research and Resources

Use official resources to confirm an address when a business or POI’s official
website does not
provide a full address or if there is a conflict with the address in the result.
These resources can
include:

• Social media sites claimed by the business/POI and updated within the last 6
months
• Street imagery (any recent online imagery showing streets and buildings)
• Postal authorities (for postal codes and locality names)
• Government property registries
If a business or POI has more than one official address for the same location,
accept any of them
as Correct.
If no official resources can be found, rate according to consensus from multiple
reliable sources.
Reliable resources include:

• Articles in primary publications (newspapers or similar publications that do

their own
reporting)
• Crowdsourced user review sites
When no official resources are available and address components are missing or
clearly incorrect,
check to see if those components are required in the market or region of the result
and select the
appropriate checkboxes under Incorrect. See your Country Specific guidelines for
more information.

Some resources, like data aggregators, spammy directory sources, and so on, are
unreliable, and
consensus between unreliable resources should be disregarded.

• Valid alternate street and locality names When valid alternate names for streets
or
localities are used interchangeably, consider all versions Correct.
• Valid alternate street addresses: When valid alternate addresses are returned,
consider all
versions found on the official website or confirmed by official sources as Correct.

When the address listed by the official website or resources is in a different

format than the one seen
in the result, confirm if the address given is Incorrect or Can’t Verify. See Can't
Verify for more
information.

If there is any obvious error in an official source, like a misspelled country or

city name, and the
same error appears in the result, rate the erroneous component Incorrect.

8.1.2. Alternative Official Addresses

Some official addresses may contain a vanity street name or have no official street
number. In rare
cases they may even lack a complete street address. Refer to the official webpage
as well as to
common address formats in your country to determine the accuracy of each business
or POI address.

8.1.2.1.
Department
Addresses
When the official webpage does not give a complete address with street number and
name for a
large entity (mall, university, etc.):

• Rate the result address Correct when it matches the address of any department or
entity at
the same location complex or campus.
• Rate the result address Correct when it lists the correct locality for the
entity. If the exact
locality is unclear because the entity borders multiple localities, rate Can’t
Verify.
• The locality is always expected, even when no complete address is provided. If
missing, rate
Incorrect – Locality.
• Region and postal code must also appear in countries where they are mandatory
components. See your Country Specific guidelines for more information.
Result Address Official Address Rating and Explanation
Address Accuracy Correct
Dartmouth College
10 N Main St,
Hanover, NH 03755
Dartmouth College has no official street
address listed on their website. The address
in the result belongs to the Office of
Admissions, which is part of the larger
university, therefore the address is Correct.
Dartmouth College Address Accuracy Correct
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
03755
Hanover, NH
03755
USA
The college lists only the locality as its
official address and the result matches that
address and is therefore Correct (even
though it is missing a street number and
name).
Dartmouth College
NH
03755
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Locality
A locality is expected in the address details
for most POIs. Rate Incorrect – Locality
when the locality is given by the official
webpage but missing in the result.

In addition to a street address, a store or department can have the name of the
complex or campus
that contains it and be rated Correct.

Result Address Official Address Rating and Explanation

Address Accuracy Correct
Stanford School of
Law
Stanford University,
Stanford, CA 94305
559 Nathan Abbott
Way, Stanford, CA
94305
This result is a department within Stanford
University. The address is Correct because the
larger entity name and correct locality is listed
as the address.
The Cheesecake
Factory
Westfield Valley Fair,
Santa Clara, CA
95050
3041 Stevens Creek
Blvd
Santa Clara,
CA 95050
Address Accuracy Correct
This result is a business within Westfield Valley
Fair shopping mall. The address is Correct
because the larger entity name and correct
locality are listed as the address.
If the entity has an official address and the result address belongs to another
entity in the same
complex or on the same campus, rate Incorrect.

Result Address Official Address Rating and Explanation

Stanford School of
Law
450 Serra Mall,
Stanford, CA 94305
559 Nathan Abbott
Way, Stanford, CA
94305
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
& Street Name
The result address belongs to the larger entity
(Stanford University). The department has an
official address that is different from the
university’s address, so the result address is
rated Incorrect.
Stanford University
559 Nathan Abbott
Way, Stanford, CA
94305
450 Serra Mall,
Stanford, CA 94305
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
& Street Name
The result address belongs to a smaller entity
within the university (Stanford School of Law).
The university has an official address that is
different, so this address is rated Incorrect.
The Cheesecake
Factory
2855 Stevens Creek
Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95050
3041 Stevens Creek
Blvd
Santa Clara,
CA 95050
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
The result address belongs to the larger entity
(Westfield Valley Fair mall) that contains the
restaurant. The Cheesecake Factory’s official
website lists a different address, so the
address Incorrect.
Westfield Valley Fair
3041 Stevens Creek
Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95050
2855 Stevens Creek
Blvd
Santa Clara,
CA 95050
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
The result address belongs a business (The
Cheesecake Factory) within the mall. the
shopping mall has an official address that is
different, so the address is rated Incorrect.

8.1.2.2.
Result
Missing
the
Street
Address
When both the result and the official webpage show identical but incomplete street
addresses
(missing street name, street number, or both) and the locality is correct, consider
the address
Correct.
Result Address Official Address Rating and Explanation
Address Accuracy Correct
Pilot Thomas
Cardlock
State Hwy 115 &
Mustang Drive,
Andrews, TX 79714
State Hwy 115 &
Mustang Drive,
Andrews, TX 79714
This result is for a self-serve gas station for
commercial vehicles. While we would normally
expect a full address for this type of result, the
official website lists only an intersection. The
result listing matches the official website, so
the result is rated Correct.
Address Accuracy Can't Verify
Strand Central Park
Kiosk
789 5th Ave
Manhattan, NY 10065
E. 60th St & 5th Ave,
Manhattan, NY
10065
This result is for a automated book kiosk.
While we would normally expect a full address
for this type of result, the official website lists
only an intersection. The result listing is a full
street address, so the result is rated Can't
Verify.

When the street address is missing from the result but the official webpage has a
street address,
consider the address Incorrect.

Result Address Official Address Rating and Explanation

Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
Pilot Thomas
Cardlock
Andrews, TX 79714
State Hwy 115 &
Mustang Drive,
Andrews, TX 79714
This result is for a self-serve gas station for
commercial vehicles. The official website lists
an intersection as the address. The result
address is missing the two streets (State Hwy
115 & Mustang Dr). Mark the result Incorrect
– Street Name.
Stanford University
Serra Mall, Stanford, CA
94305
450 Serra Mall,
Stanford, CA 94305
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
The result address is missing the street
number given on the official website, therefore
the address accuracy is Incorrect – Street
Number.

8.1.2.3.
P.O.
Box,
Mailing
Addresses,
and
Management
Offices
Addresses that point to a different location or building, such as management
offices, P.O. Boxes,
mailing addresses, or shared office spaces, are not valid and are rated Incorrect –
Other Issue.
Result Address Official Address Rating and Explanation
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Other Issue
John F. Kennedy
International Airport
4 World Trade Center,
150 Greenwich St.,
New York, NY 10007
4 World Trade
Center, 150
Greenwich St.,
New York, NY 10007
The address on the official airport site is for
The Port Authority of NY & NJ corporate
office, which is not the location of the actual
airport. Even though the result address
matches the address listed on the official site,
it is a different location and does not refer to
the location of the result POI.

8.1.3. Businesses/POI with Moving Locations

Moving entities can either be on a fixed schedule or move at random. In some cases,
entities appear
to be moving because they are located in a truck or similar vehicle, but are
actually permanently
based at the same location.

Random location

The location of randomly moving entities cannot be predicted and should not be
shown on the map.
Rate such businesses as Result is closed or does not exist.

Fixed schedule

Some entities, such as food trucks, move on fixed schedules. Their stops and
schedule are usually
posted on their official webpage. The most accurate location for these entities is
the address of their
longest stay over a full cycle of the given schedule (i.e. if a business has a
weekly cycle and stays in
one spot for four days, that spot will be the only acceptable address for it). Mark
any other address as
Incorrect – Other Issue. In cases of a tie, consider any of those locations
Correct.

Fixed location

Businesses that operate out of a truck or bus that is stationary are evaluated like
a standard business.
The vehicle does not need to be parked at the location after closing hours to be
considered at a fixed
location.

8.1.4. Events
Some events can be very prominent but happen only a few days a year, others are
regularly recurring.

Regularly recurring (weekly/monthly)

Rate events like weekly farmer’s markets like any other business.

Annual Events

Events that happen once a year, such as Burning Man or the Sziget Festival, only
occur for a short
time each year, but attract massive amounts of people and media attention. Users
can be interested
in these kinds of events outside the time they are held.
If the query and location intent are clear, assign an appropriate relevance rating,
otherwise rate Bad.
Treat seasonal stores (like Spirit Halloween store) and seasonally open POIs (like
California’s Great
America theme park) the same way as annual events.

Depending on its location, an event may not have an official address. This kind of
event should be
treated like a landmark or natural feature.

Singular or Non-Established Events

Non-recurring events from the past don’t carry any map significance and are rated
Business/POI
closed or does not exist, unless the location of the event became a POI (due to its
historical
importance) that carries the name of the event further.

8.2. Address Type Results

Address type results generally include:

• Street number, street name, postal code, locality and country (when outside of
the test
locale).
8.2.1. Address Result
An address usually includes a street number, street name, locality, postal code and
state/region. It
can be the same as the mailing address or other addresses provided by the official
resources. Use
the chapter Address Formats, below, as well as your local knowledge, to identify
the necessary
components and format.

• The address given has to be associated with a building or a plot of land

officially assigned
that address.
• P.O. boxes are not valid addresses in the map context. Rate such addresses as
Incorrect –
Other Issue.
If your research shows that the address does not exist, see Address Does Not Exist.

Address Mandatory components Explanation

13 Navarro Dr,
Sunnyvale, CA
94087
Street Number, Street Name,
Street Type, Locality, State,
Postal code Mandatory components may vary by
country. Check your country specific
guidelines for a complete list. Museumplein 5,
1071DJ Amsterdam
Street Name, Street Type,
Street Number, Postal code,
Locality

8.2.2. Address Formats

Various address formats are used in different countries. The sequence and
presentation of the
components is adapted to match the local needs. For example, the street number
comes before the
street name in the United States but after it in Germany. See your Country Specific
Guidelines for
more information.
It might be impossible to confirm an address on official resources when another
format is used. Rate
Can’t Verify if the address points to the same location using an alternate format
and there are no
missing or incorrect components.

8.2.3. Street Result

Depending on the length of the street, different address components are expected.

Mandatory components may vary per country. See your Country Specific guidelines for
a complete
list.

• Local roads: Local roads that stay within a certain locality or county should
carry the
appropriate locality and state name.
• Highways/Interstates: Longer roads that travel between cities or even states
don’t require a
locality or state component. If such components are present, they must be accurate.

U.S. Route 395 covers almost the entire distance from Canada to Mexico. It passes
through four
states and connects countless towns, such as Big Pine, CA. Within that locality, it
carries for a short
distance the name N Main St. The two results have different expectations regarding
components.
There are several forms that are appropriate for the result

U.S. Route 395 because of its length:

• U.S. Route 395 or US 395
• U.S. Route 395, California
• US 395, Big Pine, California, United States
For the result N Main St, there is only one expected form
because the road is short and stays within the locality:

•
N Main St, Big Pine, CA United States
8.2.4. Locality Result
A locality result can be a city, village, municipality or neighborhood. In the U.S.
the result usually
includes the state it is part of.

Address Mandatory
components Explanation
Sunnyvale, CA Locality, State Mandatory components may vary per country.
Check your country specific guidelines for a
complete list.
Amsterdam,
Netherlands Locality
8.2.5.Postal Code Result

Postal codes are returned when the user query matches the specific numbers or
letters.

Query Address Mandatory

components Explanation
[94087] Sunnyvale, CA
94087
Locality, State, Postal
code Mandatory components may
vary per country. Check your
Country Specific guidelines for
a complete list. [1071 DJ]
Museumplein, 1071
DJ Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Postal code, Locality

8.2.6.State/Region/Territory Result

If the user makes the query from a country outside the state or region result, that
result must be
accompanied by the country name.

Address Mandatory
components Explanation
California State name
If the result is outside of the test locale, country
name is a mandatory component. North-Holland Region name
Puerto Rico Territory name

8.2.7. Country Result

The country is the highest administrative level and has no other address component.

Address Mandatory
components Explanation
Netherlands Country The country is the highest administrative level
and has no other address components. Romania Country

8.3. Features Without an Expected Address

There are several kinds of features where no address is expected by the user. This
could mean no
street name or number or, in some cases, no address components of any kind, are
expected to be
shown. These types of results have different rating criteria when it comes to
Address Accuracy.

8.3.1. Natural Features

Natural features are specific landforms or ecosystems like rivers, mountains,
jungles, and other
geological features. They have names that can be rated, but typically do not have a
street address, so
natural feature results should be returned without any street address components.
If a street address
is present, it is considered Incorrect – Other Issue, even when pointing to a
building that is
associated with the feature (like a ranger station or visitor center).

• A locality may be an acceptable address if it is appropriate for the size of the

feature, as it can
help locate a small feature, like a hot spring, within the locality. For larger
features, such as a
mountain, a locality may not make sense and would be rated Incorrect – Other Issue.

• The state the feature is in can also be provided as the feature’s address and
rated Correct.
• If a postal code is included, it must be correct
• If a very large or expansive natural feature, like a river or mountain, spans
more than one
country, any one of these countries can be a Correct address. If no country at all
appears,
this is also Correct.
Parks and other protected areas are artificial boundaries created to help protect
the natural feature.
Those POIs are often named after the natural feature they contain. In cases where a
feature can be
considered a POI, such as Mount Rushmore or a state park beach, the official
address can be
returned. There might be other natural features within a park that reference the
park name as part of
their address details.

Treat landmasses like islands and continents as natural features with no

expectation of a street
address. If one is returned, rate it Incorrect – Other Issue.

Result Details Official Address Rating and Explanation

Wreck Beach
Vancouver No official address The beach can be confirmed as located within
Vancouver and is therefore rated Correct.
Wreck Beach
NW Marine Dr,
Vancouver
No official address
The result contains the name of a street that
provides access to the beach. But the street is
not expected and therefore rated Incorrect –
Other Issue.
Wreck Beach
W King Edward Ave,
Vancouver
No official address
The result contains the name of a street that is
nowhere near the beach. The street is not
expected and therefore rated Incorrect – Other
Issue.
Mendenhall Glacier
Juneau, AK 99801 No official address
This glacier is located in the borough of Juneau.
The postal code in the address is associated
with that locality, therefore both components
should be considered Correct.
Mendenhall Glacier
8510 Mendenhall Loop
Rd, Juneau
No official address
The given address belongs to the overseeing
Forest Office. The glacier should not have this
address and is rated Incorrect – Other Issue.
Mount Rushmore
13000 HWY 244 #31-1,
Keystone, SD
13000 Highway 244
Building 31, Suite 1
Keystone, SD 57751
Mount Rushmore is both a mountain and a
monument within its own national park. The
address given on the official National Parks
Service website confirms the result address as
Correct.
8.3.2. POIs Without an Expected Address
POIs without an expected address differ from regular POIs and businesses in that
the user would not
expect a street name and number to be shown.

These types of POIs include, but are not limited to:

Parks (Golf courses and theme parks not included)

• Monuments
• National Landmarks
• Park-like heritage sites
• Bridges
• Squares
• Parking lots
• Transit POIs -these can include airports (including airport terminals), ferry
ports, subways,
bike share stations, train and bus stops
The rating criteria described in the sections below apply to all features without
an expected address.

See Official Address Present if this kind of POI has an official address

8.3.2.1.
Minimum
Address
Component
Whether there is an official street address or not, POIs without an expected
address do not need to
show it. The locality must be returned whenever a POI is small enough to fit
entirely within it. A POI
that covers an area overlapping several localities does not require a locality
component.

See your Country Specific guidelines for more information on mandatory address
components.

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Address Accuracy Correct
Quincy Station
Chicago, IL
220 S. Wells St,
Chicago, IL 60606
This is a transit POI so no street address is expected.
The result address is just the locality. The POI is
physically located within the given locality and it
matches the one listed within the official address.
Result Official Address Rating and Explanation
Address Accuracy Correct
Stonehenge
Amesbury, Salisbury None
This is a heritage site so no street address is
expected. The result address is just the locality.
There is no official street address but since the POI is
physically located only within given locality it can be
considered correct.
Address Accuracy Correct
Tongariro National
Park
New Zealand
None
This is a park and heritage site POI so no street
address is expected. No locality is listed for this
result. Since this POI covers an area that overlaps
several localities no locality component is required.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Locality
Founders Park
Virginia
351 N Union St,
Alexandria, VA
22314
This is a park POI so no street address is expected.
No locality is listed for this result. Since this park fits
into only one locality, Alexandria, the missing locality
component must be considered incorrect.

8.3.2.2.
Official
Address
Present
Official address is a full street address:

Some of these features have an official street address listed on their website or
found on other official
sources, but users wouldn’t necessarily expect the address to be shown. Since a
full address is not
expected, the result does not need to contain a full address even if there is one
found via official
sources. Do not automatically consider any missing street address components as
incorrect.

Full Address: When the result contains a full address it should be rated Correct
if:

• The result and official addresses are identical

Street: When the result address is just a street it should be rated Correct if:
• The result address street is the same as the street within the official address
Consider the following examples for Embarcadero Station in San Francisco:

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Embarcadero Address Accuracy Correct
Station
298 Market St, San
Francisco, CA 94111
The result has a full address that is the same as the
address listed on the official website.
Result Official Address Rating and Explanation
Embarcadero
Station
Market St,
San Francisco, CA
Address Accuracy Correct
The result address is just a street. Since the street
matches the street listed within the official address it
should be considered correct.
Embarcadero
Station
388 Market St, San
Francisco, CA 94111
298 Market St, San
Francisco, CA 94111
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
The result has a full address. The street number does
not match the number listed within the official
address and should be considered incorrect.
Embarcadero Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
Station
Davis St,
San Francisco, CA
The result address is just a street. The street is not
the same as the street listed within the official
address and should be considered incorrect.
Embarcadero Address Accuracy Incorrect – Locality
Station The result has no address details at all. Locality is the
minimum component required for this kind of result
and should be rated Incorrect – Locality if missing.

Official address is a partial street address

When the result address is more specific than the official address it can be rated
as Can’t Verify or
Incorrect, unless another official source can be found to confirm the returned
address.

Full Address: When the result contains a full address it should be rated Can’t
Verify if all of the
following apply:

• It does not belong to another POI/entity

• The street within the result address matches the street listed as the official
address
If the full address belongs to another building not associated with the POI it
should be rated
Incorrect.
Consider St Nicholas’ Church in Berlin, Germany:

Result Official Address Rating and Explanation

Address Accuracy Can’t Verify
St. Nicholas’ Church
Nikolaikirchplatz 3,
10178 Berlin,
Germany
The result POI is a landmark church and museum.
The result has a full address. The street number is
not associated with any other POI or entity and the
street within the address matches the official street
address.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
St. Nicholas’ Church
Nikolaikirchplatz 5,
10178 Berlin,
Germany
Nikolaikirchplatz
10178 Berlin,
Germany
The result has a full address. The street number
belongs to a building not associated with the POI and
should be considered incorrect. The street within the
address matches the official street address.
St. Nicholas’ Church
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number,
Street Name
Poststraße 1,
10178 Berlin,
Germany
The result has a full address. The street name does
not match the official street name, so both address
components should be considered incorrect.

8.3.2.3.
No Official
Address
If no official street address is found, the result street address can be rated as
Can’t Verify or
Incorrect unless another official source, like street imagery, can be found to
confirm the returned
address. When there is no official address the returned street address cannot be
confirmed and
therefore cannot be considered correct. (Please see your Country-Specific guideline
for more
details.)

Full Address: If the full address belongs to another building not associated with
the POI (even if they
are on the same street) it should be rated Incorrect. When the result contains a
full address it should
be rated Can’t Verify if all of the following apply:

• It belongs to a building associated with the intended POI/entity

• The street provides access to the intended POI
Street: When the result address is just a street it should be rated Can’t Verify
if:
• The street provides access to the intended POI
Determining Access:

A person must be able to reach the POI directly from the given street by walking or
driving. This
includes:

• Streets providing access by following the boundaries of the feature or leading

into it.
• T-intersections:
• A street ending at an intersection does not provide access to the feature on the
other
side of it.
• A street provides access to a feature when it continues through the feature (even
as a
different road type with or without a different name) as long as it keeps its
original name on
the other side of the feature, and by doing so provides physical access.
• Ignore access restrictions when considering whether a street provides access or
not.
Result Rating and Explanation
Address Accuracy Can’t Verify
Grosvenor Square Garden
Grosvenor Square,
London
The result address is the street in front of the result POI. Like the
example illustrated above, this street provides direct access to the
result POI.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
Grosvenor Square Garden
N Audley St.
London
The street ends in a T-intersection with the park on the other side.
The street does not continue on the other side as it becomes S
Audley St. and is therefore rated Incorrect.
Result Rating and Explanation
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Name
Charles de Gaulle Airport
Rue A. Parreux,
Mauregard
The result address is just a street. The street does not provide
direct access to the result POI and should be considered Incorrect.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number
Charles de Gaulle Airport
4 Rue de la Fossette,
Mauregard
The result has a full address. The street provides direct access
however, the street number belongs to a building not associated
with the result POI and should be considered Incorrect.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Street Number, Street Name
Charles de Gaulle Airport
64 Rue de Claye,
Mauregard
The result has a full address. The street does not provide direct
access to the suggestion POI and the street number is associated
with another entity. Both address components should be
considered Incorrect.
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Locality
Zurich Airport Since the airport is associated with a distinct locality “Kloten” it

requires at least a locality name and is rated Incorrect – Locality if

this is missing.

9. Pin Accuracy
For each result returned, you will find a pin on the map. Rate the accuracy of each
pin’s placement
using this scale:

•
Perfect
•
Approximate
•
Next Door
•
Wrong
•
Can’t Verify
The pin should be a reflection of the result: The location represented by the pin
should reflect the
result. Pin ratings should be evaluated individually and not influenced by address
or other data. A pin
can be correct when other rating components are rated wrong.

Missing Pins

If a pin for a result does not appear on a map, rate the pin Wrong. If this happens
five or more
times in a row, release the task for technical reasons and explain why in the
comments box.
9.1. General Considerations
The following chapters will provide more detail on how to evaluate pin placement
based on the
feature presented. They describe issues to consider when evaluating the pin.

9.1.1. Pin Resources

Rate pin placement according to consensus from multiple reliable online resources.
These resources
should include both aerial and street-level views whenever possible. Reliable
resources include:

• Reliable online map resources, including vector and hybrid views

• Hybrid views may provide additional points of reference including the locations
of
streets
• Street imagery
• Accurate street-level imagery can also be found on claimed social media sites,
crowdsourced user review sites, and articles in primary publications (newspapers or
similar
publications that do their own reporting)
• Official venue maps and directories, which can contain information not available
in street
imagery
• Government property registries
Note: After consulting these research resources, always verify pin placement using
the layers
provided in the TryRating tool. This means that even if you have gathered
coordinates elsewhere, you
must rate pin placement based on what you can actually see in the TryRating layers.

Leave comments including coordinates and links to resources if the pin rating was
difficult to
determine or if you could not verify the pin’s placement.

9.1.2. Satellite Imagery vs. Vector Map

When there is a difference between where the pin drops in satellite imagery and the
vector map,
always use the map layer in the TryRating tool that is more generous toward the
pin. For example, if
the pin drops on the rooftop in satellite imagery, but in the parking lot in vector
map, rate using
satellite imagery because a pin on a rooftop will get a better rating than a pin
placed in a parking lot.
Even if there is a major shift between satellite imagery and the vector map in a
larger area, such as a
complete city or region, rate according to the most generous layer.

Note: When deciding between the generosity of the vector and satellite views for
pin rating, use only
the vector/satellite views provided in the TryRating tool.

In cases where the vector map is more generous toward the pin but does not show any
building
contours, use satellite imagery as a reference to locate buildings on the vector
map to allow for
rooftop ratings. If satellite imagery is unavailable, use your best judgment to
determine the correct
location of the pin.

In the screenshot below, the vector map does not provide any contours, so it is
difficult to determine
where each building is. Satellite imagery should be used instead.
Vector Image Satellite Image Vector Image Satellite Image
9.1.3. Boundaries of the Feature
To rate a pin for a feature, you must first understand where the feature begins and
ends. Some
features have rooftops (houses, businesses, malls, and so on) and sit on a parcel
of land that belongs
to or is associated with them. Other features do not have rooftops (mountains,
parks, waterfalls), but
there is still a place where they begin and where they end.

A boundary is a real or imaginary line that separates one feature, or the parcel it
sits on, from another.
The boundaries of a feature always include half of the road when a road is present
(see the Half 'n
Half rule below).

Boundaries can include:

• Fences
• Walls
• Garden plants and bushes
• Bodies of water (lakes, rivers, oceans)
• Other dividers
• Property boundaries confirmed by official sources
If there is no divider, draw an imaginary 90-degree line to the road or use the
Half 'n Half rule below.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: SINGLE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
1556 Tobias Dr
San Jose, CA 95118
The property boundary is defined by half of the
road on one side and physical dividers like brick,
concrete, and wooden fences on the others.
EXAMPLE TYPE: SHOPPING CENTER
2086 NewPark Mall
Newark, CA 94560
The property boundary is defined by the roads
surrounding the shared parking lot.

9.1.3.1.
Half
’n
Half
and
Tennis
Rules
In dense areas it may be difficult to find boundaries between parcels. In these
cases, divide the space
between the street or next building in half to create a boundary. Use this "Half 'n
Half" rule to
determine the Approximate and Next Door pin locations.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: HALF ’N HALF TO STREET
Extend the feature boundaries to the middle of
the road(s). The example shows how Will Rogers
Dr (to the south) and Saratoga Ave (to the east)
are divided in half to define the outer limits of the
Approximate area.
EXAMPLE TYPE: HALF ’N HALF TO NEXT BUILDING
The space between two buildings can be divided
in half to create a boundary for an Approximate
pin placement.

Use natural boundaries as much as possible to draw the line between a Perfect,
Approximate,
Next Door, and Wrong pin locations.

To address close calls, apply the Tennis Rule:

•If the tip of the pin is still touching the line, the pin is considered inside the

boundary.
•If the tip of the pin points outside, it is outside of the boundary.
9.1.3.2.
Boundaries in Shared Spaces
When a feature shares a parcel or parking lot with other entities and the same
space is used to
access many entities, it can be difficult to determine a feature’s boundaries. In
cases like this:

• Use the guidance provided in Boundaries of the Feature

• If the shared parcel contains any through roads, apply the Half ’n Half rule to
them:
• Through roads are part of the public road network that can be used to go to
places other
than the specific parcel
• The Half n‘ Half Rule may also be applied to the parcel’s internal access roads
if they
meet all three of these conditions:
• They must continue all the way through the parcel and
• They must have an exit and entrance to public roads at both ends and
• They must be continuously and clearly separated from the shared parking areas by
curbs, barriers, road markings, do not cross lines, or similar features
Note: If all three of the conditions above do not apply, then an internal access
road cannot be
considered a boundary.

Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: BOUNDARIES OF AN ENTIRE CAMPUS
Stanford Shopping Center
This is the Stanford Shopping Center, a campus
containing multiple buildings and POIs. When
this shopping center is the result, the entire
parcel is Perfect. This includes all buildings,
parking lots, and parking structures on both the
north and south sections of the mall on either of
side Arboretum Rd, the public road that cuts
through the parcel.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: BOUNDARIES OF A POI IN A SHARED SPACE WITH THROUGH ROADS
Nordstrom @ Stanford Shopping Center
The Nordstrom department store is located in
the south section of the shopping center’s
parcel.
When Nordstrom (shown in green) is the result,
only the south part of the mall up to 1/2 of
Arboretum Road is rated Approximate (shown
in yellow). This is because Arboretum Road is a
public road that can be used to access places
outside the parcel. The north side of the parcel
(shown in red) is rated Wrong since the public
road acts as boundary to Nordstrom’s
Approximate area.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: BOUNDARIES OF A POI IN A SHARED SPACE WITH NO THROUGH ROADS
Pho 2 Love
6593 W Colfax Ave
Lakewood, CO 80214
Pho 2 Love is a Vietnamese restaurant in a strip
mall with shared parking that has no public or
internal access roads passing through it. The
entire shared parcel is rated Approximate
(yellow area) and only the section of the rooftop
over the restaurant is rated Perfect (green
area). This is because the exact location of the
business can be confirmed with street imagery
or other strong evidence.

9.1.4. Next Door

A pin is considered Next Door if it drops on the immediate property next to the
intended one. A Next
Door pin must be:

• On the same street as the intended property

• The Next Door property must share the same street name as the intended property
• On the same side of the street as the intended property
• The first property to any side of the intended property
• On the same block as the intended property
"Immediate property" refers to the boundaries of the property as a whole, even if
there is no rooftop.
Determine the boundaries as explained in Boundaries of the Feature.

Note that the Half ’n Half rule explained in Section 9.1.3.1 also applies to Next
Door properties
No Next Door for Shared Spaces

A feature cannot be Next Door to another feature within the same property
boundaries. This
means that two buildings in the same shared parking lot or parcel can never be
rated as Next
Door to one another.

There will also be no Next Door ratings made outside the parcel or shared space.
Any pin falling
outside of the Approximate area will be marked Wrong.

9.1.5. Can’t Verify (Smallest Identified Area)

When a specific rooftop or boundary cannot be identified, Perfect cannot be given.
In these cases,
Can’t Verify can be used if the pin is within the smallest area that can be
identified as a potentially
correct location. A pin outside of this area is considered Wrong.

The Can’t Verify rating will also be used when an address is rated Incorrect
(Address does not
exist).

Example Explanation
920 Remour Ln
Mount Shasta, CA 96067
There is no street imagery in the area, so the
exact location of 920 Remour Ln cannot be
determined, though its existence is confirmed
by the postal service. Remour Ln is a dead-end
street, and satellite imagery allows us to confirm
the location of the the last properties on the
street. The last building number that can be
confirmed is 912. We can now create a
perimeter within which the pin should be
dropped (teal area).
Can’t Verify -> All pins dropped within the teal
area
Wrong -> All pins dropped outside the teal area
Example Explanation
350 352 Bukit Batok Street 34
Singapore, 650352
There is satellite imagery for this area, but
clouds cover the the exact location of the
address. Using evidence from other reliable
resources, a perimeter for where the pin should
be dropped can be established (teal area).
Can’t Verify -> All pins dropped within the teal
area
Wrong -> All pins dropped outside the teal area

9.2. Single Rooftop

Rating Explanation
Perfect Pin falls on the rooftop of the intended property.
Approximate Pin falls within the boundaries of the property, including on any
rooftop that’s not
the intended one.
Next Door Pin falls on the next door property.
Wrong Pin falls outside of the property boundaries or next door property. Any pin
falling
outside of the Approximate area in a shared space will be rated Wrong.
Can't Verify See Can’t Verify
Best Available Evidence

Pin rating for most features found under rooftops is based on the best available
evidence for that
feature's location. That is, the more evidence that can be found to verify a
feature’s location, the
more precise the pin’s location must be in order to be rated Perfect. This is true
whether or not
the feature's address includes a unit number, because the goal is to find the
location of the
feature.

If street imagery or other strong evidence can be found to confirm a feature’s

specific location
under a shared rooftop, only that location will be considered Perfect.

If a shared rooftop can be identified but there’s no strong evidence to confirm the
feature’s specific
location under it, the entire rooftop will be considered Perfect.

If several rooftops share an address and there’s no strong evidence to confirm

which rooftop the
feature is under, all rooftops will be considered Can’t Verify.

Note: This general pin rating rule does not apply to transit POIs, which have their
own pin rating
rules.

Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: INDIVIDUAL HOME
5507 Dent Ave
San Jose, CA 95118
Perfect -> The pin is on the rooftop specified in
the query address (green area)
Approximate -> The pin is within the boundaries
of the feature (yellow area)
Next Door -> The pin is on the immediate property
next to the intended feature (purple area)
Wrong -> The pin falls outside of the property
boundaries or Next Door property (everything
else)
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: MULTIPLE STREET NUMBERS UNDER ONE ROOFTOP WITHOUT SHARED PARKING
Breitensteinstrasse 77, 8037 Zurich
Available resources can have a big impact on rating when a pin is dropped on a
rooftop with multiple
street numbers under it.
This result is a residential townhouse without shared parking.
Note that the same rating principles apply to buildings with patchwork rooftops.
With evidence
Using street imagery or other strong evidence, four
entrances for the street numbers can be identified:
75, 77, 79 and 81. Once the rooftop area where the
pin should be dropped is determined, draw
imaginary lines to delimitate that area. A pin
dropped within that area will be rated Perfect. A
pin dropped within the property boundaries of the
perfect rooftop will be rated Approximate. The
rest of the connected rooftop with the appropriate
property boundaries will be rated Next Door
(purple area) or Wrong (red area) if the
corresponding rooftop portion is farther than the
Next Door property.
Perfect -> The pin is on correct portion of the
rooftop (green area)
Approximate -> The pin is within the boundaries
of the feature (yellow area)
Next Door -> The pin is on the immediate property
next to the intended feature (purple area)
Wrong -> The pin falls outside of the property
boundaries or Next Door property. (everything else)
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify
Example Explanation
Without evidence
Without street imagery or other strong evidence,
research may indicate that the address range under
the rooftop is 75 to 81, but the locations where the
middle numbers 77 and 79 start and end cannot be
determined. In this case, a pin falling anywhere on
the correct rooftop will be rated as Perfect, even if
the precise location on the rooftop for #77 cannot
be determined. A pin falling within the property
boundaries will be considered Approximate and
the buildings to the right and to the left will be
considered Next Door.
Perfect -> The pin is on the rooftop (green area)
Approximate -> The pin is within the boundaries
of the feature (yellow area)
Next Door -> The pin is on the immediate property
next to the intended feature (purple area)
Wrong -> The pin falls outside of the property
boundaries or Next Door property (everything
else)
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: ONE BUILDING WITH MULTIPLE STREET NUMBERS IN A SHARED PARKING LOT
Supercuts
1054 E El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
The result is a business (or an address) under a connected rooftop with multiple
street numbers
under it. This result shares a parking lot with other features.
Note: If there are any other buildings within the shared parking lot that are not
connected to the
Perfect location, they will also be rated Approximate.
This guidance also applies to residential buildings with shared rooftops, like
townhouses.
With evidence
With street imagery or other strong evidence, the
exact location of the business (or address) can be
confirmed. Draw imaginary lines on that part of the
shared rooftop to create the area for Perfect. The
rest of the connected rooftop and the shared
parking lot are rated Approximate.
Remember: Make no Next Door ratings outside
the parcel or shared space. Any pin falling outside of
the Approximate area in a shared space will be
rated Wrong.
Without evidence
Without street imagery or other strong evidence,
only the location of the entire rooftop under which
the business (or address) is located can be
determined. The business’ exact location under the
rooftop cannot be determined. In this situation, the
whole rooftop becomes Perfect. The shared
parking lot will be Approximate.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: ONE BUILDING WITH A SINGLE STREET NUMBER AND MULTIPLE UNIT NUMBERS IN
A
SHARED PARKING LOT
Subway
1923 59th Ave #155
Greeley, CO 80634
The result is a business (or an address) under a rooftop that has a single street
number, multiple
unit numbers, and shares a parking lot with other features. It will be rated
exactly the same way as a
result whose address does not include a unit number. Whether a result contains a
unit number or
not, the goal is to use the best available evidence to find the result’s location.
Note: If there are any other buildings within the shared parking lot that are not
connected to the
Perfect location, they will also be rated Approximate.
This guidance also applies to residential buildings with shared rooftops, like
townhouses.
With evidence
With street imagery or other strong evidence, the
exact location of the business (or address) can be
confirmed. Draw imaginary lines on that part of the
shared rooftop to create the area for Perfect. The
rest of the connected rooftop and the shared
parking lot are rated Approximate.
Without evidence
Without street imagery or other strong evidence,
only the location of the entire rooftop under which
the business (or address) is located can be
determined. The business’ exact location under the
rooftop cannot be determined. In this situation, the
whole rooftop becomes Perfect. The shared
parking lot will be Approximate.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: MULTIPLE ROOFTOPS WITH THE SAME STREET NUMBER AND MULTIPLE UNIT
NUMBERS
Samurai Sam’s
4801 Washington St, Suite 5
Phoenix, AZ 85034
The result is a business (or an address) under a rooftop that's one of several
rooftops sharing a
single street number and containing multiple unit numbers. All the buildings share
a parking lot.
(The small rectangles on the bottom right are solar parking covers, not buildings.)

