Local Services Ads Redirect Partner Portal Matching Guidelines
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Overview
The Actions Center enables
Google users to make appointments, reservations and order food at local
businesses. Data feeds that are submitted by partners need to include the
following:
Merchant names and addresses.
Services offered by each merchant, which includes their pricing information.
Availability data.
Google attempts to match your merchant data with Google Maps locations. After
the merchant data is associated with a Maps feature, merchants with service and
availability data are eligible to show on the Actions Center. See
Merchant eligibility criteria
for more information. In order to ensure optimal user experience, the Actions Center will attempt to correct matches. However, in the event that there is
insufficient information to match with the right maps listing, the Actions Center
will take down merchants with bad matches.
If an error occurs while matching and there is nothing to do to resolve it, contact
Actions Center Support and include the Merchant ID.
Guidelines
Use the following suggestions to make sure you properly match your merchant with
the correct location:
Ensure that the name, address, and business category match between your
merchant and the suggested map location.
Merchant name should not include product names or extraneous content (e.g.
"Bob's Burgers" instead of "Best restaurant in the world!! Bob's Burgers" or
"Free appetizer with purchase of full meal at Bob's Burgers"
Minor differences in addresses and names do matter. Something as simple as a
mismatched suite or apartment number might indicate that the matched
location is incorrect.
Always click the Map link, provided at the end of each suggested feature,
to verify that it's a correct match. You can also use Street View
to help verify that certain locations are correct.
For the beauty, financial services and fitness verticals, a Google Maps feature
can be matched to only one partner's merchant. Directly contact the merchant
if you attempt to match the merchant, receive an error indicating that the feature
is matched to another partner's merchant, and you believe that this shouldn't
be the case.
An incorrect match might prevent the appearance of a Reserve a table or
Order online button or might surface the button for the wrong merchant.
One physical address can have multiple businesses. Compared to businesses with
distinct physical addresses, these types of merchants have a higher likelihood
of being improperly matched.
For example, restaurants and spas within a hotel may be distinct
businesses that share the same physical address as the parent hotel.
Likewise, businesses within a shopping mall or larger building might all
share the same physical address.
Use the category of the Maps feature to help determine whether the suggested
match is correct. The following examples show how you can determine the place
category of a business:
Example 1: An Italian
restaurant, Lago, is located inside the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, so it
shares the same address as the Bellagio Hotel. The correct match for Lago is
the "Italian Restaurant" category instead of "5-star hotel."
Example 2: The name of
Hanoisquare Cimetière d'Ixelles partially matches with the Cimetière
d'Ixelles. The addresses are similar but not exactly the same. We can look
at the categories and tell that this is a mismatch, because one location is
a Vietnamese restaurant and the other is a cemetery. This would be an
incorrect match. A Google Maps search of the restaurant's address shows the
correct match for the restaurant.
Within the matching dialogue, the category of a merchant is also explicitly
shown in italics after the name of the merchant.
How can I improve match rate?
If you have locations that are unmatched, you may be able to improve matching by:
Being as accurate and specific as possible with the name (e.g. "Bob's Burgers
Restaurant" instead of "Bob's Burgers")
Add merchant url and telephone and category
Ensure the address provided includes the street level definition (e.g. 1600
Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043)
What if none of the places Google suggests are correct, but I find a correct feature on Google Maps?
Open a case in the Actions Center
including your Partner ID (also referred to as your Aggregator ID), the
Merchant ID, as well as a URL to the Google Maps feature that you believe to
be correct. Google creates the match on your behalf.
What if none of the places Google suggests are correct, and I can't find a correct feature on Google Maps?
Although rare, Google might not yet have your merchant on Google Maps. In this
case, the corresponding feature must be created.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-05-20 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Actions Center allows Google users to book appointments, make reservations, and order food from local businesses using data feeds provided by partners.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003ePartners must ensure accurate merchant data, including name, address, services, pricing, and availability, for successful matching with Google Maps locations.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo avoid incorrect matches, carefully review suggested map locations, verify details like address and business category, and use Google Maps or Street View for confirmation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eImprove match rates by providing comprehensive merchant information such as name, URL, telephone, category, and a precise address.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIf a correct Google Maps feature isn't found, partners can either request Google to create the match or create the missing merchant themselves.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Partners must submit data feeds with merchant names, addresses, services, and availability to the Actions Center, which matches them with Google Maps locations. Accuracy in matching is crucial, requiring precise merchant details and correct category selection. Incorrect matches can lead to removal or prevent features from appearing. If there are errors that can't be resolved, or a merchant isn't listed, partners should contact Actions Center Support or add the merchant themselves via Google Maps.\n"],null,["Overview\n\n[The Actions Center](https://www.google.com/maps/reserve/) enables\nGoogle users to make appointments, reservations and order food at local\nbusinesses. Data feeds that are submitted by partners need to include the\nfollowing:\n\n- Merchant names and addresses.\n- Services offered by each merchant, which includes their pricing information.\n- Availability data.\n\nGoogle attempts to match your merchant data with Google Maps locations. After\nthe merchant data is associated with a Maps feature, merchants with service and\navailability data are eligible to show on the Actions Center. See\n[Merchant eligibility criteria](/actions-center/verticals/local-services/redirect/policies/platform-policies#merchant_eligibility_criteria)\nfor more information. In order to ensure optimal user experience, the Actions Center will attempt to correct matches. However, in the event that there is\ninsufficient information to match with the right maps listing, the Actions Center\nwill take down merchants with bad matches.\n\nIf an error occurs while matching and there is nothing to do to resolve it, contact\nActions Center Support and include the Merchant ID.\n\nGuidelines\n\nUse the following suggestions to make sure you properly match your merchant with\nthe correct location:\n\n- Ensure that the name, address, and business category match between your\n merchant and the suggested map location.\n\n- Merchant name should not include product names or extraneous content (e.g.\n \"Bob's Burgers\" instead of \"Best restaurant in the world!! Bob's Burgers\" or\n \"Free appetizer with purchase of full meal at Bob's Burgers\"\n\n- Minor differences in addresses and names do matter. Something as simple as a\n mismatched suite or apartment number might indicate that the matched\n location is incorrect.\n\n- Always click the **Map** link, provided at the end of each suggested feature,\n to verify that it's a correct match. You can also use [Street View](https://support.google.com/maps#topic=6275604)\n to help verify that certain locations are correct.\n\nFor the beauty, financial services and fitness verticals, a Google Maps feature can be matched to only one partner's merchant. Directly contact the merchant if you attempt to match the merchant, receive an error indicating that the feature is matched to another partner's merchant, and you believe that this shouldn't be the case.\n\nFor more information on how to use Google Maps, see [Google Maps Help Center](https://support.google.com/maps).\n\nHow can I avoid incorrect matches?\n\nAn incorrect match might prevent the appearance of a **Reserve a table** or\n**Order online** button or might surface the button for the wrong merchant.\n\n- One physical address can have multiple businesses. Compared to businesses with\n distinct physical addresses, these types of merchants have a higher likelihood\n of being improperly matched.\n\n - For example, restaurants and spas within a hotel may be distinct businesses that share the same physical address as the parent hotel. Likewise, businesses within a shopping mall or larger building might all share the same physical address.\n- Use the *category* of the Maps feature to help determine whether the suggested\n match is correct. The following examples show how you can determine the place\n category of a business:\n\n**Example 1**: An Italian restaurant, Lago, is located inside the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, so it shares the same address as the Bellagio Hotel. The correct match for Lago is the \"Italian Restaurant\" category instead of \"5-star hotel.\"\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n**Example 2**: The name of Hanoisquare Cimetière d'Ixelles partially matches with the Cimetière d'Ixelles. The addresses are similar but not exactly the same. We can look at the categories and tell that this is a mismatch, because one location is a Vietnamese restaurant and the other is a cemetery. This would be an incorrect match. A Google Maps search of the restaurant's address shows the correct match for the restaurant.\n\nWithin the matching dialogue, the category of a merchant is also explicitly\nshown in italics after the name of the merchant.\n\nHow can I improve match rate?\n\nIf you have locations that are unmatched, you may be able to improve matching by:\n\n- Being as accurate and specific as possible with the name (e.g. \"Bob's Burgers\n Restaurant\" instead of \"Bob's Burgers\")\n\n- Add merchant `url` and `telephone` and `category`\n\n- Ensure the address provided includes the street level definition (e.g. 1600\n Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043)\n\nWhat if none of the places Google suggests are correct, but I find a correct feature on Google Maps?\n\n- Open a [case in the Actions Center](https://partnerdash.google.com/apps/reservewithgoogle/support/cases/) including your Partner ID (also referred to as your Aggregator ID), the Merchant ID, as well as a URL to the Google Maps feature that you believe to be correct. Google creates the match on your behalf.\n\nWhat if none of the places Google suggests are correct, and I can't find a correct feature on Google Maps?\n\n- Although rare, Google might not yet have your merchant on Google Maps. In this\n case, the corresponding feature must be created.\n\n- Feel free to [create the missing merchant](https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6320846?ref_topic=3257381)\n on the map yourself and earn [Local Guide points](https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6304221?ref_topic=3257381).\n\nWhat if I receive an error message?\n\n- Merchants must meet the [merchant eligibility criteria](/actions-center/verticals/local-services/redirect/policies/platform-policies#merchant_eligibility_criteria), and an error message might result if the criteria aren't met."]]
