No – Service Business out of a Home
Businesses such as repairpersons, plumbers, sales representatives, financial advisors etc. are all service businesses, which are in the vast majority of cases operated out of a home. They rarely have an online presence (official or reliable sources mentioning them) because these kinds of businesses usually work as intermediaries for other businesses; therefore, they do not require a personal webpage and would not expect a client to visit. These kinds of POIs can mostly be found on data aggregators or spammy directory sources.
When rating a business listed at a residential address, it is important to confirm that the business exists first. The option “No-Service Business out of a Home” should only be selected if research confirms that the business exists. If there is no official website or social media page, it is important to check other sources such as the local government business registry.
Example:
POI | Listed Address |
仁大電氣工程有限公司 | 台中市大雅區文雅里中山北路224號 |
We can see from the official business registry that the POI (仁大電氣工程有限公司) in below screenshot is a service business that still in operation. We can also find the registered address from here.
(https://www.etax.nat.gov.tw/etwmain/etw113w1/name/query)
The street imagery confirms that the registered address belongs to a residential property without visible signs that would indicate that listed POI is open to the public.
Research has verified that this business exists, but it is a service business that is registered and operates out of a personal residence.
Correct rating in this case is No – Service Business out of a Home.
Often, it will be difficult to confirm that a POI has closed. Business is closed if online sources provide evidence that the POI is permanently closed. The resources can explicitly state the POI’s closure, such as an article mentioning the closure or an official social media page that states the POI is closed.
There may not be direct evidence that a POI is closed or open, but there may be signs suggesting that it is likely closed.
Example:
POI | Listed Address |
洋蔥牛排 | 台北市士林區中正路124號 |
In this case, the best practice is to verify with the street imagery.
From the street imagery below, we can tell that there was洋蔥牛排at台北市士林區 中正路124號in Feb. 2021. But in Nov. 2022, this location has become客美多咖啡.
Feb. 2021 (https://reurl.cc/o0R1nV)
The recent street imagery shows another business.
Nov. 2022 (https://reurl.cc/6NvZzO)
As per section 3.2.3. Indirect Evidence – Street Imagery, if the POI exists in the old street imagery, but does not exist in the recent street imagery, you may infer that a previous POI has closed or relocated. In either event, you should rate No – Closed.
A POI result name is Correct when it is used on the POI’s official website or other official resources. Even if the official website does not use the name, if it is used on other official sources (ie. store signs, claimed social media pages), the name is Correct. If the name contains minor misspellings, alterations to the official name, the name is Partially Correct.
For example, the official name is written in ALL CAPS but the result name is in lower case.
POI Name | Address |
ikea | 408台灣台中市南屯區向上路二段168號 |
Hence, the correct Name Accuracy rating in this case is Partially Correct.
The following example is rated as Partially Correct because the cafe’s correct name is客美多咖啡. The result POI name has ‘店’ which is not used officially.
POI Name | Address |
客美多咖啡店 | 臺北市中山區南京東路2段204號 |
The following example is rated as Partially Correct because ‘股份有限公司’ is unnecessary. The correct name is 好市多. Per 4.1.2. Partially Correct, when the business name on the storefront does not include the corporate status (Ltd., Inc., etc.) seen in the result, rate Partially Correct.
POI Name | Address |
好市多股份有限公司 | 蘆竹區南崁路一段369號 |
Do NOT use automated responses from a SERP to confirm address information. Always confirm information via the POI’s official website. If the address is Incorrect, the address components will appear as a list of checkboxes. Check all components that are either incorrect or missing. Please also review the CSG required address components section.
Example 1:
POI | Listed Address | Rating and Explanation | |
星巴克 | 新竹縣鄉中山路一段601 號 | Address | Incorrect |
According to the store locator (https://www.starbucks.com.tw/ stores/storesearch.jspx#store_ div_750),湖口is missing from the returned address. The full address is新竹縣湖口鄉中山路 一段601號and the rating is Incorrect – Locality. | |||
Example 2:
POI | Listed Address | Rating and Explanation | |
Honda | 330桃園縣桃園市中山路 555號 | Address | Incorrect |
The former name of桃園市桃園 區is桃園縣桃園市. If桃園縣桃 園市is provided in the address, the Address accuracy rating should be rated Incorrect – Region + Locality. | |||
Example3:
POI | Listed Address | Rating and Explanation | |
手目耳眼鏡健康門 市 | 700台南市南區健康路2 段92號 | Address | Incorrect |
The official website does not indicate the postal code (https://www.see-more.com.tw/ article.php?lang=tw&tb=5), so you need to verify using Chunghwa Post. The correct postal code is 702. This is rated as Incorrect – Postal Code. | |||
Note: Another common mistake in rating Address accuracy is leaving out the unit number. A unit number is required if it is included in the official website. Please make sure that you always check the address with the official sources.