This guidance also applies to residential buildings with shared rooftops, like
townhouses, and to
situations where the feature's address does not includes a unit number, because the
goal is to find
the location of the feature (see Best Available Evidence sidebar on page 125).
With evidence for rooftop and unit
locations
With street imagery or other strong evidence for
the location of the rooftop and the unit under it, the
exact location of the business (or address) can be
confirmed. Draw imaginary lines on that part of the
shared rooftop to create the area for Perfect. The
rest of the connected rooftop and the shared
parking lot are rated Approximate.
Note: If there are any other buildings within the
shared parking lot that are not connected to the
Perfect location, they will also be rated
Approximate.
With evidence for rooftop location only
When there is street imagery or other strong
evidence for the location of the specific rooftop at
the address where the unit is, but no evidence for
the location of the unit under it, only the location of
the entire rooftop can be confirmed. In cases like
this, the entire rooftop will be Perfect. The shared
parking lot will be Approximate.
Note: If there are any other buildings within the
shared parking lot that are not connected to the
Perfect location, they will also be rated
Approximate.
Example Explanation
Without evidence for rooftop or unit
locations, but with evidence for parcel
When there is no strong evidence for the location
of the rooftop or the specific unit under it, but there
is evidence for the location of the parcel, all
rooftops within the parcel will be rated Can't Verify
and the parcel will be rated Approximate.
EXAMPLE TYPE: ONE BUILDING WITH SINGLE STREET NUMBER AND MULTIPLE BUSINESSES UNDER
THE ROOFTOP
Circle K
925 Wonderland Rd South
London, Ontario, Canada N6K 2V8
The result is a business under a single rooftop that has one street number and
contains multiple
business.
A nail salon, a pharmacy, a dental office, and other businesses all share this
address.
With evidence
With street imagery or other strong evidence, the
exact location of the result under the shared rooftop
can be confirmed. Draw imaginary lines on that part
of the shared rooftop to create the area for Perfect.
The rest of the connected rooftop and parcel,
including all other rooftops that are not the intended
one on the parcel, if they exist, are rated
Approximate.
Example Explanation
Without evidence
Without street imagery or other strong evidence,
only the location of the entire rooftop under which
the business is located can be determined. The
business’ exact location under the rooftop cannot
be determined. In this situation, the whole rooftop
becomes Perfect. The parcel will be Approximate.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: SHOPPING MALL WITH A SINGLE ROOFTOP
Westfield Valley Fair
2855 Stevens Creek Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95050
This large shopping mall contains many stores under one rooftop at the same
address.
Perfect -> The pin is on the rooftop (green area)
Approximate -> Parking structures (entire
structure included). Approximate boundaries are
found when Half 'n Half rule is applied to the street
and parking lots are included (yellow area)
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: STORE IN A MULTI-STORY MALL
H&M
1004 Stoneridge Mall Rd Suite A 105
Pleasanton, CA 94588
With evidence
The exact location of this POI cannot be determined
by using street imagery, but the official mall
directory provides strong evidence for the H&M's
location. Using this evidence, the exact location of
the result under the shared rooftop can be
confirmed. Draw imaginary lines on that part of the
shared rooftop to create the area for Perfect. The
rest of the connected rooftop and parcel are rated
Approximate.
Example Explanation
Without evidence
Without street imagery or other strong evidence,
only the location of the entire rooftop under which
the business is located can be determined. The
business’ exact location under the rooftop cannot
be determined. In this situation, the whole rooftop
becomes Perfect. The parcel will be Approximate.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: EMPTY PLOT
86 Liberty St.
Binghamton, NY
All features that do not have a rooftop will be rated as Perfect if the pin is
dropped within the
boundaries of the feature.
Perfect -> The pin is within the boundaries of the
feature (green area)
Approximate -> There is no Approximate
Next Door -> The pin is on the immediate property
next to the intended feature (purple area)
Wrong -> The pin falls outside of the property
boundaries or Next Door property (everything else)
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify
EXAMPLE TYPE: HIGH-DENSITY URBAN AREA
57 Neal Street
London, England
In this example, the rooftop behind the intended feature will not be considered
Next Door. Next
Door will be considered to the left or right of the intended feature.
The screenshot shows that the boundaries of the Next Door property contain half of
the street. The
building behind the Perfect building is not considered Next Door because it has a
different street
address.
Example Explanation
Perfect -> The pin is on the rooftop specified in
the address (green area)
Approximate -> The pin is within the boundaries
of the feature (yellow area)
Next Door -> The pin is on the immediate property
next to the intended feature (purple area)
Wrong -> The pin falls outside of the property
boundaries or Next Door property (everything
else)
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify
EXAMPLE TYPE: CORNER HOUSE
44 Russel Square
London, England
Here there is only one property that qualifies as Next Door. The property marked in
red is on
another street (Montague Street) and does not meet all the criteria for the rating
of Next Door.
When a property is on a corner, the Next Door property can be behind it as long as
that property
shares the same street name.
44 Russel Square, London, England
Perfect -> The pin is on the rooftop specified in
the address(green area)
Approximate -> The pin is within the boundaries
of the feature (yellow area)
Next Door -> The pin is on the immediate property
next to the intended feature (purple area)
Wrong -> The pin falls outside of the property
boundaries or Next Door property (everything
else)
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: RURAL AREA
100 Mulligan Rd
Laytonville CA
In rural areas, the Next Door property will often be quite large. This is expected.

Perfect -> The pin is on the rooftop specified in

the address (green area)
Approximate -> The pin is within the boundaries
of the feature (yellow area)
Next Door -> The pin is on the immediate property
next to the intended feature (purple area)
Wrong -> The pin falls outside of the property
boundaries or Next Door property (everything
else)
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify
EXAMPLE TYPE: PIN ON THE SAME BLOCK
1491 Kooser Rd
San Jose, CA 95118
This property has only one next door neighbor because the property to the left, in
red, is not on the
same block as the intended property.
Perfect -> The pin is on the rooftop specified in
the address (green area)
Approximate -> The pin is within the boundaries
of the feature (yellow area)
Next Door -> The pin is on the immediate property
next to the intended feature (purple area)
Wrong -> The pin falls outside of the property
boundaries or Next Door property
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify
9.2.1. Leaning Buildings
Normal Building Leaning Building
Sometimes a building or buildings seem to be leaning in satellite view. They do not

appear to be standing straight and their rooftops are not aligned with their bases.

When a building or buildings appear to be leaning in satellite view, the satellite

photos do not always
give accurate information about their shape or location. This is why even when a
pin appears to land
on a leaning building, you cannot rely on satellite photos alone to rate pin
placement.

Research the leaning building’s true location using consensus from multiple
reliable resources,
including:

• Vector views
• Hybrid views, which may provide additional points of reference, including the
locations of
streets the buildings lean over
• Street imagery
• Reliable online map resources
Always rate the pin based on the building’s actual location as confirmed by
reliable resources, not on
the appearance of leaning caused by satellite photography.

If no reliable resources are available and the pin is not objectively wrong, rate
Can’t Verify and leave
a comment.

Rating Explanation
Perfect Pin falls on the building’s actual location as confirmed by consensus
among multiple reliable sources.
Approximate Pin falls within the boundaries of the property including on any
rooftop
that’s not the intended one.
Next Door See Next Door.
Wrong Pin falls outside of the property boundaries or next door property.
Can't Verify See Can’t Verify.

Satellite View
Langham Tower and Jollibee
Vector View
Langham Tower and Jollibee
The tallest building seen in satellite view, above left, is Langham Place Office
Tower,
located at the corner of Argyle and and Portland streets in Hong Kong.
While in satellite view the building appears to lean over both Argyle and Portland
streets, the vector view, above right, shows the building’s actual location.
The fast food restaurant Jollibee, circled in red on vector diagram, above right,
is
located at 16 Argyle Street. It cannot be seen in satellite view because the tower
leans
over it.

Target
Location
Screenshot Pin Rating
Langham
Place Office
Tower
Research shows that the pin lands
across the street from the building’s
actual location (green area), making
it Wrong.
Target
Location
Screenshot Pin Rating
Langham
Place Office
Tower
Research shows that the pin lands
off the building’s rooftop (green
area), but on its property, making it
Approximate.
Jollibee,
16 Argyle
Street,
Mong Kok,
Kowloon,
Hong Kong
Although this pin appears to land
on Langham Place Office Tower in
the satellite photo, research shows
that the pin actually lands across
the street from the Tower on the
rooftop of the Jollibee at 16 Argyle
Street (green area), making it
Perfect.
Note that while Jollibee cannot be
seen in satellite view, its location
can be confirmed by reliable
resources.

9.2.2. Residential Property with Multiple Buildings

Some residential properties consist of more than one building associated with a
single address. A pin
falling on any house(s) on the property will be rated Perfect. If the evidence
shows that any other
structure on the property could also be a dwelling, it can also be rated Perfect.

In cases where the property also contains support or auxiliary buildings,

including, but not limited to,
sheds, garages, greenhouses, playhouses, pergolas, and doghouses, these structures
should be
considered part of the Approximate area.
Rating Explanation
Perfect Pin falls on any of the rooftop(s) of the house(s) within the boundaries of
the
property.
Approximate Pin falls within the boundaries of the property (or on support or
auxiliary
buildings within it)
Next Door The next door property.
Wrong Pin falls outside of the property boundaries or outside of the Next Door
property.
Can’t Verify See Can’t Verify

Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: INDIVIDUAL HOME WITH SEPARATE GARAGE
1351 Navarro Dr
Sunnyvale CA 94087
This property contains two buildings: the main house and a garage. Both buildings
are on the same
parcel, belong to the same entity, and share an address.
Perfect -> The pin is on the rooftop of the house (green
area)
Approximate -> The pin falls on the garage or within
the property boundaries (yellow area)
Next Door -> The pin falls on the next door property
(purple area)
Wrong -> The pin is outside the boundaries (everything
else)
Can’t Verify -> See Can’t Verify

9.3. Multiple Rooftops

Some POI results consist of multiple buildings associated with/owned by a single
business or POI. To
rate the pins for these results correctly, you must research and understand the
relationship of the
structures within the boundaries of the property (or parcel of land) to the POI.
Two kinds of ratings are possible for multiple rooftop POI results:

1. Multiple-Rooftop: When the result is a POI that contains no other POIs and
consists of more than
one building with multiple rooftops on the property. In cases like this, primary
rooftops will be rated
Perfect. The parcel of land inside the boundaries of the POI will be rated
Approximate. Properties
next door to the intended one will be rated Next Door.
2. Campus: When a multiple-rooftop result is a higher education institution like a
university or a
medical, retail, or other type of business complex, most often containing other
public-facing POIs. In
cases like this, the entire parcel or property inside the boundaries of the POI,
including all rooftops,
will be rated Perfect. There will be no Approximate or Next Door ratings.
9.3.1. Multiple-Rooftop Rating
Single entities with multiple rooftops are single businesses or POIs that operate
out of more than one
building. This category includes, but is not limited to, entities like factories,
gas stations, apartment
complexes, company headquarters, lumberyards, and breweries, and other types of
POIs that
generally do not contain additional businesses or POIs within them.

Every primary rooftop on the property will be rated Perfect. The parcel of land
inside the boundaries
of the POI will be rated Approximate. Properties next door to the intended one will
be rated Next
Door.

In cases where the property also contains support or auxiliary buildings,

including, but not limited to,
guardhouses, dumpsters, storage sheds, donation bins, utility buildings, and
toilets, these buildings
should be considered part of the Approximate area.

Rating Explanation
Perfect Pin falls on rooftops within the boundaries of the property.
Approximate Pin falls within the boundaries of the property (or on support or
auxiliary buildings within it)
Next Door The pin falls on the Next Door property.
Wrong Pin falls outside of the property boundaries or outside of the Next
Door property.
Can’t Verify See Can’t Verify
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: BUSINESS WITH MULTIPLE ROOFTOPS AT SAME ADDRESS (GAS
STATION)
Super Gaz
700 Chambly Road
Longueuil, QC J4H 3M1
Canada
This business (or address) is a gas station with a main building and a canopy over
the
pumps. All structures are on the same property, belong to the same business, and
share an address.
Figure 1: Satellite view of a gas station
Perfect (green area in Figure 2) -> If the
pin falls on any rooftop.
Approximate (yellow area in Figure 2) ->
If the pin falls within the property
boundaries.
Next Door (purple area in Figure 2) -> If
the pin falls on the immediate property
next to the intended one.
Figure 2: Annotated satellite view of gas
station
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: BUSINESS WITH MULTIPLE ROOFTOPS ON A SHARED PARCEL (GAS
STATION)
Canadian Tire Gas+
401225 ON-401
Woodstock, ON N4S 7W8
Canada
This business is also a gas station with a canopy over the gas pumps, but it shares
a
parcel with other businesses and a wooded picnic area.
With evidence
With street imagery or other strong
evidence for the location of the rooftops,
the exact location of the business (or
address) can be confirmed. When the
exact location of the rooftops can be
found, the green area is Perfect and the
rest of the parcel is Approximate.
Without evidence Without strong evidence for the location
of the gas station’s rooftops, all rooftops
are Can't Verify (since there is not
enough evidence to narrow the location
down to specific rooftop or rooftops). The
rest of the parcel is Approximate.
EXAMPLE TYPE: BUSINESS COMPLEX CONTAINING A GAS STATION
When the result is the entire business
complex that contains the gas station
seen above as well as restaurants and
other services under multiple rooftops,
the result is considered a campus. In cases
like this, the entire parcel is considered
Perfect.
Example Explanation
EXAMPLE TYPE: BUSINESS WITH MULTIPLE ROOFTOPS AT SAME ADDRESS
Bremac
8133 Mechanicsville Tpke
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
United States
The business has three buildings. All buildings are on the same property, belong to
the
same business and share an address.
Figure 1: Satellite view of multi-rooftop
POI
Figure 2: Annotated satellite view of multi-
rooftop POI
This business consists of three buildings.
Perfect (green area in Figure 2) -> If the
pin falls on any of the buildings
Approximate (yellow area in Figure 2) ->
If the pin falls within the property
boundaries.
Next Door (purple area in Figure 2 ) -> If
the pin falls on the immediate property
next to the intended one.
EXAMPLE TYPE: BUSINESS WITH MULTIPLE ROOFTOPS AT SAME ADDRESS (FACTORY)
Fazerintie 2
01230 Vantaa Finland
This is a large factory consisting of several buildings.
Example Explanation
Figure 1: Satellite view of multiple-rooftop
POI
Figure 2: Annotated satellite view of
multiple-rooftop POI
Perfect (green area in Figure 2) -> If the
pin falls on any of the buildings.
Approximate (yellow area in Figure 2) ->
If the pin falls within the property
boundaries.
This particular POI has no Next Door
area.
EXAMPLE TYPE: MULTIPLE BUILDINGS ON ONE PARCEL SHARING ONE ADDRESS
(APARTMENT COMPLEX)
Merkuriuksentie 13
00750 Helsinki
Finland
This query is for an address that is shared by several apartment buildings on the
same
parcel.
Example Explanation
There are five buildings with the same
address on the parcel. A pin on any of
them is rated Perfect while a pin on the
parcel or any of the support structures is
rated Approximate.
EXAMPLE TYPE: BUSINESS WITH A SHED IN THE BACK
33 Mile Roadhouse
33 Mile Haines Hwy
Haines AK 99827
United States
This business is a restaurant with a support building — a storage shed — in the
back.
This restaurant has a detached storage
shed on its property.
Perfect (green area in top image) -> If the
pin falls on the main restaurant building.
Approximate (yellow area in top image)
-> If the pin falls within the property
boundaries, including the small support
shed behind the restaurant.
Next Door (purple areas in top image) ->
If the pin drops on either of the immediate
properties next to the intended one.
Annotated satellite view shows restaurant
and shed (arrow points to street imagery
of shed).
9.3.2. Campus Rating
Some POIs will encompass entire business complexes, meaning that there are multiple
buildings
associated with/owned by the POI. These POIs include (but are not limited to)
institutional complexes
like universities, hospitals, and airports. Other POI types that can be rated as
campuses include
shopping and strip malls with multiple rooftops, amusement parks, resorts, and
zoos.

In cases like this, the entire parcel or property inside the boundaries of the POI,
including all rooftops,
will be rated Perfect. There will be no Approximate or Next Door ratings.

The property of a campus complex includes the buildings themselves, any shared
parking lots, and
half ’n half as described in the guidelines.

How to Identify Campus Results

Wondering if a multiple-rooftop result is a campus? Many, though not all, campuses

can be
identified by the presence of POIs within the POI. That is, individual stores
within multiple-rooftop
malls, departments within hospitals, libraries and colleges within universities,
spas and
restaurants within multiple-rooftop resorts, terminals within airports, and so on.

Rating Explanation
Perfect Pin falls within the campus/complex boundaries, as determined by
research.
Approximate N/A -Campuses and business complexes do not have Approximate
ratings.
Next Door N/A -Campuses and business complexes do not have Next Door
ratings.
Wrong Pin falls outside of the campus/business complex boundaries.
Can't Verify See Can’t Verify

Note: The result may be for an address that should have the campus rule applied.

Some of these types of POIs may have polygons outlining the boundaries of the POI
on the map.
These polygons may not always be present or perfect, so rate against the true
boundaries of the
campus or complex as determined by research. A few examples of campuses are below,
including one
that is missing its polygon.
POI type Screenshot
Hospital
Park
Airport
Outlet Mall
POI type Screenshot
Amusement Park
No Polygon available

9.3.2.1.
Single-Complex
Campus
Entities made up of a single cluster of buildings are the easiest to identify. On
the map, these entities
can be represented by a single, continuous polygon. Remember, the polygons on the
map may not
always be perfect or present, so rate against the true boundaries of the campus or
complex as
determined through research.

The property of a complex includes the buildings themselves, any shared parking lot
and half n half
as described in the guidelines.

Note: Parking facilities may be included in the polygon if they are owned by the
POI
and contiguous to the campus (contiguous means that they are not separated from
the campus by a street).

Tip: Start by looking at the pin's location, then determine if the property
surrounding
the pin belongs to the POI you are looking at.
POI Screenshot Rating Explanations
Stanford University
Fig. 1: Vector view of Stanford
University campus
Fig. 2: Annotated vector view of
Stanford University campus
Perfect (green area in Fig. 2) ->
If pin falls within campus
boundaries.
Wrong (everything else outside
of green area in Fig. 2)-> If pin
falls outside campus
boundaries.
Remember, there is no
Approximate or Next Door
rating for campus and business
complexes.
POI Screenshot Rating Explanations
El Camino Hospital
Fig. 1: Vector view of El Camino
Hospital campus
Fig. 2: Annotated vector view of
El Camino Hospital campus
Perfect (green area in Fig. 2) ->
If the pin falls within the hospital
boundaries.
Wrong (everything else outside
of green area in Fig. 2)-> If the
pin falls outside of hospital
boundaries, as determined by
your research.
POI Screenshot Rating Explanations
Disneyland Park
Fig. 1: Vector view of
Disneyland Park
There is no polygon available for
this POI, so an imaginary
polygon outline must be created
according to the actual
boundaries of the POI.
To determine where the valid
pin area is, look at the location
of the attractions within the
amusement park and visualize
the boundary of the park to
determine the POI’s polygon.
The green area highlighted in a
satellite view of the POI (Fig. 2)
represents the valid area for the
pin to land in. A pin landing
anywhere outside of this green
area would be a Wrong pin.
Fig. 2: Annotated satellite view
Note: Parking lots separated by
a road should not be included in
the polygon because they
outside the boundary. Utility
buildings located outside of the
public park premises are not
included in the polygon.

