Search for businesses by specific category

Step 1. Consider the intent of the query. When a user enters this query on a search engine,
what are they most likely to expect? Use your own experience as a web user as well, ask
yourself “what would be the result I’d expect with my query?” Users can be imprecise with
their queries, so we must first determine the intent of the query and what they are searching
for.

The queries in this task should have general category keywords like [restaurants near me],
[hotels in Las Vegas], [hospitals]. Some queries will also contain more specific information, like
[fancy restaurants near me], [cheap hotels Las Vegas], [24-hour hospital].

Ignore location and informational keywords in the query ([near me] [Boston] [hours] [ratings])

Step 1a. Use the information at the bottom of the page in the tab to determine
whether this query has been correctly labeled as a Category query. Categories are a type of
business or services described with a combination of nouns, adjective and/or attributes, that
does not specify a business name. Sometimes a query looks like a category but is actually the
name of a business. For example, “Home Hardware” and “Mermaid Pools” are actually business
names, not categories.

- If the query is for a business name, or includes a business name, mark it No.
- If the query is for a product, mark it No.

Step 2. You will need to research the business that the hitapp gives as an Answer to see how well the
business matches the category and any other qualities in the query.

You will use the and search buttons to give you

information about the result. Sometimes the “Primary [W]ebsite” button will have an incorrect
website or no website connected to it. Do not log a technical error if the website is incorrect or
does not load. Instead, do a side search in a new browser window or tab and try to find the
correct website of the business in the Answer (copy and paste the name for quicker and more
accurate results).

- Consider the scope of the query. If the user asked for [home inspection] then a plumbing
inspector is going to be Reasonable because they specialize in part of the home, not the home
as a whole. See if the result offers what the user is asking for in a way that addresses that query
fully.
- Keywords that describe the individual entity (romantic, family friendly, budget friendly) and
can be verified in the business description or website are considered for match. Research to
see how they describe themselves. The words to not have to match exactly, but the meaning
does. A “cheap” hotel is unlikely to call themselves “cheap” but may use terms like value,
budget, casual, simple, “kids stay free” or other terms that highlight what a good deal the
business is.
- Keywords that rank businesses now or across time (best, popular, new) are ignored because
they can change and are filtered at a later stage.

Step 3. How well does this business match the category and other qualities in the query? In other
words, does the business fulfill all the requirements in the query? This HITApp has several Guideline
Tabs at the bottom of the screen to help you judge:

1) First is the Category tab explaining what is and is not a Category query

2) Second is a tab describing the Category Type that has been assigned to the query. In this tab you will
see general overview and tips for this specific category.

3) Finally, there are tabs for each rating, with specific guidance for that Category Type. Medical rules are
different from Restaurant, so please make sure you are familiar before making your decision.

Below you will find the general logic behind the different ratings. Keep this logic in mind while you use
the query-specific guidance to determine your judgment.
 - The business in the answer matches the user intent from the query. All of
the things the user is looking for are supplied by that business. Note that businesses can offer
more than the scope of the query and still be Excellent as long as it fully addresses the query.

- [ATM] and result is a bank with an ATM, that is Excellent because it fully addresses the
user need for an ATM
- [notary public] and result is a UPS store that offers full notary services is still an Excellent
result because you do not have to purchase any other services to use their notary.

- The answer addresses part of the scope of the query. This could be because the
result addresses a smaller part of the requested category, OR because one or more of the description
attributes is not a match. If the category is the same, and the result can provide the primary
requirements of the query, we can mark it Reasonable if the missing attributes are not a blocker to the
user.

You may also use this rating for results that seem likely to meet the query, but there is not
enough information to be positive. For example, if the query is for a pizza restaurant, and the
result seems to be an Italian restaurant that may have pizza, but they don’t have a website that
you can check.

