1. Introduction

In this task, you will be given an address. Your job is to conduct online research to find evidence that a POI currently exists and operates at this address. If your research proves that a POI is active and located at the address, you will also record the official URL and name of that POI.

You may also be provided with additional information, including POI Name and/or URL Hints. These are provided for research purposes only. Do not rely on these hints without conducting research to confirm recent activity, as these hints may be inaccurate or outdated.

1.1.  POIs

The term POI refers very generally to any entity that would normally be covered in a yellow pages directory, and is anything other than a residential listing. POIs are places that users would want to find on a map and potentially navigate to.

Examples of POIs include, but are not limited to:

1.2.  POIs Within POIs

Single or multiple rooftop POIs may also contain individual POIs within them: POIs Within POIs. This occurs when there is a parent-child relationship between two POIs and one of the POIs (Child POI) is physically located within the other (Parent POI), such as an individual shop (Child POI) within a mall (Parent POI).

This table matches types of Parent POIs with the Child POIs that they frequently contain:

1.3.  The Rating Tool

The web-based Rating Tool is where you will find information about each address and where you will record each of your ratings. It is divided into four sections: POI Information, Research Hints, Research Links, and Rating Questions.

The following sections explain how to use each part of the Rating Tool and introduce you to the Rating Questions for POI at Address.

1.3.1.  POI Information

This section will provide you with a Target Address. Your task will be to conduct online research to determine if there is a valid POI with evidence of recent activity at this address.

1.3.2.   Research Hints

A URL and/or Name Hint may be displayed, when they are available. However, the Hints that you see in this section are based on preliminary web searches and may be inaccurate or outdated. This task is not designed to verify the validity or accuracy of these hints.

Rather, because initial web searches suggest that URL and Name Hints may correspond to a POI at the Target Address, they are provided to aid in your research.

If a URL or Name Hint does not match an active POI at the Target Address, you should always conduct additional research to see if there is any other active POI at the Address.

1.3.3.   Research Links

The information listed in the POI Information and Research Hints sections are linked to a variety of search engines. These are provided as optional shortcuts to begin your online research.

1.3.4.   Rating Questions

Your ratings and comments will be collected in the Rating Questions section. POI at Address asks three types of questions:

1. POI Activity – Is a POI active at this address?: This question asks you to determine whether or not there is an active POI at the Target Address that should be included in a database of POIs.

If you respond Yes, indicating that an active POI is located at the Target Address, additional questions will appear, each with their own checkboxes or text fields.

• Evidence – What evidence did you find?: This question asks you to confirm the source type that you used as evidence that there is an active POI at the Target Address.
• Provide Official Data – If an active POI is present, you will be asked to provide specific information about that POI, including the POI’s official URL and Name in the text fields provided.
• Comments – Comments are optional but may be provided to explain the reasoning behind your ratings. Comments should include the websites used for research and any information useful for future reviewers.

2. Research

POI at Address requires online research using official sources to verify that a POI is present at the Target Address. Once you have located an official source for any POI associated with the Target Address, you will also search for evidence of recent activity.

Recent activity may include, but is not limited to recent copyright date on official websites, current calendar of events, recent blog posts, user reviews, or other recent social media posts. Recent activity provides evidence that a POI is currently open at this location.

2.1. Research Rules

• Always begin your search by looking for an active, official website with recent copyright or posts, within the last 6 months
• If the POI is located within a mall, you may also use the official mall directory
• If an official website is not available, look for an official social media account or claimed crowdsourced user review pages that have recent activity, within the last 6 months
• Always verify that the social media page or crowdsourced user review page is the correct, official site and is claimed by the correct POI
• In order to be considered an active POI, you must be able to locate a single source of evidence that verifies the address and recent activity (single-source rule – see Sec 2.2.2.5.)
• Always look at available satellite and/or street imagery to confirm that the POI is an actual, physical POI in the real world. A personal, residential address should never be considered an active POI.
• Do not use unofficial social media or unclaimed crowdsourced user review pages • Do not use a mapping service, including online maps, to verify the address of any POI
• Do not use data aggregators/spammy directory sources.
• Do not use crowdsourced user reviews from search engines or mapping providers
• Do not use the information provided by automated responses from search engine result pages (SERPs), as these may be outdated or inaccurate. SERPs list results from a web search engine in response to a query and may include automated responses to POI searches

2.2. Research Workflow

This following sections explain the research workflow and how to identify websites that are officially owned or managed by a POI.