9.3.2.2.
Dispersed
Campus
In some cases, a campus will not have a single, continuous location that a polygon
can be drawn over,
but rather be spread out across a large area like a city. Sometimes, the pin will
fall on this type of
campus and there may not be a polygon for the campus. If this occurs, research to
determine where
the polygon should be. Pins that fall on campus-associated, non-parking facilities
are valid pins.
Apply the single rooftop rules to any standalone, non-parking facility, campus
building.

If two or more campus buildings are next to each other, apply the single complex
campus logic.
POI Screenshot Rating Explanation
Virginia
Commonwealth
University
Fig. 1: Annotated vector view of Virginia
Commonwealth University
Fig. 2: Zoomed-in view of pin location
Perfect -> If the pin falls the
green polygon minus campus-
associated parking facilities and
non-campus-associated
buildings.
Wrong -> If the pin falls on a
standalone, campus-associated
parking facility, or on a noncampus-
associated building.
In this example, Virginia
Commonwealth University (VCU)
is a campus that is spread out
around the city (campus
properties are highlighted in
green).
A pin falling on the rooftop of the
Virginia Commonwealth University
-School of Medicine building (in
VCU Medical Center complex)
would be considered a valid pin
for this POI, but a pin falling on a
VCU parking lot would not be a
valid pin for the same POI.
Zooming into the pin shows that
the result is Perfect in this
example.
POI Screenshot Rating Explanation
Boston
University
Fig. 1: Annotated vector view of the Boston
University campus
The Boston University campus is
also spread out across the city, as
represented by the highlighted
green areas. In this case, the pin
happens to fall on the Boston
University Center for
Computational Neuroscience and
Neural Technologies building. The
building is a standalone, non-
parking facility building that is
associated with the campus, so
the pin is Perfect.
9.4. Features Without a Rooftop
This chapter will describe how to rate pin accuracy for features that typically do
not have a rooftop.

9.4.1. Natural Features

Natural features include but are not limited to:

• Lakes (Lake Victoria)

• Oceans (Pacific Ocean)
• Creeks (Bear Creek in Colorado)
• Rivers (the Danube river)
• Ponds (Antonelli Pond in California)
• Wetlands (Laguna de Rocha)
• Seas (Black Sea)
• Forests (Black Forest)
• Mountains (Carpathian Mountains)
• Hills (Chocolate Hills of the Philippines)
• Plateaus (Colorado Plateau)
• Valleys (Death Valley)
• Plains (The North American Great Plains)
• Fjords (Geirangerfjord in Norway)
• Peninsulas (Indian Peninsula)
• Volcanoes (Etna)
• Deserts (Gobi Desert)
• Glaciers (Patna Glacier in Iceland)
• Waterfalls (Niagara Falls)
A natural feature may also have other natural features within or surrounding it.
These could include,
but are not limited to, the shore of a lake, an island in a river, and a forest
surrounding a mountain.

Similar natural features, even if not listed above, should be rated using these
guidelines.

Rating Explanation
Perfect
If the natural feature has a defining feature (water for a river/ocean, cliffs/peak
of
a mountain, the sand for a beach), pin should fall on that feature or if the
natural
feature is defined by an arbitrary boundary (parks, national forests), pin should
fall in their polygon or where it would be if we had that information.
Approximate
The pin falls outside of the defining features of a natural feature but still on it

(slope of a mountain rather than the peak, the shore of a river or lake). Consider
each situation individually. Not all natural features will have an Approximate. If
the natural feature exists within an urban or suburban area, you may apply the
Half 'n' Half rules.
Next Door N/A -Natural features do not have Next Door ratings.
Wrong The pin falls in an area that does not meet the criteria for Perfect or
Approximate.
Can't Verify See Can’t Verify
Type of POI Screenshot Explanation
Body of
water
Lake Merritt
Fig. 1: Vector view of Lake Merritt
Fig. 2: Annotated vector view of
Lake Merritt
Perfect (green area in Fig. 2) -> Anywhere on
the defining feature of the lake. In this case, the
defining feature would be the water.
Approximate (yellow area in Fig. 2) -> The
shore of the lake.
Wrong (everything else in Fig. 2) -> Anywhere
past the shore of the lake.
Type of POI Screenshot Explanation
Land feature Mount Rainier
Fig. 1: Vector view of Mount
Rainier
Fig. 2: Satellite view of Mount
Rainier
Land features, such as mountains, mountain
ranges, or volcanoes, should use the following
guidelines.
Perfect (area above green line in Fig. 4) ->
Anywhere on the defining feature of the
mountain (peak or ridge, depending on the
mountain).
Approximate (area between green and yellow
lines in Fig. 4) -> Anywhere on the slope of the
mountain.
Wrong (area below yellow line in Fig. 4) ->
Valley of the mountain, anywhere farther out
than the obvious slope.
Tip: If available, try using a 3D view of the
mountain to determine where its peak or ridge is.
Check to see if there is a 3D view before using
other sources.
Use common sense to determine the pin rating
for these types of land features. For example, a
peak of a mountain can span a large area and
may have a more gradual slope area, so make
sure you're not being too strict or too generous
when rating the pin.
Fig. 3: 3D view of Mount Rainier
Fig. 4: Annotated 3D view of
Mount Rainier
9.4.2. Administrative Divisions
Administrative divisions can refer to, but are not limited to:

• Countries
• States
• Counties
• Provinces
• Cities
• Neighborhoods
Rating Explanation
Perfect Pin should fall in within the boundaries/polygon of the administrative
division.
Approximate N/A
Next Door N/A
Wrong Pin falls in an area that does not meet the criteria for Perfect.
Can’t Verify See Can’t Verify

Type Screenshot Explanation

Neighborhood
Tenderloin in San Francisco
Perfect – the pin can fall
anywhere within the
neighborhood boundaries
Approximate – not applicable
Next Door – not applicable
Wrong – everything outside of
Perfect
9.4.3. Streets
In this chapter, rating pins for streets will be explained.

Rating Explanation
Perfect Pin can fall anywhere on the street, including medians and intersections
the
street passes through completely (but not on sidewalks).
Approximate N/A
Next Door N/A
Wrong Pin falls in an area that does not meet the criteria for Perfect.
Can’t Verify See Can’t Verify

Example Explanation
Jersey St. in New York City
Perfect – The pin can fall anywhere on the street,
including medians and intersections the street
passes through completely, whether seen in
satellite view or on the vector map. If there is a
discrepancy between the satellite view and vector
map of the street boundaries, use the most
favorable layer. Note that sidewalks are not part of
the Perfect area.
Approximate – not applicable
Next Door – not applicable
Wrong – everything outside of Perfect, including
intersections the street does not pass through
Here, only the Jersey St. & Lafayette St.
intersection is a valid intersection for the pin to fall
on, since Jersey St. completely passes through
Lafayette St. The intersections where Jersey St.
meets Mulberry St. and Crosby St. are not included
because Jersey St. does not pass through these
streets.
Query: [highway 92]
User and fresh viewport in San Francisco, CA
Perfect – The pin can fall anywhere on the street,
including bridges that are part of the street. Both
result 1 and result 2 are Perfect since the pin falls
on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, which is part of
the highway.
Approximate – not applicable
Next Door – not applicable
Wrong – everything outside of Perfect, including
intersections the street does not pass through
Rate pins falling on physical road dividers (the
middle of a road with lanes in both directions) as
Perfect, even if they fall into water, as in result 3.
9.5. Parking Lots and Structures
Shared parking lots are considered Approximate even though they do not belong
entirely to the
feature. Assume that parking lots belong to the feature and do not split them. When
Sourdough & Co
(green building) is the result, the approximate area (yellow) extends up to the
public road to the north.

In cases where the parking structure can be verified in satellite imagery (by
either parked cars or
parking lot striping), consider the entire structure a parking lot. The assumption
is that there will be no
businesses within the structure other than parking-related businesses.
Always consider parking lots and parking structures as belonging to the feature.
There’s no need
split them by applying the Half n' Half rule.

In the example below, the result is a shopping mall with both a parking lot and
parking structures. Pins
that fall on the building (rooftop) of the mall are Perfect. Apply the Half 'n Half
rule to the street and
internal access roads, if any, to determine the area for Approximate, as parking
lots and parking
structures are also Approximate.

9.6. Transit POIs

Transit POIs include, but are not limited to, POIs that are transit stops,
stations, toll booths, and
terminals. A transit stop is a small, transit location typically designated by a
bench or covered bench
area, a posted sign, or street markings. Transit stations, on the other hand, are
typically larger stops
that have a major structure associated with them, which include, but are not
limited to, platforms,
ticketing offices, enclosed waiting/seating areas, or terminal buildings/structures
encompassing the
transit area. The term “station” is primarily used to refer to transit locations
that are larger and
typically a terminal housing multiple routes. All stations are stops, but not all
stops are stations.

If a transit POI does not meet the criteria to be rated under the Single Rooftop or
Campus/Complex
guidelines, please use the following criteria to rate.
Rating Explanation
Perfect
The pin falls on the polygon for the transit POI or in the area where you
would wait for transit or within the entrance polygon for an
underground transit station
Approximate
The pin falls within 50 meters of where you would wait for transit or
within station parking lots and surrounding property up to where the
Half 'n' Half rule allows.
Next Door Transit POIs do not have Next Door ratings.
Wrong
The pin is wrong if it falls:
•
Farther than 50 meters from the ideal location
•
Within 50 meters on a non-associated rooftop
•
Outside of the boundaries as allowed by the Half 'n' Half rule
•
Beyond half a city block (applies to bus stops only)
Can't Verify See Can’t Verify
9.6.1. Bus, Tram, and Streetcar Stops
Bus, tram and streetcar stops are often, but not always, on the side of the street
and have one spot
where users can wait to board the bus. Perfect pins should be placed on the spot
where a user would
wait while Approximate pins can be placed within 50m of the waiting spot and within
the Half 'n' Half
rule.

POI Screenshot Rating Explanation

Noriega
St and
46th
Fig.1: Vector view of bus
stop
Perfect (green area in Fig. 2) -> Where a user would wait for
the bus.
Approximate (yellow area in Fig. 2) -> 50 m away from
where a user would wait for the bus but no farther out than
the Half 'n' Half rule allows and not on a building rooftop.
Wrong (everything else in Fig. 2) -> Farther than 50 meters,
or beyond half a city block from where user waits for the
bus, or farther out than the Half’n’Half rule allows, or on a
rooftop, or in an agricultural field where a person would not
wait for transit.
Ave bus
stop
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify
Fig.2: Annotated satellite
view of bus stop
Special Note: A satellite view shows that this pin might
actually fall in the street for this bus stop. Remember, favor
the map view that gives a more generous rating for the pin
these cases. In this case, the vector map is used to rate the
pin.
9.6.2. Transit POI with Multiple Rooftops/Platforms
If the POI has multiple rooftops/platforms, apply similar ideas from the
campus/complex pin
guidelines when determining the valid area for the pin to land on.

For campuses/complexes, a polygon was created using the boundaries of the campus.
Use the same
concept with transit POIs and create a polygon for the transit POI using the POI's
multiple rooftop/
platforms.

POI Screenshot Explanation

San Jose
Diridon
Station
Fig. 1: Vector view of San Jose
Diridon Station
Here is the San Jose Diridon train station, so
rate the pin according to the train station
platforms and rooftops.
Perfect -> Polygon of the station or rooftop/
platform of the station or area between
rooftops/platforms of the station (green area).
Approximate -> Within transit station parking
lots and surrounding property up to where the
Half 'n' Half rule allows (yellow area).
Fig. 2: Annotated satellite view of
San Jose Diridon Station
Wrong -> Anywhere outside of transit station
boundaries.
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify
Remember, if there is a polygon available in
vector view for the POI, rate against the
polygon.
POI Screenshot Explanation
Sunnyvale
Station
Fig. 1: Vector view of Sunnyvale
Station
Some transit stops only have a platform where
a user can wait for the transit.
Perfect (green area in Fig. 2) -> Where a user
would wait for transit or the area between
where a user would wait for transit.
Approximate (yellow area in Fig. 2) -> Within
50 meters of where you would wait for transit
or within transit stop parking lots and
surrounding property up to where the Half 'n'
Half rule allows.
Wrong (everything else in Fig. 2) -> Farther
than 50 meters from where user waits for
transit or farther out than the Half 'n' Half rule
allows.
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify
Fig. 2: Annotated satellite view of
Sunnyvale Station
POI Screenshot Explanation
Solana
Beach
Amtrak
Station
Fig. 1: Vector view of Solana Beach
station
Some stations have both a building rooftop
and an open platform waiting area. Both of
these areas are considered valid places for
pins to fall on.
Perfect (green area in Fig. 2) -> Pin falls on
the platform(s) where the user would wait or
the area between the platforms or the rooftop.
Approximate (yellow area in Fig. 2) -> Pin
falls within 50 meters of where you would wait
for transit or within transit stop parking lots
and surrounding property up to where the Half
Fig. 2: Annotated satellite view of
Solana Beach station
'n' Half rule allows.
Wrong (everything else in Fig. 2) -> Farther
than 50 meters from where user waits for
transit or farther out than the Half 'n' Half rule
allows.
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify
9.6.3. Transit POIs with a Single Rooftop
If the POI has a single rooftop, apply the single rooftop guidelines.

POI Screenshot Explanation

Grand
Central
Terminal
Fig. 1: Vector view of Grand Central
Terminal station
Fig. 2: Annotated satellite view of
Grand Central Terminal station
Perfect -> Rooftop of transit station or stop
Approximate -> Transit POI parking lots and
surrounding property up to where the Half 'n'
Half rule allows
Wrong -> Farther out than the Half 'n' Half
rule allows from POI property
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify

9.6.4. Underground Transit Stations

Some transit stations are underground. For stops that do not have polygons
available on the tool map,
apply similar rules to the satellite campus and use your imagination to draw a
polygon using the
entrances to the underground station as polygon coordinates. A pin dropped within
50 meters of this
polygon should be rated Approximate.

If a pin is placed on a building within the polygon, the building must contain an
entrance to the transit
stop for the pin to be Perfect. If the pin falls on any other building within the
polygon, rate it
Approximate.
Some entrances can be seen via satellite view of the station, while other entrances
can only be found
by doing more research, including using street imagery of the station area to find
entrances or using a
station map from the transit provider that shows entrances to the station.

9.6.4.1.
How
to
Establish
an
Entrance
Polygon
1. Find at least three entrances to the underground transit station, if possible.
• Use street imagery or an official source to determine where the transit station
entrances are
located.
• Tip: A good place to start looking for transit entrances is near the pin's
location. This will
make it easier to determine whether or not the pin falls within the polygon.
2. Connect the entrance points to create an enclosed polygon, where each entrance
is a point of the
polygon.
3. Determine whether or not our pin falls within 50 meters of the polygon or within
the property
covered by the Half 'n' Half rule.
If the underground transit station only has two entrances, use the following steps
to create an
entrance polygon.

POI Steps Satellite Views

1. Imagine property boundaries around
the underground transit station
entrances using the Half ’n’ Half
Rule.
Note: Entrances are designated by stars
and property boundary polygons are
designated by the letters A and B.
2. Connect the closest points of the two
boundaries from step 1 to create an
entrance polygon.
Note: In this case, we have taken points
16th St &
Mission
BART
Station
1 and 2 from polygon A and connected
them with points 3 and 4 from polygon
B, respectively. Exclude building
rooftops that do not contain an entrance
to the underground station from the
entrance polygon.
POI Steps Satellite Views
3. Determine whether or not the pin falls
within 50 meters of the polygon.
Note: For underground transit POIs that
only have one entrance, create the same
polygon around the entrance as the
Perfect pin rating area, then measure
50 meters from that polygon for the
Approximate pin rating area.

