Switzerland – Autocomplete tips and common mistakes II

This document is intended to illustrate key GL sections in Autocomplete Relevance rating by way of practical examples.

General rules:

According to GL 4.3.2. Distance, several factors must be considered in distance-driven rating scenarios:

Matching the query string is the first step in the rating process and the minimum requirement for a suggestion to be considered relevant. Once a match is confirmed, the relevance rating is validated in terms of prominence and distance. If there is no match between the query and the suggestion, rate the suggestion Relevance as Bad (Source: GL 4.1. Matching the Query String).

The query string can directly match the suggestion or the most significant part of the Suggestion (GL 4.1.1).

A query string that could be interpreted as a locality or sub-locality could return suggestions for a well-known POI. If the suggested POI is associated with the locality that matches the query string and is internationally known, it can be considered a match through prominence because it can be useful to the user. This match type should be applied when the suggestion is not a direct match to the query string (GL 4.1.2).

There are issues that can invalidate a suggestion to a user. If there is no match between the query and the suggestion, rate the suggestion Relevance as Bad (GL 4.2).

Examples:

Query: fielmann u

Viewport: fresh (Fehraltorf)

User location: Fehraltorf, inside viewport

A user is looking for a Fielmann branch. The additional “u” in the query suggests that the user is interested in a specific location. The user location is in Fehraltorf. The closest match is Fielmann in Uster with rating Excellent. Other suggestions do not consider all parts of the query and should not be considered a match. The only possible match is Fielmann Uster. Other Fielmann branches located in Rapperswil, Winterthur and Zürich do not match the query and are rated Bad (GL 4.1.1). The official website www.fielman.ch shows that there is only one branch that matches the query.

Hinwil

Query: Hinwi

Viewport: fresh (near Hinwil)

User location: near Hinwil, inside viewport

Possible suggestions:

Query: usterstrasse 150 86

Viewport: fresh, near Uster

User location: Uster

User provides street name and number and an incomplete postal code. According to http://www.map.geo.admin.ch there are only two matches possible:

Those two matches are rated Excellent. All other similar addresses are rated Bad because there is no match, for example:

Usterstrasse 15 8604 Volketswil (Bad, no match although it is geographically the closest result).

.

Query: Kantonsschule

Viewport: stale

User location: near Binz

There are 3 schools in equal distance around the user’s location that match the query. These three suggestions are rated Excellent.

Other possible suggestions such as:

do not match the query; they are demoted to Bad (no match).

Query: Bade

Viewport: fresh, near Zürich User location: Dietikon

There are several possible suggestions:

–Baden – locality, the most prominent near Zürich, rating Excellent

–Bademode – prominent category suggestion with results nearby, rating Excellent

–Baden-Baden – prominent locality but remote, rating Good or Acceptable due to distance

–Badenerstrasse 8953 Dietikon, close street match with rating Excellent

–Badeort Mali – unhelpful suggestion, unlikely intent, relevance Acceptable or Bad.

Query: zürcherstrasse 182

Viewport: fresh, near Baden

User location: inside viewport

A user is looking for an address and provides the street name and number. The locality is not clear; nevertheless, this address is in the following localities: