POI Validity ratings depends on RESEARCH and RESOURCES available for the

POI. As well as local knowledge of the POI's region.

POI - any valid POI that you would normally see in a yellow

pages directory

**note: the list below is exhaustive and refer to the list for examples only. Please use proper
research and correct judgement when rating the POI’s validity.

l
1969 ia restaurants, hotels, day care, law forms,
company headquarters
6437 nt
conventional for profit business

schools, churches, musems, foundations

non-profit organization
9
2672 ide

landmarks public monuments, bridges, squares

metro/subway stations, railway stations,
nf

transit stations and airports bus stops

Co

farmers' markets with regular reoccuring locations and dates

areas of interest parks, beaches, lakes, mountains

Shops within malls, shops or terminals within airports,

POIs within POIs or departments within a university
 offices and departments at all levels of
Government Offices
government

l
Apartments and Condominums (the whole complex
housing complexes

1969 ia
or building)
6437 nt
9
2672 ide
nf
Co

Parking Lots (public and paid lots )

 including restrooms located in parks and public spaces,
Public Restrooms departments stores and malls

l
With a permanent location and regular seasonal schedule,
Seasonal POIs

1969 ia
including ski resorts, pumpkin patches, haunted houses
6437 nt
9
2672 ide
nf
Co
 Co
nf
2672 ide
6437 nt
1969 ia
9 l
 Official websites or official
OFFICIAL SOURCES social media pages

If these sources confirm that the POI has CLOSED, RELOCATED, RENAMED or
REPLACED by another POI - rate NO - CLOSED
If there is no indication from available official sources that the POI is closed, rate YES.
Exercise discretion when available official sources seem outdated or poorly maintained.
Can't find an official source? Proceed to step 2.

l
1969 ia
6437 nt
Unofficial social media pages,
9
2672 ide

crowdsourced user review sites, business

RELIABLE SOURCES registries and locale newspapers

Review these sources for any indication that a POI is closed.

nf

If a reliable source indicate that the POI has closed, you should confirm this by looking
for recent user reviews (within the last 6 months) on unofficial social media pages or
Co

crowdsourced user review websites that indicate the POI is open.

If a larger number of recent reviews (within the last 6
months) indicate that the POI is open, than the number of
sources that indicate it is closed, rate CAN'T VERIFY.
if more recent reviews (within the last six months) state that
the POI is closed, than indicate that it is open, then rate NO
- CLOSED

If there are no other indications that the POI has closed, and
a recent user review from a reliable source indicates that the
POI is active, then rate YES.

Can't find official resources and reliable sources? Proceed to step 3

 Recent (within 1 year) street
imagery or online review
Recent Online Imagery crowdsourced review pages.
from

If you are able to locate the POI at the correct location in recent street or online imagery,
then rate YES.
If you are able to locate recent street or online imagery, but the POI is not located in the
expected location, rate NO - CLOSED.
If you are able to locate recent street or online imagery, but your view of the POI is
obstructed (e.g. by foliage, traffic, etc.), rate CAN'T VERIFY.
If you are not able to locate recent street or online imagery, rate CAN'T VERIFY.

l
1969 ia
If you are unable to locate any online resources that indicate

whether the POI is open or closed, rate CAN'T VERIFY.

6437 nt
9
2672 ide
nf
Co

If the POI is a branch or a chain business, see if the branch

location is listed on the official url for the parent chain. If it
is not, then you may be able to determine that the POI has
closed and rate, NO - CLOSED.
Chain POIs

IIf there are no user reviews for the business within the past
6 months, even though there were multiple reviews before
that, you may be able to infer that the POI has closed and
you should rate NO - CLOSED.
Social Media

If the POI exists in old street imagery, but does not exist in
recent street imagery, you may infer that a previous POI has
closed or relocated. In either event, you should rate NO -
CLOSED.
Street Imagery
 If the official website or recent street imagery confirms the
Bus Stops
POI, rate YES.

Hospital sites may be used as an official source for doctors

Doctors within
that are located at, and work within, the hospital. If a doctor
Hospitals
can be found within the official site for the hospital, rate YES.

Official mall directories may be used as an official source for

POIs within
POIs that are located within the mall. If a POI can be found
Malls
within the official site for the mall, rate YES.

l
If the school has an official website or can be located within
Schools

1969 ia
recent street imagery, rate YES.
6437 nt
If the landmark, including natural features, has an official
Landmarks website or can be located within recent street imagery, rate
9
2672 ide

YES.
nf
Co

Sometimes a Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) may return an automated response that
indicates a POI has closed. SERPs are pages that list results from a web search engine in
response to a query. However, you should not rely on automated responses from SERPs to
confirm that a POI is closed.
If it is not possible, based on available evidence, to determine if a POI is open or closed, the
POI Validity should be rated CAN'T VERIFY.