9.6.4.2.
Examples
POI Screenshot Explanation
Jingu
Marutamachi
Station
Fig. 1: Vector view of Jingu Marutamachi
Station
Fig. 2: Annotated vector view of Jingu
Marutamachi Station
If the underground POI already has a
polygon available, rate the pin against
the polygon.
In this case, there is a blue-colored
polygon on the map for the POI.
Perfect (green area in Fig. 2) �
Polygon of transit station.
Approximate (yellow area in Fig. 2) �
Pin lands within 50 meters from the
polygon or on transit station parking
lots and surrounding property up to
where the Half'n'Half rule allows. In this
case, the station does not have a
station parking lot, so only look at the
surrounding property within 50 meters
of the polygon.
Wrong (everything else in Fig. 2) �
Farther out than the Half'n'Half rule
allows from station property.
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify
POI Screenshot Explanation
16th St and
Mission St
BART Station
Fig. 1: Vector view of 16th St Mission BART
station
Fig. 2: Satellite view of 16th St Mission
BART Station showing station entrances
Perfect -> Pin falls within the entrance
polygon and not on a building rooftop
(unless there is an entrance to the
station within the building).
Approximate -> Pin falls within 50
meters of the entrance polygon or
within the property that Half 'n' Half
rule covers.
Wrong -> Pin falls more than 50
meters outside of the entrance polygon
or outside the Half 'n' Half rule area.
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify
In this case, there are only two
entrances to the transit station (Fig. 2).
We'll use the Half 'n' Half rule to
determine the points for our entrance
polygon (Fig. 3).
Our pin falls within the entrance
polygon created, so it is a Perfect pin.
Fig. 3: Annotated satellite view of 16th St
Mission BART. Stars represent the
entrances.
POI Screenshot Explanation
Tuileries
Station
Fig. 1: Vector view of Tuileries Station
Fig. 2: Annotated satellite view of Tuileries
Station. Stars represent the entrances.
Perfect -> Pin falls within the entrance
polygon and not on a building rooftop
(unless there is an entrance within the
building).
Approximate -> Pin falls within 50
meters of the entrance polygon or
within the property that Half 'n' Half
rule covers.
Wrong -> Pin falls more than 50
meters outside of the entrance
polygon or outside the Half 'n' Half rule
area.
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify
In this example, the pin falls within the
Half 'n' Half rule area for the entrance
polygon, so it is an Approximate pin.
POI Screenshot Explanation
Fig. 1: Vector view of Jay St-MetroTech
station
Perfect -> Pin falls within entrance
polygon and not on a building rooftop
(unless there is an entrance within the
building)
Approximate -> Pin falls within 50
meters of the entrance polygon
Wrong -> Pin falls more than 50
meters outside of the entrance
polygon
Can’t Verify – See Can’t Verify
Jay
Street-
MetroTech
With underground transit stations that
have multiple entrances, you'll need to
use street imagery or an online
resource to find the transit entrances
Fig. 2: Annotated vector view of Jay
St-MetroTech station with entrance polygon
then draw a polygon using the
entrances as points of the polygon.
Here, we were able to find 5 entrances
represented by the yellow stars that
were near our pin (Fig. 2). These
entrances were found via street
imagery, since satellite view does not
clearly show entrances to this transit
station (Fig. 3). There is also a transit
station map available from the official
transit website that shows the
entrances to this station.
In this example, our pin is placed within
the entrance polygon for this station,
so we rate it as Perfect.
Fig. 3: Satellite view of Jay St-MetroTech
station
10. How to Rate Results
This chapter shows how to rate a variety of examples.
For each result, you will need to answer questions about:

• Relevance
• Name accuracy
• Address accuracy
• Pin accuracy
10.1. Specific Address
When the query is an address, and the user explicitly states their location intent
by including the
name of a locality, this is an explicit location query and the user’s viewport and
location are irrelevant.
The query refers to a unique location, so a result for this exact location should
be rated Navigational.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
[12112
sugarloaf key
st tampa fl
33626]
12112 Sugarloaf Key St
12112 Sugarloaf Key St
Tampa, FL 33626
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This address belongs to an apartment complex,
where all buildings have the same address.
The pins falls on one of the rooftops of this
mutiple-rooftop result and is rated Perfect.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[12112
sugarloaf key
st tampa fl
33626]
Camden Westchase Park
Apartments
12112 Sugarloaf Key StTampa, FL 33626
Category: Apartments
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Wrong
The result includes the name of the business,
which is located at this address.
The pin falls outside the boundaries of the
apartment complex.
12112 Sugarloaf Key St
12112 Sugarloaf Key St
Tampa, FL
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Incorrect -Postal Code
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is missing a postal code so Address
Accuracy is Incorrect (with Postal Code
specified as the incorrect component). Postal
code is a mandatory component for a
residential address result. The pin falls on one
of the rooftops of this multiple-rooftop POI.
Sugarloaf Key St
Sugarloaf Key St, Tampa, FL33626
Category: n/a
Relevance Acceptable (User Intent
Issue)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is a whole street result instead of a
specific address. As the user query is for a
specific, full address, the information provided
by the result is incomplete. The user would be
able to find the street, but not the exact
address s/he is looking for. The pin is dropped
on the street mentioned in the result and is
Perfect.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[12112
sugarloaf key
st tampa fl
33626]
11244 Windsor Pl
11244 Windsor Pl Cir
Tampa, FL 33626
Category: n/a
Relevance Bad (User Intent Issue)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result does not satisfy the query and is not
considered relevant. However, the address and
pin placement are Correct and Perfect.
Remember, the data and relevance of the result
are considered separately. The data can be
correct even when the result’s relevance is
Bad.
[220 yonge st
toronto]
User in Toronto,
Canada
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
CF Toronto Eaton Centre
220 Yonge St
Toronto ON M5B 2H1
Category: Shopping Center
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This query is the address of the best-known
mall in downtown Toronto. Even though many
businesses have this address as their official
address, the mall is rated Navigational due to
its prominence.
The result includes the correct address plus the
name of the mall, which is useful additional
information. The pin is dropped on the mall’s
rooftop.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[220 yonge st
toronto]
User in Toronto,
Canada
Indigo
220 Yonge St
Toronto, ON M5B 2H1
Category: Bookstore
Relevance Good
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This large, well-known bookstore is inside the
Eaton Centre and shares the 220 Yonge Street
address. It is demoted to Good because it is
less prominent than the Eaton Centre.
The name and address are Correct. Based on
the best available evidence (including interior
maps of the mall available online) the exact
position of the bookstore under the rooftop can
be found. A pin falling on the green area
(bookstore’s position) is Perfect. The rest of
the mall is Approximate.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[220 yonge st
toronto]
User in Toronto,
Canada
Moneysworth & Best
220 Yonge St
Toronto, ON M5B 2H1
Category: Shoe Repair Service
Relevance Acceptable (Distance/
Prominence)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Most people come to the mall to shop, so this
shoe repair service, also at 220 Yonge Street, is
much less prominent and a much less likely
intent than other stores in the mall. Its
relevance is demoted to Acceptable.
The store is very small and located
underground. When comparing the official map
provided by the mall with the satellite, the
store’s location can be established inside the
green area.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[220 yonge st
toronto]
Subway
260 Yonge St
Toronto, ON M5B 2H1, CAN
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
User in Toronto,
Canada
Category: Sandwich Shop Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This fast-food restaurant is not located at 220
Yonge Street. The name and address in the
result are Correct and the pin placement is
Perfect.
The official venue map shows the precise
location of the restaurant, but finding the
perfect area is a little tricky. Given all evidence,
the Perfect location (green area) can be
estimated generously.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[1141
Highbury
Ave, London,
Ontario]
Swiss Chalet
1141 Highbury Ave
London, ON N5Y 1A5 CAN
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
User in London,
Canada
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Approximate
All four of these businesses:
1. Swiss Chalet
2. Wings Kitchen
3. Fast Photo
4. Globally Local
share the 1141 Highbury Ave address and are of
similar prominence. They are all equally likely to
be the intent of a user with this query. This
means that all results can be rated Excellent.
Compare this example to the Eaton Centre
example, above, where there is a single most
prominent POI at the address that is the
dominant user intent.
In the diagram at left, the pin is in the parking
lot and would be rated Approximate for any of
the results.
Address queries can also be just the name of a street, neighborhood, intersection,
or city. Results for
streets, neighborhoods, intersection, and city queries are eligible for
Navigational.

The expectation is that we return the requested entity with the same level of
broadness that the user
requested, which may not include all of the elements of a full address.

Query Results Ratings & Explanation

Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
[stevens
creek blvd
cupertino]
Stevens Creek Blvd
Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA
Category: n/a
The query is for a street in Cupertino, CA. The
postal code is optional for such results, but if
the postal code is returned, any portion of the
street has to belong to that postal code area.
The pin appears to fall outside the street
boundaries in the vector view. However, in
satellite it is still within the boundaries.
Whenever there is a discrepancy the most
favorable layer should be used to determine
pin accuracy.
Query Results Ratings & Explanation
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Cupertino, CA
Cupertino, CA Address Accuracy Correct
Category: n/a Pin Accuracy Perfect
[stevens
creek blvd
This result for an entire city does not satisfy
user intent when the query was for a street in
that city. Pin is dropped within the boundaries
of the city of Cupertino and is rated Perfect.
cupertino]
19062 Stevens Creek Blvd
19062 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA, 95014
Category: n/a
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result includes a street number when the
query is just for a street, making this result too
specific for the requested query. The pin is
dropped on the result address.
Query Results Ratings & Explanation
[stevens
creek blvd
cupertino]
Happy Lamb Hot Pot
19062 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA, 95014
Category: Chinese
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is for a business on the street. When
the query is for an entire street, returning a
business is too specific a result for the
requested query.
Stevens Creek and De Anza
Blvd. Stop
Cupertino CA 95014
Category: Bus Stop
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is for a bus stop on the street. This
random result does not satisfy the user's intent
and lacks prominence compared to the very
long street.
[upper east
side]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Upper East Side
Upper East Side
New York, NY 10021
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is the requested neighborhood and
therefore is rated n/a for Name Accuracy. The
postal code is correct and belongs to the
requested neighborhood. A Perfect pin can
drop anywhere within the boundaries of the
neighborhood.
Query Results Ratings & Explanation
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 5th Ave
New York, NY 10028
Category: Art Gallerry
Relevance Good (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Incorrect (Category
Issue)
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Research shows the Metropolitan Museum,
one of the most famous museums in the world,
is located on the Upper East Side. Its
extremely high international prominence
qualifies it for a Good rating due to secondary
intent for this query.
The Name Accuracy rating for this result is
Incorrect due to the misspelling of the
category.
Boqueria Upper East Side
1460 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10075
Category: Spanish
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is for a business within the queried
neighborhood. Even though the business
name contains the query terms, this result
does not satisfy user Intent, and is not
internationally prominent enough to be
considered relevant for the query.
Query Results Ratings & Explanation
1596 2nd Ave
1596 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10028
Category: n/a
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is for a specific address within the
neighborhood. This result is too specific for
the broader query. The address is not
internationally prominent enough to satisfy the
intent for the query.
[Cork]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Cork
Cork, Ireland
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is for the city of Cork in Ireland. A
perfect pin can drop anywhere within the city
boundaries.
Query Results Ratings & Explanation
Cork Airport
Kinsale Rd
Cork, Ireland
Category: Airport
Relevance Good (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is for a transit POI, which satisfies a
secondary query intent. The address and pin
are correct.
Cork City Library
57-61 Grand Parade
Cork, Ireland
Category: Library
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is for a POI within the city. This does
not satisfy secondary intent for the query as it
is neither internationally prominent nor a
transit POI.
Query Results Ratings & Explanation
[Stevens
Creek and
De Anza]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Stevens Creek and De Anza
Blvd
Stevens Creek and De Anza Blvd
Cupertino CA 95014
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The query is for an intersection and the
specific intersection is returned.
Stevens Creek and De Anza
Blvd. Stop
Cupertino CA 95014
Category: Bus Stop
Relevance Good/Acceptable (User
Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The query is for an intersection and a bus stop
with the same name is returned. In some
countries, bus stops carry the same name as
the intersection where they are located and
can satisfy a secondary intent for the query.
The pin falls where a user would wait for the
bus.
Query Results Ratings & Explanation
Stevens Creek Blvd
Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino CA 95014
Category: n/a
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The query is for an intersection and we return
just one of the streets from the query. This
does not satisfy user intent.
[95051]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
95051
Santa Clara, CA, 95051
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The expectation for this result is to include
locality, state and postal code. Other
components are optional, but if present they
need to be correct.
The pin must drop within the boundaries of the
locality presented in the result.
10.2. Non-Specific Address
For queries where the location intent is not explicitly stated in the query, you
must infer the location
intent from the user’s viewport and the user’s location. One difficulty in
evaluating address queries
has to do with partial addresses, which could refer to multiple locations.
Generally, for partial addresses, users are looking for the location closest to
their position or within/
near the fresh viewport. Some general considerations:

• Exact location that exists returned very close to the user is eligible for
Navigational, unless
other addresses that satisfy the user intent are also very close.
• Exact location returned within a fresh viewport is eligible for Navigational,
unless other
addresses that satisfy the user intent are also very close.
• Results that are farther away from an ideal result but can potentially satisfy
the user’s intent
can be rated as high as Good (Distance/Prominence)
• Results are demoted based on distance.
• Results are demoted based on the density of potential results in a given area
• Results that are too far away will be rated Bad (Distance/Prominence)
Consider the query [154 orchard st] in different scenarios:
Scenario 1: Fresh viewport over Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

Query User and Viewport

[154 orchard st] User and fresh viewport over Midtown Manhattan in
New York City
User Intent: The query does not specify in which locality the address is expected.
Use the
location intent given by the user and viewport to rate the results.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Results Ratings and Explanation
①
154 Orchard St Relevance Navigational
154 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Category: n/a
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is in Lower Manhattan, very close to the user
location.
②
154 Orchard St
154 Orchard St, Newark, NJ 07102
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
Category: n/a Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is farther away from the viewport, but still
matches the query.
Results Ratings and Explanation
③
154 Orchard St
154 Orchard St, Garfield, NJ 07026
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
Category: n/a Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is farther away from the viewport, but still
matches the query.
④ 154 Orchard Dr
154 Orchard Dr, Levittown, Pennsylvania
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
19054
Category: n/a
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Wrong
The result is in a different state and very far away from
the user’s viewport. The street type does also not
match the query.
The pin lands on the house with the street number 114,
which can be verified via street imagery. Since this is
several houses down from the intended address, it is
incorrect.
Scenario 2: Viewport/user’s location is in Maine. There is no address in the
vicinity that contains
[154 Orchard St]. All locations with this address are far from the location intent
of the query.

Query User and Viewport

[154 orchard st] User and viewport in Maine
User Intent: Since there is no matching result close to the location intent given
by the user and
viewport, the closest address is rated without demotion for user intent or
distance/prominence.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Results Ratings and Explanation
① 154 Orchard St
154 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This location is among the closest possible results to
the viewport/user’s location.
②
154 Orchard St
154 Orchard St, Newark, NJ 07102
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This location is among the closest possible results to
the viewport/user’s location.
③
154 Orchard St
154 Orchard St, Garfield, NJ 07026
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This location is among the closest possible results to
the viewport/user’s location.
Results Ratings and Explanation
④ 154 Orchard Dr
154 Orchard Dr, Levittown, Pennsylvania
19054
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Category: n/a Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Wrong
This location is farther from the viewport/user location
than the result in New York and therefore demoted for
distance. The user is also looking for a Street, but has
been presented with a Drive.
The pin lands on the house with the street number 114
which can be verified via street imagery. Since this is
several houses down from the intended address, it is
Wrong.
Here is another example of an address query with implicit location intent. Although
this is a common
address in US cities, it overwhelmingly refers to the location of the White House
and should be
considered the primary intent of the query unless an additional location modifier
is provided (i.e.
state, city, or postal code) or a different 1600 Pennsylvania Ave that’s not the
White House is already
in or very near the location intent.

Scenario 1: Fresh viewport on Los Angeles, CA (not near Richmond, CA):

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

[1600
pennsylvania
ave]
Fresh viewport
on Los Angeles,
CA (not near
Richmond, CA)
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave,
Washington, DC, 20500 United
States
Category: Landmark
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The POI associated with this address is
overwhelmingly prominent and this is the
most likely intent.
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
1600 Pennsylvania Ave,
Richmond, CA 94801
Category: n/a
Relevance Acceptable/Bad
(Distance/Prominence)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Technically a match, but considering the
user’s viewport it is less likely that the user is
looking for this location.
Scenario 2: The fresh viewport is in San Francisco, CA (near Richmond, CA). The
proximity of the
user viewport to the Richmond location makes this location just as relevant as the
prominent location
in Washington DC.

Query Results Ratings & Explanation

[1600
pennsylvania
ave]
Fresh viewport
on San
Francisco, CA
(near Richmond,
CA)
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave,
Washington, DC, 20500
Category: Landmark
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Both results are equally valid, so neither can
get Navigational and should instead be rated
Excellent.
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
1600 Pennsylvania Ave,
Richmond, CA 94801
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Both results are equally valid, so neither can
get Navigational and should instead be rated
Excellent.

10.3. Query Address Does Not Exist

To be useful to the user, address results need to point to either a building with
that address or a plot
of land that has been officially assigned the address. Sometimes your research will
show that a full
query address does not exist (or no major search engine will be able to determine
its exact location).
In cases like this, you will see one of three types of results:

• The closest verified address (on the same street and in the same city and state):
Rate
relevance as Excellent.
• The same address as the query address: Rate relevance as Excellent and address as

Incorrect – Address does not exist. The pin will be rated Can’t Verify.
• The queried street without a street number: Rate relevance as Acceptable.
When a queried address does not exist, the answer to the question “Is there a
navigational result for
this query” will always be No.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[2001 Duncan
St, San
Francisco]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
1099 Duncan St
1099 Duncan St., San
Francisco, 94131, CA
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
If 2001 does not actually exist then selecting
1099, the closest address on the same street in
the same city and state that does exist, is
considered correct.
For a locale that uses the rule of even numbers
on one side of the street and the odd numbers
on the other, we need to return the closest
existing address on the same side of the street
as the query. If the rule of odds and evens does
not apply then the closest numeric number will
be considered correct.
The pin has to be correctly dropped on the
address presented in the result to be rated
Perfect.
2001 Duncan St
2001 Duncan St., San
Francisco, 94131, CA
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Address
does not exist
Pin Accuracy Can’t Verify
Duncan Street only goes up to number 1099,
but the query requests a non-existent number.
The result returned is the same as the queried
address and should be rated as Excellent.
The pin rating for addresses that do not exist is
Can’t Verify.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Duncan St
Duncan St, San Francisco,
94131, CA
Category: n/a
Relevance Acceptable (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result returns only the street with a pin
dropped within the boundaries of the street.
This result technically satisfies the user intent,
but this intent is unlikely, so relevance should
be rated Acceptable.