2.2.1. Online Research

Begin your research by conducting a general web search of the Target Address to see if an official resource can be found that confirms that an active POI is located at the address.

Search engine results, however, are not considered official sources and may not be used as evidence of POI activity.

2.2.2. Research Hints

Name and URL Hints, when available, are provided for reference and research purposes only because they may be outdated or inaccurate. Here are some rules to keep in mind when using Research Hints in your online research:

• If a Name Hint is provided (regardless of any URL hint) and matches a POI at the Target Address, then use this information to confirm the POI
• If there is no Name Hint, but there is a URL Hint that matches a POI at the Target Address, then use this information to confirm the POI
• If neither a Name Hint or a URL Hint are provided, or no real POI matches the hint(s), then identify any one POI that shows up most prominently in web search results for the Target Address
• The Hints are not required to be a match to the Target Address

2.2.3. Evidence

In order to verify that an active POI is located at the Target Address, you’ll need to find authorized sources that confirm this. The following sections define the sources that are authorized for the POI at Address task.

2.2.3.1. Official Websites

If a POI has an official website, and its official website is actively maintained, its website should be used as a resource to confirm that the POI is active. A web page owned and maintained by the POI usually has a distinct address, corporate design, and logo, and will typically be customized with information regarding the POI, such as contact information, history or general background about the POI, as well as the services or products that the POI offers.

2.2.3.2. Official Website Copyright Dates

An official company website or mall directory page must have a strong indication of recent activity.

Copyright dates may be used to satisfy this requirement as long as they are within 6 months of the date the result is rated.

Here are some common copyright listing patterns and how to handle them:

Copyright dates that are recorded for the previous year, based on the date of rating, are considered valid until June 30th of the current year. This means that:

• If you rate a POI during June 2022, the acceptable copyright dates will include the previous and current years (2021 and 2022, respectively).
• However, if you rate a POI during July 2022, then only a copyright of the current year (2022) will satisfy this requirement.

2.2.3.3. Official Mall Directory

If a POI is located within a shopping center, but does not have its own official website, you may use the POIspecific page on the mall’s directory.

The mall directory must satisfy the following criteria:

• The mall directory can be used to verify that the POI is located at the Target Address
• The mall website has a copyright date within 6 months as evidence of recent activity

2.2.3.4.  Social Media and Crowdsourced User Review Sites

Official resources are used to confirm any POI details that are not available on an official web page. Such resources may include:

• Social media sites claimed by the business/POI and updated within the last 6 months.
• Crowdsourced User Review Sites that are claimed by the business/POI and updated within the last 6 months.

POI-Operated Social Media Pages	What to Watch For
Official pages will have updates and pictures posted by the business. Unofficial pages will only have updates and pictures added by members of the social media website. Note: Blogs, news posts, photos, or events posted within the past 6 months are key features in determining if a page is actively maintained.
Official pages will be verified or claimed by their owners. Look for badges that confirm that a POI has been claimed by the owner.
Official pages will often have a custom URL extension.	Custom URL Extension: https://www.facebook.com/LaTaqSF Non-Customized URL Extension: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Equine-Calculator/ 857469375913?ref=ts
Official pages will not have a “Claim this Page” or “Is this your business?” link.

2.2.3.5. Single-Source Rule

Active POIs must satisfy two conditions. Both conditions must be satisfied by a single authorized source:

1. the POI is located at the address; and
2. there is evidence of recent activity for this POI at this location

How to apply the Single-Source Rule

In order to be considered an active POI, you must be able to locate a single source of evidence that verifies the address and recent activity.

