Common Mistake #1: Not demoting properly for distance.
your result is the 3rd closest location, that doesn’t automatically make it Acceptable, we are looking for a range. So, if the 2nd and 3rd results are a similar distance to your location intent, they would both be rated Good. Take the following example, Pin 1 is Excellent as it is closest to user in a fresh viewport but pins 2,3 & 4 are all rated Good. The distance is much smaller between those results, further
demotion would be too harsh.
*Tip: Refer to the guidelines, there are great visuals to show how to demote accordingly for distance. Refer to sections 5.4-5.8 and sections 10.6-10.7 for more guidance.
Common Mistake #2: Not paying attention to a location modifier. as per section 10.6.3. when there are multiple results available in the requested location, they will all receive a rating of Excellent. However, if there are only a couple results that match in the location, any outside will be demoted accordingly. _ . . , .
*Tp*Tip: The user and viewport location are ignored when there is a location modifier. For example, a query of ^0 “Walmart Calgary” will result in every Walmart store in Calgary receiving a rating of Excellent regardless of where the user and viewport are.
Common Mistake #3: Demoting a POI to Bad automatically because the POI is closed or does not exist. As per section 10.6.5. you must still rate relevance as if the business was OPEN.
Common Mistake #4: How to rate a Service-Level Mismatch. Section 5.18. outlines how to rate these
results. When a query requests a certain level of service that is not reflected in the result, you demote accordingly. For example, the query is Walmart Superstore, the result is just a Walmart, but it is the closest to the user, demote -1 to Good. Had the query just been “Walmart” then any Walmart that is the closest would receive an Excellent rating, whether it be a regular Walmart or a Walmart Superstore.
Common Mistake #5: Not understanding how to rate Relevance when the query is for a specific product or service. For example, a query of “running shoes” and the result is a Mark’s that is the closest to the user. The store sells some running shoes, but it only has a few, so this is unlikely to satisfy the user’s intent. This result would be demoted to Acceptable for User Intent.
*Tip: Remember to conduct research, look at the official webpage, search the product the user is looking for, is it likely to satisfy their intent? If they are looking for ice cream and the result is a nearby cafe, check their menu, do they serve ice cream? Do they have only 2 flavors or several? Check reviews online, search keywords like “ice cream” under the business reviews, ask yourself these questions before submitting your rating.
Common Mistake #6: Not conducting enough research for transit queries. Transit queries can be tricky, refer to the Guidelines section 5.16.1. as needed. If a query includes a transit type that you are unfamiliar with (ie. Metro) due some research to familiarize yourself with it.
*Tip: All stations are stops but not all stops are stations. If the query is for “bus stop” then a stop or station would satisfy intent, however, if the query is for “bus station” then a stop does not satisfy intent.
Common Mistake #7: Not rating adult-oriented POI’s appropriately. As per section 5 Relevance under Adult Content, a business with adult content are rated Bad if the query does not imply this intent. For example:
Query: Bar Result: Brass Rail Tavern (Strip Club) Correct Rating: Bad
Common Mistake #8: Rating Relevance incorrect for a result that is a child POI when the query is for the parent POI. As per section 5.1.8. Lack of Connection, if a result is not obvious to the user or there is no relationship the rating is Bad. For example, a department within a store or a specific store within a mall.
Common Mistake #1: When to rate the name Partially Correct: A name receives a Partially Correct rating when it differs from official versions but it is still recognizable. (Section 6.2.2. of the Guidelines)
*Tip: If the name does not match the official webpage, don t stop your research there. You can look at other You can look at other official resources like official social media pages and storefront signage. As long as the name matches one of these sources, you can rate it Correct.
Common Mistake #2: Not paying attention to the classification. Remember, when a classification is incorrect, the name receives an Incorrect rating even if the name of the POI matches official sources. As per section 6.3.2. some reasons for an Incorrect Classification are it is wrong, misleading or misspelled.
*Tip: When starting a Search 2.0 task, get in the habit of checking the classifications first, it is easy to overlook and focus on the result name only when working through a task.
Common Mistake #1: Not doing proper research to verify an address. Here are some tips on how to research an address:
*Tip: If the address in TryRating does not match the official source, do not stop there, your research is not done! Check an official postal authority to verify if the resource is incorrect. As long as you can match TryRating to one of these sources you can mark the address as correct.
Common Mistake #2: Not marking the address incorrect when a unit number is missing. As per section 7.1.2. of the Guidelines, a unit number should be correct and present when the official address contains a unit number.
Common Mistake #3: When a postal code is missing a space, not marking the address Correct with Formatting Issue. As per the Country Specific Guidelines section 1.4.4. postal codes follow the format A0A 0A0 so if the space is missing but the postal code is correct (A0A0A0) the correct rating is Correct with Formatting Issue. Please see section 7.6. of the Guidelines for other reasons like extra spacing, double commas, unexpected order.
Common Mistake #1: Not rating the pin Approximate when it falls on the correct roof but does not fall over the correct POI. The goal is to find exactly where the POI is located so if there is evidence of the exact POI location and the pin falls over a neighboring POI under the same roof, the correct rating is Approximate. Here are some resources you can use to research the pin:
*Tip: Check streetview and satellite to verify if the pin is over the correct POI, utilize items on the ground to make your decision (trees, parking lines, etc). If streetview is old, you can check recent images online, sometimes you get lucky with a recent image of the POI showing exact placement.
Common Mistake #2: Not checking mall maps for pin placement. Any time you have a POI located in a mall, the first thing you should do is search the mall’s official webpage for a map/directory. This will give you the exact location of the store within the mall and you can use this to verify the pin.
*Tip: Don’t forget to attach a link to the map in the comments section.
Common Mistake #3: Not knowing how to rate a pin for a Bus, Tram or Streetcar stop. As per section 9.6.1. of the Guidelines, ‘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.’
*Tip: Utilize the guidelines, these results are not common so it is easy to forget the guidelines, they are there for your reference. Always check in and go over the examples before submitting your rating.