This policy outlines the mandatory requirements and quality standards for all Point of Interest (POI) data submissions by third-party partners (VSS providers) to ensure a safe, high-quality, and reliable user experience for Local verticals. Non-compliance with these policies will result in data rejection and potential offer suppression.
I. Policy for User-Facing Data Fields
You must ensure all data submitted for display purposes adheres to the following content standards:
A. Place / Business Name (name field)
The business (POI) name must accurately reflect the business's real-world name, as used consistently on its storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers.
- Prohibited Content:
- VSS providers are strictly prohibited from adding extraneous information
that is not part of the business's real-world name, including:
- Marketing taglines (e.g., "Store - Best Coffee in Mountain View").
- Store codes, special characters, hours, or open/closed status.
- Phone numbers, website URLs, or service/product information.
- Location/address details or containment information (e.g., "Store at Stanford Shopping Center").
- Extraneous keywords.
- Descriptions of the business (e.g., "Store: serving de-caf and small pastries").
- VSS providers are strictly prohibited from adding extraneous information
that is not part of the business's real-world name, including:
B. Category Name (category field - free text/display value)
The category name must objectively, accurately, and concisely describe the primary type of business, service, or point of interest. It must describe what the business is, not how good it is or what it sells specifically.
- Allowed Content Examples: "Coffee Shop", "Hotel", "Plumbing Service", and "Art Museum".
- Prohibited Content:
- VSS providers are strictly prohibited from including the following:
- Promotional or subjective language: Words that imply quality, ranking, or price (e.g., "Best," "Top-rated," "Cheap," "Luxury," "#1").
- Keyword stuffing: Listing multiple distinct services (e.g., "Plumber HVAC Electrician 24/7").
- Location information: Adding city, neighborhood, or street names (e.g., "Museum in London").
- Products/Amenities: Describing specific items sold rather than the establishment type (e.g., "Sells running shoes").
- Formatting abuse: Emojis, special characters, or excessive ALL CAPS.
- VSS providers are strictly prohibited from including the following:
C. Display Address (display_address field)
The display address must accurately and objectively reflect the official, precise physical location of the business using standard postal formatting. It must only contain information necessary to geographically locate or navigate to the establishment.
- Prohibited Content:
- VSS providers are strictly prohibited from including the following:
- Promotional or descriptive language: Any marketing text, landmark descriptions, or subjective commentary about the location.
- Navigational instructions or cross-streets: Directions, intersection names, or proximity hints in place of or appended to the actual address.
- Extraneous contact information: Adding phone numbers, email addresses, or website URLs.
- Keyword stuffing & broad location targeting: Unnecessarily repeating city names, neighborhoods, or adding regions purely for search visibility.
- Non-physical locations: P.O. Boxes, remote mailboxes, or virtual offices.
- Formatting abuse: Emojis, excessive ALL CAPS, or special characters (unless officially part of the building name or unit number).
- VSS providers are strictly prohibited from including the following:
D. Price Range (price_range field in local_data)
This field must accurately reflect the typical or expected average spend per person for a standard meal, service, or visit at the establishment (applicable to Dining, Beauty & Personal Care, and Local Services).
- Format and Content:
- Data must be submitted as a structured numerical lower bound (minimum) and upper bound (maximum).
- The currency submitted must strictly match the official local currency of the country where the POI is physically located.
- The upper bound must be strictly greater than or equal to the lower bound, and neither value can be negative.
- Range widths should be standardized, rounded, and meaningful to the user's decision-making process (e.g., "10 - 20" recommended; overly precise ranges like "13 - 17" or overly broad ranges like "1 - 200" are heavily discouraged).