10.4. Point of Interest

A correct location result should be rated Navigational for queries referring to a
point of interest.
Consider the query [mount rushmore], the famous US monument. Although the query
terms do not
contain an explicit location, the Mount Rushmore monument is so prominent and
unambiguous that
its location should be considered the primary location intent. The user viewport
and user location are
irrelevant for this query because the user is looking for the place of interest no
matter where they
currently are.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

[mount
rushmore]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Mount Rushmore National
Memorial
13000 S Dakota 244, Keystone,
SD, United States
Category: Landmark
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The pin can drop anywhere within the
boundaries of the park to be rated Perfect.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Mount Rushmore KOA at
Palmer Gulch
12620 Highway 244
Hill City, SD 57745
Category: Campground
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result is a campground within the park
and is not the park the user asked for.
Mount Rushmore Gift Shop
13000 SD-244, Keystone, SD
57751
Category: Gift Shop
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result is a gift shop inside Mount
Rushmore National Park and is not the park
the user asked for. Both the Name and
Address Accuracy are verified and rated
Correct. The pin falls on the shop and is
Perfect.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[route 66]
Fresh viewport
on Amarillo, TX
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Route 66
Seligman, AZ 86337
United States
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result represents Route 66 and is rated
Navigational regardless of user location,
viewport, or the locality in the address. The
pin can be dropped anywhere along the route.
Route 66 Indian buffet all 7
days
397 Las Colinas Blvd,
Irving, TX 75039
Category: Indian
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Partially Correct (Name
Issue)
Address Accuracy Incorrect -Unit/Apt,
Street Name
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is a randomly chosen business far
from the user whose name includes the query
terms. The result name differs from the
official name variations used on the website:
“Route 66 Fine Indian and American
Cuisines” or “Route 66 Indian Cuisine”.
However, the name is still recognizable and is
rated Partially Correct. The address on the
official website is “397 East Las Colinas Blvd”
whereas the result address excludes “East”.
Also, the official site lists a unit number, 180,
which is missing from the address in the
result.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[Machu
Picchu]
Fresh viewport
over
Massachusetts,
some distance
away from
Somerville, MA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Machu Picchu
Aguas Calientes, Peru
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is an internationally known historical
site and the most relevant result, making it the
primary user intent.
Machu Picchu Restaurant
307 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA
02143
Relevance Good (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Since the result is reasonably close to the
fresh user viewport, it will be considered
secondary intent for this query.
10.5. Understanding Multiple Query Interpretations: Beyond Viewport and User
Location
Many address/POI queries have multiple interpretations. Understanding which
interpretation is most
likely often requires extra research in addition to considering the viewport and
user’s location. It is
critical to fully understand the query through research rather than guessing.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

[new york]
User and
viewport
somewhere in
France
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
New York City
New York City, NY, US
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This is a very prominent result that satisfies
the user intent.
New York State
New York, US
Category: n/a
Relevance Good (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result refers to the state of New York and
satisfies a secondary intent of the query.
Avenue de New York
Avenue de New York, Paris,
France
Category: n/a
Relevance Good (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
The result is within the fresh viewport, but is
not a very prominent street. Although this is
still a possible interpretation, it is not a perfect
match to the query and is overshadowed by
the prominence of New York City.
[amsterdam
cafe]
User and fresh
viewport in New
York, NY
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Amsterdam Cafe
481 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024
Category: Cafe
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The user and fresh viewport are close to New
York, NY this cafe is an exact match, and can
therefore be considered the main intent.
The pin lands on the edge of the building, so
by applying the tennis rule the pin will be
rated as Perfect.
[amsterdam
cafe]
User and
viewport
somewhere in
Europe
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Café de Jaren
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20-22, 1012
CP Amsterdam, Netherlands
Category: Café
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The user and viewport are in Europe, so cafes
in the city of Amsterdam are the expected
results.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Café de Jaren
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20-22, 1012
CP Amsterdam, Netherlands
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[amsterdam
cafe]
User and fresh
viewport in
Maine, US
CP Amsterdam, N
Category: Café Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The user and viewport are in a rural area and
there is no relevant result in the area, so the
strongest matches are cafes in the city of
Amsterdam.
[europe]
User and
viewport
somewhere in
US
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Europe
Europe
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The query is clearly for the European
continent, so returning the continent should
be rated Navigational. If the name of a local
business exactly matches the query with no
extra words then that business may be a
reasonable interpretation of the query and
should be rated based on distance from the
user or viewport. All other businesses are
Bad.
[paris]
User and fresh
viewport
somewhere in
San Francisco,
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Paris
Paris, France
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The query [paris] can mean either the capital
of France or one of the more than 10 towns
across the USA with the same name. Because
of the small population and lack of tourism in
these small towns, the city in France should
be rated Navigational unless the query’s
location intent is within or very close to one of
these small US cities.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation ,
CA Paris
Texas, USA
Category: n/a
Relevance Acceptable/Bad (User
intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result is unlikely to satisfy the user intent.
[hunan]
User and fresh
viewport
somewhere in
San Francisco,
CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Brandy Ho's Hunan Food
217 Columbus Ave, San
Francisco, CA 94133
Category: Hunan
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The query [hunan] represents both the
seventh most populous province in China and
a popular type of cuisine. In this case, both
user location and viewport are in the San
Francisco Bay area. An online maps search
done by a user in this area shows that the
dominant intent of this query is for the
cuisine. The province is a less likely, but still
viable, intent that can be rated Acceptable.

10.6. Business Queries

Before you rate a business query, consider:

• Multiple interpretations: Are there ways to interpret the query terms other than
as a
business name? French Laundry is both a famous restaurant in Napa and a type of
laundromat/cleaner.
• Number of locations: How many locations of this business exist? If there are many
of them
(like Starbucks) then the user expects to find locations in or very close to the
their location
intent.
• Population density: Is the area of the business results urban, suburban, or
rural? City
dwellers are less willing to travel longer distances than suburban and rural users.
10.6.1. Non-Chain Businesses
Some businesses have only one location, so treat and rate them as navigational
queries. The correct
location should be rated Navigational and any other results should receive Bad
(User Intent).

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

[klein high
school]
User and Fresh
Viewport in
Spring TX
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Klein High School
16715 Stuebner Airline Rd
Spring, TX 77379
Category: High School
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This is a perfect result for the query. While
the city on the official website is ‘Klein’,
because USPS validates the full address, as
returned, in the city as ‘Spring’, we can rate
the address as correct.
Klein Independent School
District Central Office
7200 Spring Cypress Road
Klein, TX 77379
Category: School District Office
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The school district office is not relevant for
the query.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[Gary Danko
800 North
Point St, San
Francisco,
California
94109]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Restaurant Gary Danko
800 North Point St, San Francisco,
California 94109
Category: American (New)
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This is a nationally famous restaurant in San
Francisco with no other possible results.
800 North Point
800 North Point St, San Francisco,
California 94109
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
When a user types in the name of a business
or a POI along with its address, they expect
to see the business mentioned in the query
as part of the result. If the result is the
address alone and does not mention the
business, the user cannot be certain that the
query and the result refer to the same thing.
This is why the result’s relevance is Bad.
Garry Lee, DDS
1259 Mason St, San Francisco,
California 94108
Category: Dentist
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Result is unrelated to the queried restaurant.
Sometimes there are multiple unrelated businesses with the same name in the same
area. In this
case, rate each business independently considering its relevance and distance from
the location
intent of the query.

Query User and Viewport

[lighthouse] User inside a fresh viewport over in Dearborn, MI (a
suburb of Detroit)
User Intent: When there are multiple unrelated businesses with the same name in the
same area,
rate each business independently considering its relevance and distance from the
location intent of
the query.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Results Ratings and Explanation
①
The Lighthouse
4474 W Jefferson Ave
Ecorse, MI 48229
Category: Pub
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This is one of the closest results that fits the user’s
query. This result should receive a relevance rating of
Excellent.
Both the Name and Address Accuracy are verified and
rated Correct.
The Pin lands on the correct rooftop.
②
Lighthouse Ministries of Free
Methodist Church
Relevance Good (User Intent)
2069 Chandler Ave
Lincoln Park, MI 48146
Category: Church
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This is one of the closest results and partially fits the
query intent. This result is about the same distance from
the user’s location as the result above (The Lighthouse),
but is less likely to be the user's intent based on the
query. Therefore, this result should be demoted based
on secondary intent to Good.
Both the Name and Address Accuracy are verified and
rated Correct.
The pin lands on the correct rooftop and is Perfect.

10.6.2. Chain Businesses

A query for a chain business is generally not considered an explicit query and is
therefore not eligible
a for Navigational rating unless the query contains a location modifier that points
to a single unique
location (see Chain Business with Location Modifier).

Chain businesses are businesses that have more than one location, and include
everything from
national chains like Starbucks, Target, Auchan, Albert Heijn, and Boots down to
small local chains.

Distance evaluations should be based on chain business locations in the real world,
not only the
returned results.
• The more locations the chain business has in the area, the closer the results
should be in
order to be considered relevant.
• The fewer locations the chain business has in the area, the more you can widen
the distance
for relevant results.
Note: Go to the chain business’ official website and check the address of the
specific branch you’re
rating. For each branch of a chain business, research to verify that it actually
exists at the address
listed in the result.
Query User and Viewport
[whole foods] User and fresh viewport in Irvine, California
User Intent: The user is clearly looking for the grocery chain Whole Foods close to
their location
or at least within the viewport.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Results Ratings and Explanation
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
① Whole Foods
The District, 2847 Park Ave, Tustin, CA
92782
Category: Grocery
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Approximate
This is a Whole Foods store within the user’s viewport
as well as the closest Whole Foods location to Irvine.
The pin is dropped within the shared parking lot of the
result, making it Approximate.
② Whole Foods
Fashion Island, 415 Newport Center Dr,
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Category: Grocery
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This is a Whole Foods store in the same metro area, but
is outside the user’s viewport.
Results Ratings and Explanation
③
Whole Foods
Aliso Village Shopping Center, 23932
Relevance Acceptable (Distance/
Prominence)
Aliso Creek Rd, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Category: Grocery
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This is a Whole Foods store in a neighboring city,
outside of the viewport and a considerable distance
away. As such this result is less relevant to the user and
is rated Acceptable.

10.6.3. Chain Business With Location Modifier

If the query for a chain business includes a location modifier that points to a
single unique branch of
that business, that specific branch can be eligible for a Navigational rating.

When there are multiple results available for the location modifier, the highest
possible rating for all
results will be Excellent. Remember:

• User and viewport location should always be ignored when there is a location
modifier
• Ratings must always be based on possible real-world results
There are two types of location modifiers:
• General location modifier (locality or postal code)
• Specific location modifier (street or full address)
10.6.3.1.
General
Loca@on
Modifier
Location modifiers in the form of localities or areas are considered to be general
location modifiers.

Results inside the requested location

When the location modifier is general, results inside the specified location are
not demoted for
distance.
Location of
results
Quantity of results
inside the requested
location
Rating and Explanation
Inside the
One
If there is only one result present in the requested
location, it should receive a rating of Navigational.
It is promoted because it is the only result that satisfies
the user intent
requested
location
More than one
When there are multiple results for the chain business in
the requested location, they should all receive a rating
of Excellent.
Ignore user and viewport location. The user has already
told you exactly where they are looking for results.

Results outside the requested location

When the location modifier is general, results outside the requested location are
demoted based on
how many results there are inside it.

Location of
results
Results inside the
requested location Rating and Explanation
Outside the
requested
location
None
If there are no results for the chain business inside the
requested location, results outside the area may be
demoted less severely depending on how close they are
to the named location and how many branches of the
chain exist in the real world. Ratings may range from
Excellent to Bad.
This is because when there are no locations of a chain
business inside the requested area, results that are
outside it can still be relevant. However, it's also
possible for results to be so far away from the location
that they have no relevance at all.
Location of
results
Results inside the
requested location Rating and Explanation
Few
If there are few results for the chain business inside the
requested location, results outside the area may be
demoted less severely depending on how close they are
to the named location and how many branches of the
chain exist in the real world. Ratings may range from
Good to Bad.
This is because when there are fewer locations of a
chain business inside the requested area, results that
are outside it can still be relevant. However, it’s also
possible for results to be so far away from the location
that they have no relevance at all.
Many
When there are many results for the chain business
inside the requested location, results outside the area
are demoted to Bad. This is because there are multiple
results that would satisfy user intent inside the
requested area, so there’s no need to look outside it.
Query User and Viewport
[Starbucks san francisco] User and fresh viewport in San Francisco, CA
User Intent: The user is seeking a Starbucks in a specific location. The fresh
viewport and user
location can be ignored since the user has an area in mind for results. Because
there are so many
Starbucks within the named area, results outside it are rated Bad.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Results Ratings and Explanation
①
Starbucks
2165 Polk St, San Francisco, CA
94102
Category: Coffee
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result is one of many Starbucks in the specified
location, San Francisco, and is rated Excellent. All results
within San Francisco are eligible for the highest possible
initial rating of Excellent.
All the data for the result is correct.
②
STARBUCKS
1231 Market St, San Francisco, CA
94103
Category: Coffee
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result is one of many Starbucks in the specified
location, San Francisco, and is rated Excellent. All results
within San Francisco are eligible for the highest possible
initial rating of Excellent.
The STARBUCKS name is written in capital letters. Because
this is how the business refers to itself on storefront signs,
it is Correct. The address is Correct and the Perfect pin
lands on the correct rooftop.
③ Starbucks
1555 40th St. Emeryville, CA 94608
Category: Coffee
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Approximate
This Starbucks is outside of the boundaries of the specified
location and should be rated Bad since there are so many
Starbucks to choose from in San Francisco.
The name and address are Correct. Using the best
available evidence — in this case, street imagery — the
location of the Starbucks under the rooftop can be found.
Since the pin falls on the correct rooftop, but not in the
correct location, it is rated Approximate.
Results Ratings and Explanation
④
Starbucks
601 Westlake Center, Daly City, CA
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
94015
Category: Coffee
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This Starbucks is outside of the boundaries of the specified
location and should be rated Bad since there are so many
Starbucks to choose from in San Francisco.
All the data for the result is correct.
⑤
Starbucks
12 Manor Plaza, Pacifica, CA 94044
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
Category: Coffee Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Approximate
This Starbucks is outside of the boundaries of the specified
location and should be rated Bad since there are so many
Starbucks to choose from in San Francisco.
The pin drops within the Half n' Half rule boundaries of the
shared parking lot.
Query User and Viewport
[Aldi waco tx] User and fresh viewport in Houston, TX
User Intent: The user asked for a specific chain business in a specific location.
The fresh viewport
can be ignored since the user has a specific area in mind for results. Because
there are very few
stores within the specified area, results outside it are gradually demoted.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Results Ratings and Explanation
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
①
ALDI
1220 N Valley Mills Dr, Waco, TX
76710
Category: Grocery
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Approximate
ALDI is a well-known chain business. Research confirms
that the location modifier in the query narrows possible
results to a single unique location. This is the only location
eligible for a Navigational rating.
The pin drops within the shared parking lot.
②
ALDI
3310 S 31st St, Temple, TX 76502
Relevance Good (Distance/Prominence)
Category: Grocery Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Although this result is not in Waco, research shows that,
unlike the many Starbucks in San Francisco, there are very
few Aldi stores in the Waco area. That is why this nearby
result should be demoted -2 for distance from the highest
possible initial rating of Navigational and rated Good.
The pin drops on the edge of the appropriate rooftop and
can be rated Perfect.
Results Ratings and Explanation
③
ALDI
3623 W State Highway 31, Corsicana,
TX
Category: Grocery
Relevance Acceptable (Distance/
Prominence)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Postal Code
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Although this result is not in Waco, research shows that,
unlike the many Starbucks in the San Francisco example
above, there are very few Aldi stores in the Waco area. This
result has been demoted -3 from the highest possible
initial rating of Navigational to Acceptable because it is
significantly farther from the area of expected results.
The postal code, which is a mandatory address
component, is missing from the result address.

10.6.3.2.
Specific
Loca@on
Modifier
Location modifiers in the form of streets or full addresses are referred to as
specific location
modifiers.

A specific location modifier might also be the name of a POI, as seen here:
[university of kentucky
starbucks] in a query about the location of the coffee chain at a particular
university.

When the a query includes a specific location modifier, results that satisfy the
location intent should
not be demoted for distance:

Location of
results
Number of results
inside the requested
location
Rating and Explanation
None
Consider the location modifier a general one and
demote results based on distance to the specified
location.
Inside the
requested
location
One
If there is a only a single result present in the specified
location it should receive a rating of Navigational.
It is promoted because it is the only result that satisfies
the user intent
Location of
results
Number of results
inside the requested
location
Rating and Explanation
More than one
When there are multiple results in the location, they
should all receive a rating of Excellent.
Ignore user and viewport location. The user has already
told you exactly where they are looking for results.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

[kate spade
789 Madison
Ave, New York]
User and large,
fresh viewport in
New York, NY
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Kate Spade New York
789 Madison Ave, New York, NY
10065
Category: Accessories
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This chain business query includes a specific
location modifier in the form of a full address.
Research confirms that this is the address of
queried business, so this result is eligible for
a Navigational rating.
All the data for the result is correct and the
pin is Perfect.
Kate Spade New York
205 Columbus Ave, New York,
NY 10023
Category: Accessories
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This is a very specific query and the result
does not satisfy the specific location
modifier and would not be useful to the user
searching only for the location at the
specified address. This result is rated Bad.
All the data for the result is correct.
Query User and Viewport
[tacodeli burnet rd] User and fresh Viewport in Austin, TX
User Intent: Since there are two Tacodelis located on the named street, both are
primary intent.
Any other location is rated Bad.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Results Ratings and Explanation
① Tacodeli
12001 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78757
Category: Mexican
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Approximate
At first glance, this chain business query with a specific
location modifier may suggest the user is looking for a
unique location. However, research indicates that there
are two branches of this restaurant on the same road.
Both are therefore eligible for a rating of Excellent.
The pin drops off the edge of the appropriate rooftop
and should be rated Approximate.
② Tacodeli
7301 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78758
Category: Mexican
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
At first glance, this chain business query with a specific
location modifier may suggest the user is looking for a
unique location. However, research indicates that there
are two branches of this restaurant on the same road.
Both are eligible for a rating of Excellent.
All the data for the result is correct.
③ Tacodeli
4200 N. Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78756
Category: Mexican
Relevance Bad (User Intent Issue)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result does not satisfy the specific location
modifier and would not be useful to the user searching
only for locations along Burnet Road and is therefore
rated Bad.
However, if there are no results present on this road,
consider the location modifier as a general one and
demote results based on distance to the road
All the data for the result is correct.
When a query is for a POI on a named street, results for this POI that are on the
named street but
have an official address on another street can also be rated Excellent.

10.6.4. Back Office and Businesses with No Physical Location

These type of results are most often rated Bad because they are either not useful
to the user or have
no maps intent at all.

Business Type Example Rating and Explanation

No Physical location Mobile
locksmith
Businesses with no physical location, like mobile
locksmiths or mobile dog groomers, have no relevance for
maps and are rated Bad.
Back Office
Administrative
offices of a
company
Back offices are usually not open to the public. Rate them
with a lower prominence. In most cases the relevance
rating will be Bad unless these offices match the specific
user intent.
Home Business Home based
calligrapher
Unless your Country Specific guidelines state otherwise,
give businesses running out of a home very low
prominence.
These businesses see customers by appointment only
and have no regular opening hours or brick and mortar
businesses (like a store with regular hours where
customers can drop by and choose from a large selection
of merchandise).
The most likely relevance rating is Bad, unless there is a
likely user intent or the suggestion is similar to a bed and
breakfast or other business that a user may want to visit.