URLs are not necessary for POIs that are typically unattended. Transit stops, rest stops/areas and shopping mall parking lots are examples of POIs that do not need a URL and should be rated as OK Without. If a URL is listed for these POIs, the URL should be evaluated as per usual guidelines.
No URL is provided for this result
POI | Listed URL | Rating and Explanation | |
五里亭 Address: 946台灣屏東縣 恆春鎮 | (none) | URL | OK Without |
This POI is a bus stop. While there is no source to verify the existence of all bus stops, one of the buses that stop by this station confirms that it is still on the route: https://is.gd/MRWQHm. The result does not return any URL. It came to our attention that many analysts rated the URL accuracy as Missing. Per GLs section 7.1, an unattended POI doesn’t require any URL to be listed, so the correct rating for URL is OK Without. | |||
URL provided should be rated as Incorrect when research indicates that:
Example:
POI | Listed URL | Rating and Explanation | |
IKEA內 湖店 Address :台北市 114內湖 區舊宗 路一段 128號 | URL | Incorrect | |
For IKEA內湖店, the correct URL should be https://www.ikea.com.tw/zh/store/n ei-hu/index The provided URL is https://www.ikea.com.tw/zh/store/ta i-chung/index (which is for another branch IKEA台中店). The correct rating of the URL should be Incorrect. | |||
If a business has multiple locations and a location-specific page exists on the official website, then the location-specific page is Correct and the home page of the official website is Partially Correct.
The most common mistake in URL accuracy rating is failing to demote a URL directing to a home page, when a specific website for the POI exists.
Example:
POI | Listed URL | Rating and Explanation | |
IKEA 內湖店 Address: 台北市 114內湖 區舊宗路 一段128 gi6 號 | URL | Partially Correct | |
For IKEA內湖店, the correct URL should be | |||
The provided URL is the main page of the official website. The correct rating of URL should be Partially Correct. | |||
Each POI may only have a single best fit category that represents its dominant identity. For example, imagine a restaurant that advertises itself as serving both Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine, but its menu reflects that the restaurant is primarily known for serving Chinese cuisine. In this case, “Chinese” is the best fit category for the POI since that describes the dominant aspect of the POI.
When evaluating the POI’s category, consider the following:
Approximate – Category is too general
The category is accurate, but overly broad. After reviewing the potential category options, there are other categories that are more specific to the POI.
The most common mistake observed in Category rating is failing to demote general categories, when a more specific category exists.
POI | Listed Category | Rating and Explanation | |
玉山銀行 Address: 新竹縣竹北市光 明一路145號 | financialservices | Category | Approximate – Category is too general |
The correct category should be “financialservices.banks“. The provided category is “financialservices“. The correct rating for Category accuracy in this case should be Approximate – Category is too general. | |||
Approximate – Category is too specific
The category partially fits the listing but is too specific or matches a specific aspect of the POI.
Example:
POI | Listed Category | Rating and Explanation |
車麗屋 | auto.tires | Category |
Address: 台北市內湖區行 忠路69號 | Approximate – Category is too specific | ||
The correct category should be “auto.autopartsupplies “. The provided category is “auto.tires “. The correct rating for Category accuracy in this case should be Approximate – Category is too specific. | |||
The category does not fit the POI.
Example:
POI | Listed Category | Rating and Explanation | |
台北市私立巨登 堡幼兒園 Address: 台北市北投區公 舘路77號 | education. middleschool | Category | Incorrect |
The correct category should be “kindergarten”. The provided category is ” education.middleschool “. The correct rating for Category accuracy in this case should be Incorrect. | |||
Please use both satellite view and the standard view in Tryrating Map. Then make sure to check with the street imagery, store directory, and/or government business and property registries. Please review CSG. 3.4. and 3.4.1. Basing Pin Rating on Available Clues.