Evidence	Confirms Address	Recent Activity	Active POI?	Explanation
Official Website	✅	✅	Yes	When the official website can be used to confirm that a POI is located at the Target Address and there is evidence of recent activity, then you should rate Yes, there is an active POI at this address.
Official Website	✅	🛑	No *further research required	If the official website can be used to confirm only one of the conditions listed above, then you should conduct additional research to locate another source that will satisfy both conditions. For example, if an official website confirms the address, but has no evidence of recent activity or a recent copyright, they you cannot use this as evidence that there is an active POI at this address.
Official Social Media	✅	✅	Yes	If no official website is available, then conduct research to locate an official social media page or claimed crowdsourced review page. When the official social media page can be used to confirm that a POI is located at the Target Address and there is evidence of recent activity, then you should rate Yes, there is an active POI at this address.
Official Social Media	🛑	✅	No *further research required	If an official social media page can be used to confirm only one of the conditions listed above, then you should conduct additional research to locate another source that will satisfy both conditions. For example, if an official social media page has evidence of recent activity, but does not confirms the address, then you cannot use this as evidence that there is an active POI at this address.
Official Website	✅	🛑	No *further research required	In some cases, you may find confirmation of both conditions on different sources. For example, an official website may have confirmation of address and their social media page has evidence of recent activity. For the purposes of this task, you should not mix evidence sources to satisfy conditions separately. Remember that both conditions must be satisfied by a single authorized source
Official Social Media	🛑	✅

2.2.3.6. Unreliable Resources     

Some resources are unreliable and may be inaccurate or outdated. Unreliable sources may include, but are not limited to:

• Data aggregators
• Spammy directory sites
• Unofficial social media
• Unclaimed crowdsourced user review sites
• Mapping services
• Search engines result pages (SERPs)
• Crowdsourced user reviews from SERPs or mapping services

Do not use these as sources in your research. Consensus between unreliable resources should be disregarded.

2.2.4. Screening Residential Addresses

Online street and/or satellite imagery should not be used as evidence that a POI is present or has recent activity.

However, a personal, residential address should never be considered an active POI. For this reason, you should always look at available satellite and/or street imagery to confirm that the Target Address represents an actual, physical POI in the real world.

A POI located in a residential structure, including single apartments, are only valid when each of the following criteria are satisfied:

• The POI operates regular, public business hours
• Customers, clients, and/or patients would be expected to visit the address for goods and services provided by the POI
• Street signage for the POI is clearly visible in street imagery

2.2.5. Comments

Comments should be provided anytime you find information that contradicts the address or hints provided:

• Verification and research process: Please leave a short comment on the verification process for the listing. If the verification process was not possible, explain why.
• Include online resources: If the POI’s official URL is different from the URL that you used as evidence of POI activity, copy and paste the URL that you used as evidence in the Comments field.

3. Active POIs

Active POIs must satisfy two conditions:

• a POI is located at this address
• recent activity confirms that the POI is active and open

3.1. POI Validity Rating Options

Once you have conducted online research, select one of the following ratings:

3.2. Address Components and Types

The following sections explain how to research and rate Target Addresses based on the types of addresses commonly seen, as well as the expected address components.

3.2.1.  Missing Address Components

You may encounter addresses that are missing one or more address components (e.g. street number, street name, etc.). If the Target Address is missing too many components, you will not be able to reliably determine that an active POI is present at the intended address. At minimum, a valid Target Address will meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. street number, street name, city/locality and postal code -or-
2. building name, street name, city/locality and postal code -or-
3. the target address exactly matches the official address displayed on official sources for the POI in the Name/URL Hints

If a Target Address does not meet one of these criteria, rate No for the question, Is a POI active at this address?

Unit Numbers: As long as the Target Address specifies the street number + name and/or building name, unit numbers are not required.

3.2.1.1.  Unit Numbers

Unit numbers are not required elements in the Target Address. However, keep these rules in mind when conducting research for Active POIs that may have unit numbers in their official addresses.

• If the Target Address does include a Unit Number, then the Active POI that you provide must match that Unit Number.
• However, If the Target Address does not include a Unit Number, provide any POI that is active at the Target Address.

3.2.2. Address Ranges

Some street numbers may be listed as a range. In order to be considered a match to a Target Address, the address range must contain the location indicated by the specific street number, such that the two addresses would lead a user to the same location on a map.

3.3. Rating POI Types

The following sections explain how to research and rate Target Addresses based on different POI Types. These sections cover many commonly encountered POI Types, but are not an exhaustive list.