For these types of results, rate the address accuracy according to the official
website or consensus
of three sources, otherwise rate Can’t Verify. If the entire address is missing,
rate Can’t Verify. If an
address is present, rate the pin according to the address in the result. If no
address is present, rate
the pin Can’t Verify.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Wendy's Flower Affair
Name Accuracy Correct
1175 E 930 N, Provo, UT 84604 Address Accuracy Correct
[flower shop]
User and fresh
viewport in
Provo, UT
Category: Wedding Planning Pin Accuracy Perfect
Research shows that this is a business run
out of a residential home, not a showroom full
of flowers. The relevance rating for this
location is Bad. We have been able to confirm
the address and pin for this business and they
will be rated Correct.
This business will not be rated Business/POI
is closed/does not exist because we want
to reserve that option for businesses and
POIs that truly do not exist.
10.6.5. Business/POI Does Not Exist
There are situations where a result returned is for a business that does not exist.
You must still rate
relevance as if the business were open.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Ocean Blue Sushi Club
1010 E El Camino Real,
Business/POI is closed/does
not exist ☑
[sushi]
User and fresh
viewport in
Sunnyvale, CA
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Category: Sushi
Relevance Excellent
Research shows that this business is closed.
The checkbox for Business/POI is closed/
does not exist should be selected. Name,
address and pin accuracy questions will not
appear. The relevance rating for this location
is Excellent because if this business were
open, it would be a very good result for the
query.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
North Shore Hotel
99300 Sea View Drive, Hwy 11
Business/POI is closed/does
not exist ☑
[hotel]
Fresh viewport
over North
Shore, CA
North Shore, CA
Category: Hotel Relevance Excellent
The North Shore hotel no longer exists at this
address, but its relevance is judged as if it
were still in business.
10.7. Category Queries
Category queries are the broadest query type because they can return the greatest
variety of results.
Give prominence more weight than distance when rating them.

The highest relevance rating most category query results will receive is Excellent.

Category queries with a location modifier are the only category queries eligible
for a Navigational
rating (see Navigational Results for Category Queries).

You’ll need to determine the user’s intent based on the query:

• Primary Intent refers to the businesses or POI the user is expecting to see for
the given
category.
• Secondary Intent refers to businesses that fit the category intent but would not
be the
user's first choice. Secondary intent results will receive a demotion of -1 or an
initial rating of
Good.
• Unlikely Intent refers to results that technically match the query terms or
category intent,
but woud not be an obvious, or even secondary, intent for most users. They receive
a
demotion of -2 or an initial rating of Acceptable.
Significant Increase in Distance

Given how many results are often within close proximity to the location intent,
results for category
queries are not demoted for distance simply because there is something closer (in
the result set or in
real life). Instead, use significant increases in distance to group possible
results for the appropriate
demotions.

It is important to understand the real-world distribution of all

possible results when assessing a significant increase in
distance.
The image on the left shows possible results around the user
as purple dots. In this example, demotion for distance starts
approximately 500m away from the user (around 3 to 6 blocks
away) due to the high number of possible results. This distance
will vary depending on how many or few results are available in
a given area.
Please note that no results inside the fresh Viewport should be
demoted to Bad for distance alone.
10.7.1.Demotion for Distance with User Inside Viewport

Query User and Viewport

[pizza] User and fresh viewport in Campbell, CA
User Intent: The user is looking for a pizza place.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Results Ratings and Explanation
①
Domino’s Pizza
930 W Hamilton Ave Campbell, CA
Category: Pizza
Relevance Excellent
At about 1 km away, this pizza place is among the
closest results to the user, who is in an area with many
pizza options. Other results in the same general range
would also receive this rating.
②
Luigi's Pizza and Pasta
2495 S Winchester Blvd, Campbell
Category: Pizza
Relevance Good (Significant Distance)
Luigi’s is significantly further away from the user is and
is demoted for distance, as are all other results in this
general range.
③
Pizza My Dear
2590 S Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA
Category: Pizza
Relevance Acceptable (Significant Distance)
Pizza My Dear is over 4km away from the user, which is
significantly further than many other results. It is
demoted -2 for distance.
10.7.2. Demotion for Distance with User Outside Viewport
Query User and Viewport
[guns] Fresh viewport in New Braunfels, TX, with user north of
San Antonio
User Intent: The user is looking for guns.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No

Results Ratings and Explanation

①
EDC TX
964 N Walnut Ave, New Braunfels, Tx
Category: Gun Store
Relevance Excellent
This result is inside the very specific viewport and
carries weapons and other accessories.
②
Freddy’s Pawn & Jewelry
671 S Seguin Ave, New Braunfels, TX
Category: Pawn Store
Relevance Excellent
The pawn shop is very close to the fresh Viewport and
sells guns and related items.
Results Ratings and Explanation
③
Guntrap
850 Schneider, Cibolo, TX
Category: Gun Store
Relevance Good (Significant Distance)
This weapons store satisfies the user intent but is
significantly further away from the fresh viewport in a
more rural area, with fewer such stores close by.
④
River City Pawn & Jewelry
417 Main St, Scherz, TX
Category: Pawn Store
Relevance Good (Significant Distance)
The pawn shop sells guns and other related equipment
but is also significantly further away from the fresh
viewport.
10.7.3. Demotion for Distance with Fewer Possible Results
Query User and Viewport
[bicycle path] User and fresh viewport in Kennesaw, GA
User Intent: The user is looking for places to ride a bike. These could include
trails, parks,
and other paths that are frequented by bicyclists.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No

Results Ratings and Explanation

①
Deerfield Park
2401 Deerfield Dr, Kennesaw, GA
Category: Park
Relevance Excellent
Deerfield Park is among the closest results to the user.
There are other results that are within an acceptable
range given the number of other possible results that
are within 13km.
② Allatoona Creek
Pitner Rd NW, Acworth, GA 30101
Category: MTB Trails
Relevance Good (Significant Distance)
These mountain bike trails are about 25km away from
the user and significantly more distant than the closest
group of results. The result, and others in the same
general range, is demoted by -1 for distance.
Results Ratings and Explanation
③
Iron Hill Trail Head
Cartersville, GA 30121
Category: Hiking Area
Relevance Acceptable (Significant
Distance)
Iron Hill Trail Head is about 30km away. It is still within
the Acceptable group in terms of distance to the
location intent given the smaller number of possible
results in the area, and gets a demotion of -2 for
distance.
10.7.4. Category Queries and User Intent
Query Suggestion Ratings & Explanation
[art]
User in Chicago, IL
(Viewport is stale)
①
The Art Institute
of Chicago
111 S Michigan Ave,
Chicago
Category: Museum
Relevance Excellent
This result is an internationally famous
art museum in Chicago very close to the
user's location.
②
Arts & Artisans
321 N Michigan Ave
#1, Chicago
Category: Art Gallery
Relevance
Good
(User Intent &
Distance/
Prominence)
This art gallery should be demoted due
to distance to user as there are many
other possible art-related matches in
the user’s area.
③
The Art of Pizza
727 S State St,
Chicago
Category: Pizza
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Even though it has the word “art” in its
name, this pizzeria does not meet the
user’s intent and should be rated Bad.
10.7.5. Category Queries and Prominence
Query Suggestion Ratings & Explanation
[museum]
No user location (viewport is fresh)
①
Solomon R.
Guggenheim
Museum
1071 5th Ave
New York
Category: Museum
Relevance Excellent
This result is a highly prominent
museum likely to fulfill the user’s primary
intent.
②
9/11 Memorial &
Museum
180 Greenwich St
New York
Category: Museum
Relevance Excellent
This is another highly prominent result
likely to meet the user’s the primary
intent.
③
Houdini Museum
421 7th Ave
New York
Category: Museum
Relevance
Good/Acceptable
(Distance/
Prominence)
This result is a small museum that’s
much less prominent than other
museums in this location, like the
Guggenheim.
④
Museum of the
Moving Image
36-1 35th Ave
Astoria
Type: BUSINESS
Category: Museum
Relevance Bad (Distance/
Prominence)
This result is also much less prominent
than other possible results in the area. It
is located outside of the viewport while
there are multiple other options available
inside of the viewport.

10.7.6. Category Query with Location Modifier

If the query contains a location modifier, all results within the specified
location should receive the
highest possible initial rating of Excellent. Results outside the expected location
should be demoted
based on their distance from the location modifier and the number of possible real-
world results
within it. User and viewport location should be disregarded. Further demotions can
be applied based
on how well the result fits the intent of the category.

Note that location modifiers for category queries can take many forms, from the
names of cities,
neighborhoods, and streets to the names of POIs, like [Aeropuerto barcelona
gasolinera], a query
about gas stations at or near Barcelona’s airport.
Query User and Viewport
[Food montgomery tx] User and viewport outside Montgomery, TX
User Intent: Any food provider or restaurant within the named locality is
considered primary
intent. Given the large number of possible results within the explicit area,
results outside it are
rated Bad.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No

Results Ratings and Explanation

①
Pizza Shack
20821 Eva St, Montgomery, TX
Category: Pizza
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Postal Code
Pin Accuracy Approximate
All results that satisfy the ‘Food’ intent located in
Montgomery are eligible for an initial rating of
Excellent.
The postal code, which is a mandatory address
component, is missing from the result address.
The pin drops into the shared parking lot.
Results Ratings and Explanation
②
Taco Bell
3207 W Davis St, Conroe, TX 77304
Category: Fast Food
Relevance Bad (Distance/Prominence)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Given the large number of places to get food in
Montgomery, results outside of it are rated Bad.
All the data for the result is correct.

10.7.7. Navigational Results for Category Queries

Sometimes it’s not clear whether a query is for a category or a specific
business/POI. What first
appears to be a category query with a location modifier may lead to a single
prominent result which
can be rated Navigational.

Due to the ambiguity of these queries, even if there is a Navigational result, the
query should still be
treated as a potential category query and other results considered relevant.

When deciding if a category query could have a Navigational result, consider:

• The actual wording of the query

• Possible results in the real world
• Local knowledge
• Prominence
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[hotel
kilkenny]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Hotel Kilkenny
College Road, Kilkenny R95
KP08
Ireland
Category: Hotel
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result is an exact match to the query. The
wording of the query leads to a single result,
so it’s likely the user intent is this specific
hotel.
The address is correct without a street
number because it matches what's found on
the official website. The pin landing in the
hotel's roof is Perfect.
Newpark Hotel
Castlecomer Road, Kilkenny R95
KP63, Ireland
Category: Hotel
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Although the wording of the query suggests a
single result, there is still a possibility that the
intent is for any hotel in Kilkenny. Since this
could be a category query with a location
modifier, all hotels in this locality should be
rated as Excellent.
The address is correct without a street
number because it matches the address
shown on the official website. The pin is
Perfect because it lands on the hotel’s
rooftop.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[Kilkenny
hotel]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Hotel Kilkenny
College Road, Kilkenny R95
KP08
Ireland
Category: Hotel
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
There is no result that matches the exact
wording of the query, so this is more likely to
be a category query with a location modifier.
Any hotel result returned in the locality of
Kilkenny would be rated Excellent.
The address is correct without a street
number because it matches what appears on
the official website. The pin landing the hotel's
roof is Perfect.
Newpark Hotel
Castlecomer Road, Kilkenny R95
KP63, Ireland
Category: Hotel
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Any hotel result returned in the locality of
Kilkenny would be rated Excellent,
completely satisfying the ‘Category with
Location Modifier’ query
The address is correct without a street
number because it matches the address
shown on the official website. The pin is
Perfect because it lands on the hotel’s
rooftop.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[airport
berlin]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Berlin Tegel Airport
13405 Berlin, Germany
Category: Airport
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
There are two equally prominent airports in
Berlin. Since there is more than one possible
result for this query in the real world, it is likely
to be a category query with a location
modifier. All airports within the queried locality
should be rated as Excellent.
The address is correct without a street
number and street name because this is a POI
without an expected address so a locality and
postal code are appropriate. The pin is
Perfect because it lands on the airport’s
rooftop.
Berlin Schönefeld Airport
12521 Berlin, Germany
Category: Airport
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
There are two equally prominent airports in
Berlin. Since there is more than one possible
result for this query in the real world, it is likely
to be a category query with a location
modifier. All airports within the queried locality
should be rated as Excellent.
The address is correct without a street
number and street name because this is a POI
without an expected address so a locality and
postal code are appropriate. The pin is
Perfect because it lands on the airport’s
rooftop.
10.7.8. Clear Categories
When a query is clearly for a straightforward category, results must also belong to
that category

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

[mall]
User and fresh
viewport in
Santa Clara, CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Sephora
2855 Stevens Creek Blvd,
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Category: Beauty Supplies
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Approximate
The query intent is for a mall. The result is a
store inside Westfield Valley Fair mall and is
within the viewport. Since the query is a
category and the result is a specific store,
which the user did not ask for, rate Bad due to
user intent. If the result had been the entire
mall, the result would be rated Excellent.
The name and address can be confirmed on
the official website. The pin is Approximate
because it does not land on Sephora's location
(shown in green) according to the mall’s official
map.
[airports]
User and fresh
viewport in
New York, NY
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Terminal 8
JFK International Airport
Queens, NY 11430
Category: Airport
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is a terminal that's part of JFK
International Airport. Since the query is a
category and the result is a specific terminal
and not the airport itself, rate Bad due to user
intent.
The name and address can be confirmed on
the official website. The pin is Perfect because
it lands on one of the rooftops of Terminal 8
according to the official airport map.
10.7.9. Soft Categories
Some category queries are straightforward and may have results that satisfy an
intent exactly, like
[italian restaurant]. However, sometimes categories are very small or have multiple
interpretations,
so several different types of results could satisfy the user’s intent. These are
called “soft categories.”

These category queries will produce a variety of results, each of which could
satisfy the query intent
to a greater or lesser degree. How well a result satisfies a category query will
vary depending on the
services typically offered by the result entities in that market and the customs of
the specific market.

It’s often difficult to define which businesses or chains belong in any one soft
category, so you’ll have
to research the individual results provided to make your rating decisions. For
instance, the query [ski
shop] is very specific and is associated with the more general Sporting Goods
category.
Query User and Viewport
[ski shop] User and fresh viewport in Denver, Co
User Intent: The user is looking for places that sell ski clothing and equipment.
Any store that
carries such items is consider primary intent.
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Results Ratings and Explanation
①
Meier Skis
970 Yuma St, Suite 190
Denver, CO 80204
Category: Ski Equipment
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Business is a shop dedicated to skiing, which would
satisfy the primary intent of this category.
②
Patagonia
1431 15th St
Denver, CO 80202
Category: Sports Wear
Relevance Good (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Stores that sell ski clothing would be considered
secondary intent for the category query [ski shop].
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[italian]
User and fresh
viewport in
Houston, TX
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Riva's Italian Restaurant
1117 Missouri St
Houston, TX 77006
Category: Italian
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The most likely user intent for this query is
Italian restaurants. This result satisfies the
user’s intent.
Cafe Dolce Gelato
5135 W Alabama St, Ste 7315
Houston, Texas 77056
Category: Ice Cream
Relevance Good (User Intent)
Name Accuracy
Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Approximate
An Italian ice cream café is mostly likely a
secondary intent for this query.
The official mall map shows the exact location
of the cafe. The pin lands on another part of
the mall and is rated Approximate.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Prada Houston Galleria
5015 Westheimer, Ste 2285A
Houston, Texas 77057
Category: Accessories
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Postal Code
Pin Accuracy Perfect
An Italian clothing store is an unlikely intent for
this query.
The name is Correct, but the postal code
should be 77056.
The official mall map shows the exact location
of the store. The pin lands on this location and
is rated Perfect.
10.7.10. Category Query: Parking
"Parking" generally refers to:

• Parking lots
• Parking garages
• Parking decks
Example
Type Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Specific
Parking
[parking]
User and
viewport in
San
Francisco,
CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Parking
123 O’Farrell St, San Francisco, CA
94102
Category: Parking Garage
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Partially Correct
(Name Issue)
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Research reveals that the official name
for this parking location is Ellis-
O'Farrell Garage. Since an official
name exists, the generic name
“Parking” is demoted to Partially
Correct.
Generic
Parking
[parking]
User and
fresh
viewport in
San
Francisco,
CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Parking
121 Spear St, San Francisco, CA
94105
Category: Parking Garage
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result is the parking garage for
the Rincon Center, which does not
have a specific name according to
official resources. Accept the generic
name “Parking” as Correct.
Example
Type Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Paid vs.
free
[parking]
User and
fresh
viewport in
San
Francisco,
CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Rincon Center
121 Spear St, San Francisco, CA
94105
Category: Parking Garage
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result is the parking garage for
the Rincon Center. It’s a parking
garage accessible to the public for a
fee. Free and paid parking are equally
relevant. There should be no relevance
demotion if the parking lot/garage
requires payment and the query does
not specifically ask for free parking.
Paid vs.
free
[parking
free]
User and
fresh
viewport in
Santa
Clara, CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Parking
3705 El Camino Real, Santa Clara,
CA 95051
Category: Parking
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The query specifically requests free
parking, so the results should reflect
the user’s request. This parking lot is
free and should be rated as Excellent.
If the result were a parking lot that
requires payment, then the correct
relevance rating would be Bad, as it
does not satisfy the user’s intent.
Example
Type Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Affiliate
parking
that has a
specific
name
[parking]
User and
Fresh
Viewport
in San
Jose, CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Stevens Creek Parking Garage
2899 Stevens Creek Blvd, San
Jose, CA 95050
Category: Parking
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The name of the parking garage can
be confirmed on the official site of the
POI to which it belongs, therefore the
name is Correct.
Generic
Parking
[parking]
User and
fresh
viewport in
Palo Alto,
CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Hamilton/Waverly Lot
375 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA
94301
Category: Parking
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The name of the parking lot can be
confirmed on the official site of the
city of Palo Alto.
Example
Type Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Airport
Parking
[parking]
User and
fresh
viewport in
San
Francisco,
CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Parking
San Francisco, CA United States
Category: Parking
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This result refers to the parking lot of
San Francisco International Airport.
The generic name “Parking” is
considered Correct. Pin must be
dropped on the SFO parking lot. This is
a POI without an expected address so
just a locality is appropriate and rated
Correct without a street number and
street name.
Private vs.
public
parking
[parking]
User and
viewport in
Santa
Clara, CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Parking
3600 Flora Vista Ave, Santa Clara,
CA 95051
Category: Parking
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result in this example is a
residents-only parking lot. This should
be rated Bad because the lot is not
useful for the general public.
10.8. Rating Results with PERMANENT_CLOSURE Status
When rating results whose status is PERMANENT_CLOSURE, be sure to understand
whether the
results are expected or unexpected. For more information on the differences between
expected and
unexpected results, see section 5.19. Rating Relevance When Result Status is
PERMANENT_CLOSURE.

10.8.1. Expected PERMANENT_CLOSURE Status

When a result with PERMANENT_CLOSURE status is expected, choose the Business/POI is
closed
or does not exist checkbox and rate as if the location were open.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Relevance Navigational
Gaslight Grill
Business Closed/does not
exist Yes
[gaslight
grill]
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
5020 W 137th St, Overland
Park, KS 66224
Name Accuracy no ratings needed
Address Accuracy no ratings needed
Fresh
viewport in
Kansas City,
KS
Pin Accuracy no ratings needed
Research shows that the result for this navigational
query is permanently closed, and it displays the
status PERMANENT_CLOSURE. Showing this closed
result is expected since no other result can be
returned in the area of location intent.
Select Business is closed or does not exist and
rate the business as if it did exist. No further POI
data rating will be needed.
10.8.2. Unexpected PERMANENT_CLOSURE Status
When many branches of a chain are available in the area of intent, we would not
expect to see any
locations with a status of PERMANENT_CLOSURE, whether that status is correct or
not.

