Identifying products and services

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Overview
In this task you will see search queries entered by users. The goal is for you to identify terms from these
user searches that indicate what product (shoes, mobile phone, etc.) or service (music streaming, cell
phone service etc.) the user is interested in as well as relevant details about that product or service.
Please continue reading to understand the categories we need to identify.

Categories
There are four categories you need to consider when judging:

• Product
• Product Models
• SpecAttribute
• Services

There are a couple of important points to note:

➢ Please be aware of the fact that not every query will contain a terms from these categories. This
is expected behavior.
➢ If the query term in not in English and you can’t determine the applicable terms – make no
entry.
➢ We strongly encourage reviewing both the instructions for each rating and the examples
provided. Reviewing the examples will greatly increase your likelihood of success on the project.

Product

• These terms indicate the type of product the user wants.

• A “Product”, in many cases, is available from multiple brands. Examples could be as follows:

“digital “vacuum “transmission “shoes” “earrings” “water

camera” cleaner” fluid” filter”

A “Product” may have many attributes applied to it.

o “cheap small digital camera”, “pet vacuum cleaner”, “Castrol transmission fluid”, “long
red earrings”, “home depot water filter”.
• Typically, it should belong to only one shopping category.
• If the product term is broad – be sure to identify if there is a context word that can identify the
exact type of product the user wants.
engraved jewelry The term “box” is broad and could apply to many types of boxes in many shopping categories. The
box context word “jewelry” identifies the exact type of product the user wants. The user wouldn't buy
any type of box - just a jewelry box.
cheap boxes In this example there are no additional context terms to identify the specific type of box the user
wants.

• Typically, queries should have one Product, unless the user is looking for a bundle.

Query Entities Comment

nikon D5100 Model: D5100 We have two Product tags as the user is looking for a bundle of two
camera with Product: camera, camera products – a camera and a bag.
camera bag bag
kindle paperwhite SpecAttribute: kindle In this scenario “kindle paperwhite” modifies the product – it
case paperwhite indicates the user wants a case that fits the specs of the Kindle, they
Product: case don’t want the Kindle itself.

• Always research the query to make sure you correctly identify the query terms.

Query Entities Comment

ergo chef knives Product: knives Research shows “ergo chef” is a brand name – so the Product is
“knives” not “chef knives”.
cheap S6 Model: S6 Be careful not to confuse a product with a model. S6 is not a product,
it is one model {S6} of a class of product {cell phone}

Product Models
• Products are often accompanied by model names, model lines or model numbers.
o Examples
▪ “adobe acrobat xi pro prices”
▪ “hp pro 200 m251nw”
▪ “2007 ford edge”
▪ “garmin 340c”
▪ “ps4”
• It is important you do not confuse Product and Model when the Model name or number is
considered synonymous with a certain Product.

Query Entities Comment

iphone 4s Model: iphone 4s iPhone 4s is the Model of cell phone the user wants to purchase. Be
careful not to class the query term as a product. The Product {cell
phone} is not present in the query.
Microsoft Excel Model: Excel 2013 Excel 2013 is the Model of spreadsheet software the user wants to
2013 purchase. The Product {spreadsheet software} is not present in the
query.
find lowest price SpecAttribute: large, Always perform sufficient product research to assign entity tags
michael kors large saffiano accurately. The user is looking for a Hamilton model bag which comes
hamilton saffiano Model: hamilton
 in various sizes, materials, colors etc. They specifically want the large
size made of Saffiano leather.

Services
• This tag is for purchasable services.
o Purchasable services include, but are not limited to:
▪ Services you pay someone to perform for you (ex. plumbing, tax
preparation, hairdressing, massages etc.)
▪ Content (music streaming, movie streaming etc.)
▪ Utilities (cell phone service, cable tv service, etc.)
▪ Insurance
▪ Banking/Investing
▪ Travel/Hospitality/Transportation services
▪ Tickets (movies, concerts, sporting events, etc.)
▪ Educational services (paid tutoring, degree/certificate programs, paid
training etc.)

Product vs. Service

When trying to determine if a query term is a service or a product you can ask yourself the following
questions:

• Is the term something you can “own”? Or is it something you will only temporarily have
access to – even if the access lasts a long time?

Query Entities Comment

hotels downtown Service: hotels The user doesn’t want to purchase a hotel building. They want to
nashville temporarily gain access to a hotel room for lodging. A hotel is a
Tennessee Service.
movies near me Service: movies The user isn’t looking to purchase a film, they are looking for
temporary access to the film while viewing it in the theater. Movie
screenings are an entertainment Service.
apartments Service: apartments We can see from the query the user is looking to rent an apartment,
under 2500 a SpecAttribute: under not purchase it. The user is looking for temporary access to an
month redmond 2500 a month apartment for lodging – even if that access might last for years.
Apartment rentals are a Service.

• Is the user purchasing an item because it represents access to a service, rather than for the
value of the physical item itself?