3.3.1. POIs with Shared Addresses

Sometimes multiple POIs may share the same address (for example, individual stores within a mall). When this occurs, it may be difficult to determine which POI to base your research and ratings on. Here are some steps for rating and researching POIs with shared addresses:

• If a Name Hint is provided (regardless of any URL hint) and matches a POI at the Target Address, then use this information to confirm the POI
• If there is no Name Hint, but there is a URL Hint that matches a POI at the Target Address, then use this information to confirm the POI
• If neither a Name Hint or a URL Hint are provided, or no real POI matches the hint(s), then identify any one POI that shows up most prominently in web search results for the Target Address

3.3.2. Convenience Stores

Convenience stores are often attached to gas stations. These can often be verified on the store locator for the gas station brand or company that the store is attached to.

3.3.3. Residential Addresses

A personal, residential address should never be considered an active POI. Always look at available sattelite and/or street imagery to confirm that the Target Address represents an actual, physical POI in the real world.

A POI located in a residential structure, including single apartments, are only valid when each of the following criteria are satisfied:

• The POI operates regular, public business hours
• Customers, clients, and/or patients would be expected to visit the address for goods and services provided by the POI
• Street signage for the POI is clearly visible in street imagery

3.3.4.  Apartment Complexes

Apartment Complexes are considered businesses and may be considered active as long as they meet the same criteria as other POIs, including address match and evidence of recent activity from an approved source.

3.3.5. POIs without a Physical Address

In order to be considered a valid, active POI, the Target Address must be associated with a physical location associated with a specific POI. If the Target Address is for a POI without a physical presence, such as a service or business operated out of a home, this should not be considered an active POI.

If a Target Address is the mailing address of a POI, but not the physical address that a user would visit, this should not be considered an active POI.

3.3.6. Unattended POIs

If a Target Address is for an unattended mail or donation box, but not the physical address for delivery service or donation organization, this should not be considered an active POI. However, often unattended donation boxes will be located at the address of another POI. Whenever you locate a mail or donation box at an address, conduct additional research to answer the following questions:

• Is the mail or donation box attended and does it provide public service hours? If so, rate Yes.
• Is there another active POI at the Target Address? If so, rate Yes.
• If neither of the above can be verified, rate No.

3.3.7. Online-Only POIs

Businesses that provide services exclusively online, should not be considered valid, active POIs. Do not rely on the following to verify that a POI is active.

• User logins – do not log in to a website to verify current activity of a POI. User logins are not date-specific and do not indicate that a POI has an actual location in the real world, so these should not be used for verification of recency.
• Online shopping – though online shopping may seem to suggest that a POI exists, online shopping is not date-specific and does not determine that a user should be directed to this business on a map.

3.4.  Rating POI Based on Open Status

The following sections explain how to research and rate Target Addresses based on the current open status of POIs. These sections cover commonly encountered POI Statuses, but are not an exhaustive list.

3.4.1. Temporary Closures

Temporary closures occur when a POI in a fixed location experiences a one-time closure due to construction, remodeling, natural disaster, disease, or other reasons. To verify a temporary closure, review official resources for changes to the POI’s hours as well as any statements, announcements, or postings by the POI that confirm the temporary closure, including any notification pages added to the POI’s official website.

If a POI has temporarily closed, but otherwise meets the criteria of a valid POI with evidence of recent activity, then rate Yes.

3.4.2.  POIs that are Coming Soon

Sometimes a POI that has not yet opened to the public will already have an official website, or other evidence of their presence. POIs that have an announced opening date in the future, even if they have evidence of recent online activity, should not be considered open and active POIs.

If a POI is scheduled to open to the public for the first time on a future date, rate No.

4. Evidence

If you responded, Yes, to the first question, next select the type of evidence that you found.

4.1. Evidence Rating Options

To verify that an active POI is located at the Target Address, search for the following types of evidence, listed in order of priority.

Reminder: In order to be considered an active POI, you must be able to locate a single source of evidence that verifies the address and recent activity (Single-Source Rule).

5. Official URL

If a POI is active at the Target Address, you will enter the POI’s official URL in the provided text field.