- [Hotel with Pool] and result is a hotel without a hotel, the answer is reasonable because one can
still stay at that hotel
- [dentist] and result is pediatric dentist who only works on children
- [pediatric dentist] and result is family dentist that works on children, but does not specialize in
pediatric dentistry
- [24-hour pharmacy] and result is a pharmacy that is not 24 hours
- [hotels and restaurants] and result is just a restaurant

- The answer does not match what is searched in the query at all. If a user searched the query
online, they would not want to see this result. Searching online or their website indicates that they do
*not* or clearly would not have a certain attribute or service.

Examples:

Query: [pet friendly hotel] and the result is a hotel with a website that says ‘No pets allowed’, as
the user cannot stay at a hotel with no pets allowed
The Categories the queries can be one of the following:

Banking / Finance Cuisine Delivery

Housing Lodging Medical Services
Services (Non-Medical) Restaurant Shopping

While keeping the above general guidance in mind, the guideline for the specific categories will help you
in choosing the correct match quality of the query, please find them below. The category descriptions
and rating descriptions will be in the HITapp tabs as well, so please review this document to get familiar
with the ideas and you can review the specific GL as you go in the HITapp.

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Banking / Finance:

Banking or financial institutions with local offices and direct customer service. This can include ATMs,
Banks, Credit Unions, Loans, Financial Services, Investment services with local offices, Insurance
companies with local offices, and tax preparation with local offices.

[bank] and result is a Bank

[ATM] and result is an ATM or financial branch with an ATM

[Loans] and result offers general loans among their services

[Bank] and result is a Credit Union, Savings & Loan, or other member owned/cooperative business

[Bank] and result is an ATM by itself with no bank nearby

[Loans] and result only offers loans for limited products or services, ex. Car loans only

[Credit Union / Savings&Loans] and result is a for-profit Bank or Bank ATM

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These are types of prepared foods and the businesses that serve them. Cuisine is a style or method of
cooking, especially related to country, region, time of day, or dietary restriction. Food dishes are
common or popular items from a particular cuisine. Since breweries and wineries sometimes offer food
items and are a specialized type of business, they are considered cuisine queries.

A restaurant that specializes in a typical variety of the foods of that cuisine is an Excellent result.

This can include results that offer a variety of options within the query scope,

- [Italian food] and result is a pizza place that also offers several types of pasta as main dishes.

Results can offer other types of food as well, but should focus on the query

- [Mexican restaurant] and result is a Mexican restaurant that offers a hamburger would still
be an Excellent result for the query.

A restaurant that doesn’t specialize but offers that are Reasonable.

-[hamburgers] and result is a Mexican restaurant that has one or two hamburgers on the
menu but is primarily Mexican food.

A restaurant that doesn’t offer the cuisine as a meal option is Bad.

- [vegetarian food] and result is a BBQ place that only has chips and coleslaw as the non-meat
options but does not offer non-meat meals would be Bad
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The user is looking for food or other products to be delivered by a business to another location, usually
to the user.

Please check the Primary Website or do further research to see if the business advertises delivery.
Restaurants may offer delivery through a service, but we only count delivery that the business
themselves or reviews mention, not delivery services that pay to advertise on Google or Bing (or other
search engines).

The business website advertises delivery, either by themselves or through a service they mention, AND
the business meets the other criteria in the category.

The business website mentions delivery, but the business only partially meets the scope of the query.

The business website does not advertise delivery, it is not mentioned at all or is only offered on the
result listing page.

Or, the business does offer delivery, but does not meet the scope of the query.
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User is looking for long-term housing to live in, bring household goods, and receive mail. This can be by
renting, buying, leasing, etc.

-We ignore specific amenities and descriptions (2-bedroom, laundry in unit, etc.) but do pay attention
to restrictions or program requirements, for example [student housing] [Senior housing] [Low-income
housing] and the website or result information must mention that program or type to be Excellent.

-For Housing queries, we also consider agencies that help users find housing. For these results make
sure that the agency can help the user with the needs from their query.