Pin rating for most POIs found under a rooftop is based on the best available evidence for that POI’s location. That is, the more evidence that can be found to verify a POI’s location, the more precise the pin’s location must be in order to be rated Perfect.
Available resources will impact the ability to rate a pin when it is dropped on a rooftop/building with multiple street numbers.If street imagery or other strong evidence can be found to confirm a POI’s specific location under a shared rooftop, only that location will be considered Perfect.
Example 2:
POI | Pin and Satellite Image | Rating and Explanation | |
關新刀切麵食 館 Address: 新竹市東區關 新路171號 |
| Pin | Approximate |
In the standard view, it looks like the BLUE pin falls on the correct place. However, if you switch the view to the satellite view, you will see that the pin falls on the road. Please always use both layers to check the pin rating. The precise location can be confirmed by the street imagery (https://maps.app.goo.gl/ BseKKXwXBHUyfGKm6) so the pin should be dropped in the GREEN area (the map is available in the next page). The PURPLE pin will receive a Perfect rating. The correct pin coordinates 24.78703, 121.01913. | |||
Following some accuracy reviews for POI Evaluation, we have recently started to track raters that have not been following important policies around research sources
for Hours Accuracy. The guideline states (10.1.1 Research Expectations) that only official sources are allowed for hours ratings, yet we have seen raters use crowdsource review sites, competitor SERPs, 3rd party aggregators. Utilizing different sources heavily impacts the ability to generate consensus so we will be escalating these raters for you to review.
In some cases, raters outside of the project locale were unable to access the official source due to international access restrictions, and used an unofficial source as a result. As a reminder, the guidelines (Appendix: Releasing a Survey) states that POIs with international access restrictions on official websites should be released using the “Other” option.
This is considered a critical error, and we have begun to disqualify raters found in violation of this guidelines rule.
If the listing does not provide open hours for this POI but research indicates that hours for the POI are available, the rating of Hours should be “Missing”.
Example:
POI and Actual Hours | Listed Hours | Rating and Explanation | |
竹北市立圖書館 (https://reurl.cc/xla72V) Address:新竹縣竹北市福 德街30號 Actual Hours: Sunday: 08:30-16:50 Monday: Closed Tuesday: 08:30-16:50 Wednesday:08:30-16:50 Thursday: 08:30-16:50 Friday: 08:30-16:50 | (none) | Hours | Missing |
The hours info can be found in the official website (https://reurl.cc/xla72V) If hours info is not provided in the listing, the rating of Hours should be Missing. | |||
Some POIs are not expected to have hours associated with them. If a POI is always open and the listed hours indicate that the POI is open 24 hours each day, then the open hours are Correct. However, if a POI is expected to be always open and there are no listed hours, then the rating should be OK Without. Please see examples illustrated in GL. 10.6. POIs Without Expected Hours.
Example:
POI and Actual Hours | Listed Hours | Rating and Explanation | |
大安森林公園 Open Hours: Always Open | SUNDAY (00:00-00:00) MONDAY (00:00-00:00) TUESDAY (00:00-00:00) WEDNESDAY (00:00-00:00) THURSDAY (00:00-00:00) FRIDAY (00:00-00:00) | Hours | Correct |
The listed hours info matches the POI’s actual hours, the rating should be Correct. | |||
SATURDAY (00:00-00:00) | |||
(none) | Hours | OK Without | |
Since the POI is always expected to be open and there is no hours info listed, the rating should be OK Without. | |||
POI and Actual Hours | Listed Hours | Rating and Explanation | |
桃園美國學校 (https://www.tyas.tyc.ed u.tw/) Open Hours: Hours not expected | (none) | Hours | OK Without |
Since schools and universities are not expected to have opening hours and there is no hours info listed, the rating should be OK Without. | |||
Conflicting Research Resources
If the listed POI hours on an official website disagree with the listed hours on an official social media site, base your rating on the POI’s official website. If a POI has a single set of open hours, but the official website includes contradictory sets of hours, rate Can’t Verify. Do not automatically select Can’t Verify when you cannot find any resources to check the opening hours. Please make sure to review all examples illustrated in GL 10. Hours before you jump to the conclusion.