5.1. Official URL Rules

Here are some rules to follow when determining the correct Official URL:

• Official Websites • If the business has an official website and an official social media page, the official website should be provided as the official URL
• POIs with multiple locations may have a location-specific page or the business’s main page. Both can be considered the POI’s official URL
• If a POI has multiple official websites, any one of them can be considered the official URL
• Official Websites vs. Official Social Media Pages • If a POI does not have an official website, but does have an official, claimed social media page, that social media page must have been updated within the past 6 months to be considered the official URL
• If the POI has no official website, but does have multiple officially claimed and recently updated social media pages, any of them can be considered the official URL
• Official Social Media Pages • Businesses with multiple locations can have either the location-specific social media page or the business’s main social media page provided as the official URL
• Additional Notes
• Do not click on ads, sponsored search results, mapping results or mapping services. The URLs from these results often contain extraneous tracking information in their links
• Do not use url shorteners. Always insert the entire source URL in this field

5.1.1. Evidence URL vs. Official URL

In some cases, you may not be able to use an official website as evidence that a POI is active at the Target Address, even when one is available. This may be because the official website does not have information confirming the address or recent activity.

If a social media page was used as evidence to verify a POI’s address and recent activity, but an official website is also available, you should still provide the available official website as the official URL.

This means that the website that you use as evidence might be different from the Official URL that you provide in this text field.

5.2. Official URL Examples

Address	Active POI at this Address	Rating and Explanation
696 N Mathilda Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94085	McDonald’s	Official URL	http://www.mcdonalds.com/
		This is the main official website of McDonald’s.
		Official URL	https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/location/ca/ sunnyvale/696-n-mathilda-ave/37235.html
		The location-specific page on the McDonald’s website is also accepted.
1535 Broadway, New York, New York, 10036	New York Marriott Marquis	Official URL	http://www.marriott.com/
		This is the main official website of the Marriott hotel chain.
		Official URL	www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nycmq- newyork-marriott-marquis/
		This is the location-specific website for this hotel.

6. Official Name

If a POI is active at the Target Address, you will also enter the POI’s official Name in the provided text field.

6.1. Official Name Rules

Here are some rules to follow when determining the correct Official Name:

• If there are differences in the way that a POI name appears on an official website and social media accounts, use the name as it is shown on the official website
• POI Names must use correct spacing
• POI Names must not be longer than 65 characters
• POI Names must not start with “http”
• Do not capitalize POI names (e.g. walmart, mcdonald’s, 7-eleven, etc.)
• Do not include references to corporate structure (e.g. Inc., LLC., LLP., etc.)
• Do not include unnecessary geographic locations, unless they are part of the official brand name (e.g. McDonald’s – Sunnyvale, Best Buy – Downtown, etc.)
• Do not add unnecessary punctuation (for example, do not add parentheses or periods)
• Do not include extraneous information, descriptions, comments or URLs in this field
• Do not abbreviate POI names (For example, do not abbreviate the “university of north carolina” as “unc”)
• Do not use POI names as they appear on Search Results pages or on other non-official sources

6.1.1. POI Names and Branch (Store Location) Numbers

Store/Branch numbers should not be included in the official POI Name, unless a number is actually part of the POI’s official name.

6.1.2. Holding Name and Corporate Structure

Holding names or corporate structures should not be included in the POI Name.

6.1.3. POIs with Geographic Words in Name

Sometimes a POI may be associated with a specific location, such as a city. However, location names should not be included as part of the official POI name, unless it is necessary for the POI name to make sense. Here are some examples of geographic words that are not necessary in the listed POI name:

6.1.4. Hotel Brand Names

Hotels sometimes belong to larger chains of hotels. If a hotel is part of a chain, then the chain or brand name should be considered the official POI name. Hotel search queries will often return sponsored ad results. These results may alter the hotel name based on popular search queries.

Do not use links for sponsored ad results to identify a hotel’s official name, always refer to the information available through official sources.

6.1.5. Brands and Products Sold in Retail POIs

Brands or manufacturers that sell goods or services to a POI at the Target Address, but are not permanently located there, are not valid POIs.

For a POI to be considered active, it must actually operate at the Target Address and not just provide goods to a POI at that address. For example, a shoe brand may list the addresses of individual authorized retailers on their official website, but the shoe brand should not be considered an active POI at those retail locations.