Result meets the full interpretation of the query, including any specific housing style (apartment, condo)
and any programs or restrictions like [student housing], [low-income housing] [senior housing].

Results for rental or real estate sales agencies that can help users find the type of housing in the query
are also Excellent.

If a query is for housing with a particular restriction

- [student housing] [Senior housing] [Low-income housing], and result does not mention or
indicate either way but seems likely.

Housing that is of a different style but still provides the type of housing the user is looking for

- [apartment rentals] and result is other kinds of rental housing would be Reasonable, including
mixed buildings that have offers for sale and for rent.

Results for temporary or vacation housing are Bad.

If the query is for housing and the result is an agency that only deal in commercial or industrial real
estate, these are Bad results.

The user specifies rental or purchase, and the result does not offer that type at all.
Results that specifically do not fit restrictions or program requirements, are Bad

- [senior housing] and result is family housing with pictures of kids

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Lodging is a place to sleep away from home for a finite amount of time. They generally have separate
private rooms for each guest. Lodging types can be different depending on country and context. Assume
the lodging type in the business name and/or their own description is correct. (An “Inn” that describes
themself as a hotel is a match for an [Inn] or [Hotel] query) Think about the user intent and experience
they are looking for.

Queries that include specific qualities like ‘Dog friendly, ‘romantic’, ‘hotel with swimming pool’ should
return results with those qualities described or listed. Results that do not meet the qualities in the
query, but can still serve the user are Reasonable alternatives

- [hotel with swimming pool], you can stay in a hotel even if it does not have a pool
- [pet friendly hotel] a pet-friendly B&B is a Reasonable alternative, but a hotel or other lodging
that say “no pets” are BAD because if you are traveling with pets, you cannot stay where pets
are forbidden.

When a lodging result matches the type in the query, the result is Excellent.

For very generic queries like [Accomodation] or [places to stay] any type of lodging is Excellent.

All types of lodging are valid alternatives for lodging queries, including B&B, Resorts, vacation rentals
with contact information, etc. When the lodging is of a different type, but still serves the purpose of
lodging, it is Reasonable.
Results of other types of lodging that still match specific qualities are reasonable.

- [pet friendly hotel] and result is a pet-friendly motel or B&B.

Results of the correct type of lodging that do not meet the specific qualities, can be reasonable
alternatives provided the user could still stay there.

- [hotel with pool] you can stay in a hotel that does not have a pool.

But for the query [pet friendly hotel], a hotel or motel that says “no pets” are BAD because if you are
traveling with pets, you cannot stay where pets are forbidden.

The specific qualities of the query are forbidden by the result, for example [pet friendly hotel] the result
specifies “no pets” so a user traveling with pets cannot stay there.

The result does not meet the requirements of lodging, for example a “love hotel” that rents by the hour
is not a reasonable form of lodging.

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Businesses or services related to a hospital, health care, or other human medical needs, including
general doctors, specialist doctors, medical centers, clinics, dentists, emergency rooms, urgent care,
therapists, and specific medical or health care services. This does not include non-medical cosmetic
services like nail decoration, haircuts, non-medical spa services, etc.

Results that match the full intent of the query are Excellent. Please check the website of the result to
see if they offer what was requested.

A general query for [doctor] that results in a general practitioner or family doctor is Excellent

If the query is for a department or specialty, Excellent results will be the point of contact (reception
desk) for that clinic or department.
Results that offer the queried service can be Excellent results even if the business also offers other
services.

A result of a different center/office type is Reasonable if it provides similar services.

- [emergency room] and result is an urgent care/walk-in clinic that provide some of the same
services.

A general query for [doctor] that resulted in a specialist (I.e. cardiologist, dentist) is Reasonable.

If the query is for a particular department or specialist, and the result is a hospital or business that
contains the query, but there is a more direct point of contact (department or clinic reception) then rate
the larger entity Reasonable.