Query User and Viewport

[mcdonalds] User and fresh viewport in Sunnyvale, CA
Suggestion Rating and Explanation
① McDonald's
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
615 N Mathilda Ave,
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Relevance Acceptable
Business/POI closed/
does not exist Yes
This permanently closed restaurant (confirmed by research) has
its status set to PERMANENT_CLOSURE. It is considered
unexpected because there are many other locations of this chain
in the area. This means the highest rating it can get is
Acceptable. Name, address, and pin will not be rated.
② McDonald's
550 Lawrence Expy,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Relevance Excellent
Business/POI closed/
does not exist No
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This open chain location is among the closest to the user and
rated Excellent.
⓷ McDonald's
PERMANENT_CLOSURE
556 E El Camino Real,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Relevance Acceptable
Business/POI closed/
does not exist No
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This chain location is showing a status of
PERMANENT_CLOSURE. Research shows that it is, in fact, open.
Its relevance is rated independent of whether it is really open or
closed in the real world. The result is considered unexpected and
rated Acceptable.
Do not mark this result as Business/POI closed/does not exist,
and continue rating the result for relevance plus name, address,
and pin details.
Suggestion Rating and Explanation
Relevance Good (Distance)
④ McDonald's
1082 E El Camino Real,
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Business/POI closed/
does not exist Yes
The chain location does not exist according to official resources
and should be rated as Business is closed or does not exist.
The result does not show the status as PERMANENT_CLOSURE,
so it should be rated as if it were open, which is Good given the
distance.

10.9.Other Query Types

Queries can sometimes be less obvious or even ambiguous.

10.9.1. Routing Queries

When a query mentions two distinct locations that are not near each other, the user
was likely looking
for driving directions, so returning either of the two distinct locations used for
the route is the best
experience Search can offer. Each location should be rated Excellent for Relevance.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Oxford
Oxford, United Kingdom
Address
Accuracy Correct
Category: n/a
Pin Accuracy Perfect
[66 Chandos
Pl, London
WC2N 4HG
Oxford]
The query includes two separate locations,
which are very far away from each other, so
the user was likely looking for routing
directions. Returning either of the individual
locations is expected and should be rated
Excellent.
The pin should be dropped within the
boundaries of the result locality.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
66 Chandos Pl
66 Chandos Pl
London WC2N 4HG
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address
Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The query includes two separate locations,
so the user was likely looking for routing
directions. Returning either of the individual
locations is expected and should be rated
Excellent.
The pin should be dropped on the address
provided in the result.
[route to
Oxford]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? Yes
Oxford
Oxford, United Kingdom
Category: n/a
Relevance Navigational
Name Accuracy n/a
Address
Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
This routing query contains only one
location.
10.9.2.Coordinate and “My Location” Queries

Note: Results for coordinate and ‘’my location” queries (or any variation of these,
like “current
location,” “where I am,” and so on) are rated differently from the other results
described in these
guidelines. Please read this section carefully.

Pin and Relevance are rated separately using a 50m radius around the queried
coordinates or the
user location (for “my location” queries):

• Relevance:
• A result that exists and is within the 50m radius is rated Excellent.
• A result that does not exist or is outside of the 50m radius is rated Bad.
• There will be no Navigational results.
• Pin Accuracy:
• A pin that falls within 50m radius is rated Perfect.
• A pin that falls outside the 50m radius is rated Wrong.
• Name and Address Accuracy:
• Rate the name and address accuracy according the regular guidelines.
The graphic below gives an overview. These concepts are explained further on the
following pages.
If no result can be found within 50m, then the closest address or street up to 100m
away
will be accepted. If no address or street can be found within 100m, depending on
the
market, a locality or sub-locality will also be accepted.

Query Pin Rating and Explanation

Draw an imaginary circle with a 50m radius around the
user’s location. Rate any pin inside the circle Perfect and
any pin outside the circle Wrong.
Draw an imaginary circle with a 50m radius around the
queried coordinates. Rate any pin inside the circle Perfect
and any pin outside the circle Wrong.
Results Relevance Rating and Explanation
Use an imaginary circle with a 50m radius around the queried
location to rate relevance. A result that has any part of its
Perfect area within the circle is rated Excellent. If a result
does not have any Perfect area inside the circle, rate Bad.
The Perfect area usually refers to the rooftop or section of the
rooftop, but can include the parcel for parks and other
features rated perfect for the parcel.
Result Relevance Rating and Explanation
1: 3495 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95051 Excellent Part of the POI is inside the
50m radius
2: 3530 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95051 Excellent Part of the POI is inside the
50m radius
3: El Camino Real (street name) Excellent The street is inside the 50m
radius
4: United Furniture Club
3503 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95051
Bad No part of the POI is within
the 50m radius
5: 3482 El Camino Real Unit B
Santa Clara, CA 95051 Bad Research shows this address
does not exist

Note that the pin and result title do not need to match. For example, if a result
for United Furniture
Club is returned, but the pin is placed at the queried coordinates or user
location, the Relevance
Rating will still be Bad, but the pin rating will be Perfect even though it is far
from United Furniture’s
location.

10.10. Unclear Results

There may be times when it is difficult to determine exactly what the result is
because the business
name can’t be identified with certainty or the business does not correspond with
the given location
and it cannot be confirmed as closed. When this happens, use all provided
information (including
information that is not rated, such as URL and phone number – never call a
business) to reach a
conclusion.

If there is a tie in the evidence or you are rating Search Relevance only, rate
Business/POI is closed/
does not exist, then rate relevance as if the entity did exist.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Caribou Coffee Relevance Excellent
227 West Market
Bloomington, NM 55425 Name Accuracy Correct
Category: Coffee Shop
Additional info:
URL: cariboucoffee.com
Address Accuracy
Incorrect – Street
Number and Street
Name
[caribou]
User and fresh
viewport in
Bloomington,
NM
Phone: 1-952-854-7828 Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result name and URL are pointing to a
Caribou location. The address listed belongs
to the Nike store located in the same
shopping center. There are multiple Caribou
Coffee locations inside the Mall of America
but the phone number belongs to the store on
60 East Broadway S-380 per official
website or 380 South Ave per mall website.
The pin is located in the same area as shown
on the mall website. Because a business with
the same name and phone number is found in
the immediate surrounding area, we will
consider the address incorrect for this result.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[furniture
store]
User and Fresh
San Diego, CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Pottery Barn
1350 Fashion Valley Rd, San
Diego, CA 92108
Category: Furniture Store
Additional info:
URL: www.potterybarn.com
Phone: 1-619-296-8014
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Correct
Address Accuracy
Incorrect – Street
Number and Street
Name
Pin Accuracy Approximate
The result name and URL point to a Pottery
Barn location. The address listed is
associated with a nearby business, Wells
Fargo Bank. After researching the nearby
area, a Pottery Barn with the same phone
number as our result is found at 7007 Friars
Road, San Diego, CA 92108, within the
Fashion Valley Mall. The pin lands on the
Fashion Valley Mall. Because a business with
the same name and phone number is found in
the immediate surrounding area, consider the
address incorrect for this result.
[bar]
User and Fresh
Viewport in
Sacramento, CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
The Lot Bar
2333 S St
Sacramento, CA 95816
Category: Dive Bar
Additional info:
Phone: 1-916-451-4682
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Incorrect (Name Issue)
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Research on the result information shows that
the address belongs to Round Corner Tavern.
The result phone number also belongs to the
Round Corner Tavern and the pin is located at
the result address. Finally, there is no ‘Lot Bar’
located in the immediate area. Because all
result information except for the name listed
points to the Round Corner Tavern, we will
consider the name incorrect for this result.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[holiday inn]
User and fresh
viewport in Santa
Ana, CA
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Holiday Inn
300 N Harbor Drive
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Category: Hotels and Events
Additional Info:
URL: http://www.ihg.com/
holidayinn
Phone: 1-310-750-1149
Business/POI is closed/does not
exist ☑
Relevance Excellent
Use all the information provided , even
information that's not rated, like URL and
phone number, to research the result.
In this case, research shows that the address
belongs to a Sonesta Hotel, not a Holiday Inn.
Street imagery also shows that this building is
a Sonesta.
The result phone number does not belong to
any business and the given URL does not
point to any particular Holiday Inn.
Investigation of the surrounding area shows
that there is no Holiday Inn in Redondo Beach,
so this is not a case where the business has
been misplaced and the result contains an
incorrect street name or number.
Because the result information does not
overwhelmingly point to a Holiday Inn at this
location, rate the result Closed/Does not
exist.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[santa's dog
grooming]
User and fresh
viewport in North
Pole, AK
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Santa’s Professional Dog
Grooming
603 Manley St, North Pole
AK, 99705
Category: Pet Services
Additional info:
Phone: (907) 480-9701
URL: http://
www.paulasprofessionaldoggroo
ming.com/
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy Incorrect (Name Issue)
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Use all the information provided , even
information that's not rated, like URL and
phone number, to research the result.
Here, research shows that the address, url,
and phone number belong to Paula’s
Professional Dog Grooming. Since the
evidence points to Paula’s business actually
existing at this location, the name Santa’s
Professional Dog Grooming is considered
Incorrect.
When rating relevance, ignore all data issues
and rate the result as if the name and
category were correct. Because of the match
between the query and the incorrect name,
and how near the user is to the result in the
fresh viewport, this result is rated Excellent.
When rating other results, treat this one as
closed/does not exist and don’t demote the
relevance of other, more distant, results. This
is so that a valid result that’s farther away
won’t be demoted solely due to this naming
error.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[gas station]
User and fresh
viewport in
Wildwood, FL
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Shell
1221 S Main St, Wildwood, FL
34785
Category: Gas Station
Additional info:
URL: www.shell.com
Phone: 1-352-748-6199
Business/POI is closed/does not
exist ☑
Relevance Excellent
There are two gas stations in the immediate
area:
Mobil (purple pin)
1221 S Main St
Wildwood, FL 34785
Phone: 1-352-748-6199
Shell (red pin)
1001 S Main St
Wildwood, FL 34785
Phone: 1-352-748-8903
The result contains conflicting information
from two nearby businesses. The result name
and URL point to a Shell gas station a little
north of the result address listed, while the
result address and phone number point to a
Mobil gas station. If, after researching all of
the given information for a result no clear
consensus of what the result is pointing to
can be made, the result should be rated as
Closed/Does not exist.
You will still need to rate relevance as if the
business were open. The result matches the
query intent and is within the fresh viewport.
The result should receive a rating of
Excellent.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[dinosaur]
User and large
fresh viewport in
Texas
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Dinosaur Inc
8655 Jones Rd
Houston,TX77065
Additional info:
Phone: 1-281-531-6500
Category: n/a
Business/POI is closed/does not
exist ☑
Relevance Excellent
Research on the result information shows
that the address belongs to Trails at
Corinthian Creek Apartments. The result
phone number belongs to a different
apartment complex, Domain West
Apartments. Finally, there is no evidence that
the business Dinosaur Inc exists. Based on
the information listed, rate the result as
Closed/Does not exist.
You will still need to rate relevance as if the
business did exist. The result matches the
query intent and is within the large, fresh
viewport. The result should receive a rating
of Excellent.
[Salon di jalan
tebet timur
dalam raya
jakarta
selatan]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
Lowongan Guru Kimia SMA SMU
Di Jakarta
Jalan Danau Sunter Utara No. 1
Tanjung Priok
DKI Jakarta 14350
Indonesia
Category: Education
Business/POI is closed/does not
exist ☑
Relevance Bad (User Intent)
The query is for a category with a specific
location modifier. The result is for a job
opening which does not satisfy the intent and
is not indicative of a POI. There is a
Translation:
[Salons in
Jalan Tebet
Timur Dalam
Raya, Jakarta
Selatan] or
Result Title Translation:
[Job Opening for High School
Chemistry Teacher in Jakarta]
Additional info:
Lat/long: -6.13799,106.86598
possibility the result is for a particular high
school, however, the result address is not
tied to any high school and no specific
school is named in the result title. Since the
result data is ambiguous and does not
represent a single POI this entity should be
[Category,
Street Name,
City Name]
rated Closed/Does not exist.
You will still need to rate relevance as if the
business were open. The user's intent is for a
Salon on a specific street. The result does
not match this intent and should be rated as
Bad.
11. Top Rating Tips
Solutions to the most common rating dilemmas.

11.1. What’s the relevance when query is business/POI name and address and the
result is
only the address?
When a user types in the name of a business or a POI along with its address, they
expect to see the
business mentioned in the query as part of the result. If the result is the address
alone and does not
mention the business, the user cannot be certain that the query and the result
refer to the same thing.
This is why the result’s relevance is Bad.

Address and pin accuracy can be rated as usual.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation

800 North Point Relevance Bad (User Intent)
800 North Point St, San Francisco,
California 94109 Name Accuracy n/a
[Gary Danko
800 North
Point St, San
Category: New American Cuisine Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
Francisco,
California
94109]
Result is for the address and not the
business stated in the query, so the user
cannot know whether or not the query and
result refer to the same thing. This is why the
result’s relevance is Bad.

11.2. What’s the relevance when the query is a street name and the result is a
single
business on that street?
A query for an entire street is very broad. When the result is just one business or
one address on that
street, it is too specific to satisfy the broad intent of the query.

Name, address, and pin accuracy can be rated as usual.

Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Happy Lamb Hot Pot Relevance Bad (User Intent)
19062 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA, 95014 Name Accuracy Correct
Category: Hot Pot Address Accuracy Correct
[Stevens
Creek Blvd]
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result is for a business on the street.
When the query is for a street, returning a
single business is too specific a result for the
broad query.

11.3. How do I know what the location intent is when user is outside/inside a fresh
viewport?
When a viewport is fresh, the location intent for results depends on whether the
user is inside or
outside the viewport:

• When a user is inside the viewport, that user’s location is the location intent
• When a user is outside the viewport, results are expected in or near the
viewport, no matter
how near or far the user is from that viewport.
Viewport User Location Intent
Inside Viewport
When the user is within a fresh viewport, take the user
location as location intent. Results are generally expected in
or near the viewport, and results inside the area cannot be
rated Bad because of distance alone.
Fresh Outside
Viewport
Results are expected in or near the viewport area. If no results
can be found in or near the viewport, use the user location as
a secondary location intent.
Missing When the user is missing, the viewport remains the location
intent.
11.4. How do I know what the location intent is when user is outside/inside a stale
viewport?
When a viewport is stale, the user’s location is considered the location intent for
the results whether
the user is inside or outside the viewport

Viewport User Location Intent

Inside Viewport
When the viewport is stale, consider only the user location as
location intent.
Stale
Outside
Viewport
Missing Use the stale viewport as location intent when the user
location is missing.

11.5. This full address result does not exist. How do I rate it?
An address type result needs to be associated with a building or officially
assigned to a plot of land in
order to be useful to a user. Sometimes your research will show that a queried
address simply does
not exist. In cases like, this you’ll see one of three types of results:

• The closest verified address (on the same street, in the same city and state):
Rate
relevance as Excellent.
• The same address as the query address: Rate relevance as Excellent and address as

Incorrect – Address does not exist. The pin will be rated Can’t Verify.
• The queried street without a street number: Rate relevance as Acceptable.
When a queried address does not exist, the answer to the question “Is there a
navigational result for
this query” will always be No.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
[2001 Duncan
St, San
Francisco]
Is there a Navigational Result for this Query? No
1099 Duncan St
1099 Duncan St., San
Francisco, 94131, CA
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
If 2001 does not actually exist then selecting
1099, the closest number that does exist, is
considered correct. For a locale that uses the
rule of even numbers on one side of the street
and the odd numbers on the other, we need to
return the closest existing address on the same
side of the street as the query. If the rule of
odds and evens does not apply then the
closest numeric number will be considered
correct.
The pin has to be correctly dropped on the
address presented in the result.
2001 Duncan St
2001 Duncan St., San
Francisco, 94131, CA
Category: n/a
Relevance Excellent
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Incorrect – Address
does not exist
Pin Accuracy Can’t Verify
Duncan Street only goes up to number 1099,
but the query requests a non-existent number.
The result returned is the same as the queried
address and should be rated as Excellent.
The pin rating for addresses that do not exist is
Can’t Verify.
Query Results Ratings and Explanation
Duncan St
Duncan St, San Francisco,
94131, CA
Category: n/a
Relevance Acceptable (User Intent)
Name Accuracy n/a
Address Accuracy Correct
Pin Accuracy Perfect
The result returns only the street with a pin
dropped within the boundaries of the street.
This result technically satisfies the user intent,
but this intent is unlikely, so relevance should
be rated Acceptable.

Appendix: Release Survey

You may occasionally be unable to rate a survey. To skip it, click Release Survey
at the top right of
the tool.

A pop-up window with a list of reasons for release will appear. You must choose one
before you can
release the survey.

Note: If you change your mind and decide to rate the survey, click Cancel at the
bottom left of the
pop-up window.

Reasons to Release

1. Adult Content
You are not comfortable rating queries and/or results that include businesses
offering adult services
or entertainment, like strip clubs.

2. Technical Issue
Technical issues that prevent rating include:

• Map or map features not loading.

• Query field is empty.
• Tool is not interactive. You cannot zoom in and out or move the map at all.
• Cannot submit ratings.
• More than 5 pins in a row are missing or pins do not stay in place.
• Receiving 5 consecutive surveys with all results in China, if China, or Hong
Kong, are not the
markets you are rating.
If you choose this option, leave a comment describing the issue before releasing
the survey.
3. Not Enough Time Allocated
Select this option if the Estimated Rating Time is not sufficient to complete the
task. Remember, the
Estimated Rating Time is the average time over multiple tasks.

4. Other
Issues not mentioned above that prevent you from rating.

If you choose this option, you must leave a comment before you can release the
survey.

Do Not Release

These issues will not prevent rating and are not reasons to release surveys:

• Poor satellite image, including clouds over target area or lack of image detail
• You can zoom in and out on map, but not as much as you'd prefer
• Rating is too difficult
• Query does not appear to be related to maps
• Query or results are from outside your market
• A query has no results
• If you see a query with no results, answer the query-level “Navigational Result”
question and submit.
• Query or results in unexpected languages and scripts:
• If you see a query in an unexpected language or script, research it or use an
online
translation tool to find out what it means, then rate it as usual.
• For results in an unexpected language or script see Result Name/Title in
Unexpected
Language or Script and Language/Script Issues in Address