Target Address & Name Hint	Is a POI active at this address?	Correct POI Name	Explanation
4720 51 Ave, Leduc AB T9E 6Y8, Canada Name Hint: always bearded	Yes	nutter’s everyday naturals	The Name Hint and Target Address match information on the official website for Always Bearded, a brand that sells beard oil to retailers. This brand does not exist as a valid POI at this address, but sells it’s products to an authorized retailer where customers can find Always Bearded products. The retail store at this address, Nutter’s Everyday Naturals, is a valid POI with evidence of recent activity. You should rate Yes, and provide the official URL and POI name for Nutter’s Everyday Naturals.
2639 route 9 malta ny 12020 united states Name Hint: Junbucha	Yes	nanola	The Name Hint and Target Address match information on the official website for Junbucha, a brand that sells handmade kombucha beverages to retailers. This brand does not exist as a valid POI at this address, but sells it’s products to an authorized retailer where customers can find Junbucha products. However, the retail store at this address, Nanola, is a valid POI with evidence of recent activity. You should rate Yes, and provide the official URL and POI name for Nanola.
1078 Gayley Ave Los Angeles, CA 90024 Name Hint: Pina Zangaro	Yes	flax pen to paper	The Name Hint and Target Address match information on the official website for Pina Zangaro, a company that sells office supplies and printing services to retailers. This brand does not exist as a valid POI at this address, but sells it’s products to an authorized retailer. However, the retail store at this address, Flax Pen to Paper, is a valid POI with evidence of recent activity. You should rate Yes, and provide the official URL and POI name for Flax Pen to Paper.

Remember: Name Hints are optional and provided to aid in your research. If a Name Hint does not match an active POI at the Target Address, conduct additional research to see if any other active POI is located at the address, and rate accordingly.

6.1.6. Classes, Meetings, or Groups Hosted by a POI

Individuals or groups that hold classes or meetings at the Target Address, but do not have a permanent, physical presence at that location, are not valid POIs. For example, a community meeting group may list the Target Address on their website because they hold regular meetings at this location. Or an independent instructor may list addresses for locations where they conduct classes. However, they would not be considered a valid POI unless they were permanently based at the Target Address and it would be considered their primary, official address.

If the Name and/or URL Hint is for a business that uses another POI’s buildings or spaces, conduct additional research to determine if any other valid POI is active at the Target Address. Often the venue that hosts the meetings or community group will be a valid POI.

Remember: Name Hints are optional and provided to aid in your research. If a Name Hint does not match an active POI at the Target Address, conduct additional research to see if any other active POI is located at the address, and rate accordingly.

6.2. Official Name Examples

7. POI at Address Rating Examples

Address	Active POI	Evidence	Explanation
3780 NW Gainesville Rd Ocala, FL 34475 United States	Yes	Official Company Website	Official URL	https://www.marathonbrand.com
			Official Name	parrett’s country store
			Research, using street imagery, reveals that there is a valid POI at this location, Marathon Gas Station. Additional research, using Marathon Station’s official website, reveals that Parrett’s Country Store is the correct POI name for the Marathon gas station at the Target Address. Since the POI name can be verified through the POI’s official website to be correctly associated with this address, you should rate Yes and provide the correct, official POI name, parrett’s country store, in the “Official POI Name” field.
3590 Main St Bridgeport, CT 06606 United States	Yes	Official Company Website	Official URL	https://www.mybpfcu.org
			Official Name	bridgeport police federal credit union
			Research reveals that the Bridgeport Police Federal Credit Union is located at this address. This POI has an official website without a listed copyright date. However, the official website does include an events calendar with future events listed, so we can infer that this is a current and active POI. Since the POI can be verified by its official website, you should rate Yes and provide the correct, official POI name bridgeport police federal credit union, in the “Official POI Name” field.
250 South Ave Fanwood, NJ 07023 United States	Yes	Official Company Website	Official URL	https://www.therailsidecafe.com
			Official Name	rail side cafe
			An official website for Rail Side Cafe, with a recent copyright and list of current and future events, exists for this address. Since there is a valid POI associated with this address with evidence of recent activity, you should rate Yes, and provide the correct, official POI name, rail side cafe, in the “Official POI Name” field.