A specialist query [cardiologist] that results in a General Practitioner or different kind of specialist is Bad

Results that do not contain the requested specialty or provide the requested service are Bad

- [emergency room] and result is a hospital that does not have an Emergency Room or
urgent care clinic.

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A restaurant is an establishment that offers food that is ready to eat, either on site or as take-away. A
restaurant offers a varied menu with food items that one can consume for a meal. Restaurants should
offer meals for sale, not just beverages or sweets. This can include takeaway, delivery, food trucks, fast
food chains, cafes, bistros, etc. Do not assume based on the name of the business, search for their
menu and see if, for example, a café serves sandwiches and salads, or just sweet pastries and coffee.

Business offers meals and has a dedicated food menu intended as meals, even if they would be
considered” light meals”

Restaurant meets the additional qualities or descriptions in the query (such as “ocean view”, “cat cafe”,
“24 hours”)
Business offers food items, but it is limited.

Specialty eateries where the food menu is limited to items not intended to be a meal, such as ice cream
parlors, pastries/cake shops should be judged Reasonable.

Restaurants that are still restaurants, but do not meet all of the additional qualities or descriptions. (ex.
[24-hour restaurant] result a restaurant not open 24 hours.)

Business does not offer food items or a food menu

If types of business such as night clubs or bars do not offer a food menu, then you wouldn’t consider
them as restaurants, and they would be rated as Bad. If this varies in your country, please make sure you
research what this result features.

If the result is a business that only provides catering and is not connected to a restaurant or if no menu
for the caterer can be quickly found, we would rate this Bad. “Restaurant” implies somewhere that you
can get food to eat right now, not later. Even take-away is intended to be a ready meal when you get to
your destination without additional preparation or cooking.

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The user is looking for a service, someone to do something for them. The query can include the specific
service, or the type of place that provides services as their primary business. For example, hair salons
often sell some products, but people visit primarily for hair services, not just to pick up shampoo so we
would consider [hair salon] a service query, not as a store. Your job is to research whether that
business provides or advertises that service.

Businesses where website or side search confirm service is available is Excellent. The business does not
have to specialize in that service as long as it is offered.
Result provides service, but not to the full scope of the query. For example, [dentist] and result is
pediatric dentist, [Gym] and result is fitness center for ladies only

Website or side search does not specifically mention services they provide, but business type usually
provides service is Reasonable

- [hair perm] and result does not have website but upon further research it’s clear the business is
a “full-service salon” so it’s likely they offer that service but we can’t be certain

Website or side search indicates service is not provided

- [florist] and result website says “no wedding bouquets”

- [massage] and result is a spa whose website does not mention massage is Bad

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User is looking for a center containing a variety of retail stores and restaurants without specifying any
particular intent beyond shopping.

Shopping malls, permanent markets, shopping villages are all Excellent.

Specific stores that are contained in the shopping center or area are Reasonable.

Departments related to the shopping mall itself (parking security) are Reasonable

Temporary markets like regular Farmer’s Markets or annual holiday markets are Reasonable.

Stores that are on their own or outside central shopping areas or a shopping center
property are Bad.
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More Than One Category:

Two or more different business categories. The categories may include any of the above categories
we've defined or may be different than the ones above.

If a query contains two different categories, [hotels and restaurants] then the rating for a single category
cannot be Excellent as the result will not exactly meet the full interpretation of the query. However, if
the result does encompass both categories, for example a hotel with a restaurant, it can be Excellent.

If the query has more than one likely interpretation, for example could be considered a product or a
service, if the result exactly matches one of the interpretations, mark it Excellent.

Queries in the same functional category from the list above with a result that exactly matches one of the
interpretations can be Excellent.

- For example, [hotels and resorts] are both types of Lodging, so hotels and resort results are
Excellent.

If the query contains two different main categories, [hotels and restaurants] and the result *exactly*
matches one of those categories, mark it Reasonable.

Bad - The answer does not match what is searched in the query at all