Query Entities Comment

cheap tickets Services: tickets When you purchase a ticket for a flight, you’re not purchasing it for
guayaquil the ticket itself, but to access a service. A plane ticket gives you access
to a transportation service.
universal studios Services: tickets When you purchase tickets for a theme park, event etc. you aren’t
tickets purchasing it for the physical ticket itself, but instead for the access it
represents.
american home Service: warranty You aren’t purchasing the physical warranty, but rather the access it
shield warranty gives you to the warranty service.
best balance SpecAttribute: best Credit cards are a service. You aren’t “purchasing” the physical card,
transfer cards balance transfer, thru rather the card represents access to credit services.
thru 2021 2021
Service: cards

• Is the user looking to pay someone to complete a task for them?

Query Entities Comment

car window Service: car window Research shows that the most likely intent of this query is to find a
replacement replacement company to perform the replacement. The user is not looking to
purchase a physical window separate from the replacement service.
find a plumber Services: plumber The user doesn’t want to purchase an actual plumber, but they do
near me want to purchase plumbing services, so “plumber” can be treated as
the service they want to purchase.
local furniture Service: furniture delivery In the context of this query, the key concept is the delivery not the
delivery SpecAttribute: local product. The user is likely looking to have furniture they own or
produce delivered.

Service Examples
Query Entities Comment
cheap flights to Services: flights A flight is a service you purchase to move you from one location to
florida another.
blue man tickets SpecAttribute: blue man When you purchase a ticket for a concert, show event etc. you’re not
las vegas Service: tickets purchasing the ticket itself, but access to a service. In this case, access
to this entertainment service.
book a suite in NYC Services: book, suite Hotel booking is a service you purchase for temporary lodging.

h r block tax Services: tax preparation Tax preparations is a purchasable service that can be bought from H
preparation & R Block.
find a plumber Services: plumber The user doesn’t want to purchase an actual plumber, but they do
near me want to purchase plumbing services, so “plumber” can be treated as
the service they want to purchase.

SpecAttribute
• These terms are important attributes/features of the desired product. They are terms that help
describe which specific kind or style of product the user wants.
o Examples: “plus size”, “32gb”, “white gold”, “adult”, “men’s”, “antique”, “waterproof”
• These terms will often need to be determined based on context:
o “trapeze coat”, “sf giants jackets men”, “silk dressing gown”, “stretch skinny jeans”
• One trick when trying to determine if something is an important attribute would be to think of
the kind of filters you might see while shopping, these are often for important attributes.
o
 o
o A user shopping for a product class like “evening gowns” might include important
attributes like price, color, material, style, length, size, cut, etc. to narrow down exactly
what type of evening gown they want.
• Please note Special Attribute does not include the brand name of the product the user is
shopping for; however, it might include model and brand terms as specifications.
o For example, a user searches for “Surface Go Pen” – the user is looking for a pen that is
compatible with the Surface Go. While “Surface Go” contains a model name and brand
name it is not the brand or model of the product (pen). Rather they are specifications
for the pen (pen is compatible with Surface Go).
• Please note Special Attribute does not include the name of geographic locations.
o For example: “coffee near me” – “near me” is a special attribute as it doesn’t refer to a
specific geographic location, “coffee downtown seattle” – “downtown seattle” is NOT a
special attribute because we do not include geographic location terms.

SpecAttribute vs Products
• These two tags may be easily confused. Use the context of the query words to determine which
part of query is not replaceable (Product) vs. important words which describe the product more
specifically (SpecAttribute).

SpecAttribute vs Product Models

• These two tags may be easily confused. A MODEL refers to a model designation (model name,
model number etc.). A SPECATTRIBUTE describes the product (type, style, specification,
descriptor etc.).
o “2015 Ford F-150”
▪ “F-150” is a specific MODEL of Ford vehicle.
o Replacement windshield Ford F-150
 ▪ “F-150” is NOT a model name or model number for a windshield. It describes
the product – the user wants a windshield with the specifications to fit an F-150.

Query Entities Comment

all holiday calendar SpecAttribute: all holiday,
2015 2015
Product: calendar
8 gb memory card SpecAttribute: 8gb
Product: memory card
front loading washer SpecAttribute: front
dryer loading
Product: washer dryer
oxygen tank carrier SpecAttribute: oxygen
Product: tank carrier
black 2015 jeep SpecAttribute: black 2015
grand cherokee Model: grand cherokee
1999 jeep grand SpecAttribute: 1999 jeep
cherokee marker grand cherokee
light Product: marker light
The user wants to purchase a calendar and specifically they want a
calendar for the year 2015 and that includes all holidays.
The user wants to purchase a memory card, specifically one with an
8GB memory rather than a different size.
The user wants to purchase a washer/dryer set, specifically one that
has machines that are front loading rather than top loading.
The user wants to purchase a carrier for tanks, specifically one to
accommodate oxygen tanks.
User wants to purchase a Grand Cherokee model of Jeep vehicle –
specifically one from 2015 with black paint.
In this scenario – “grand cherokee” is a SpecAttribute not a Model.
“Grand cherokee” isn’t a model name or number for a marker light.
Rather “1999 jeep grand cherokee” describes a specification for the
product.

Labeling Overview
Let’s walk through a couple of examples:
Example 1 - Query: “selfie stick iphone”

What does the user • In this query, the user has indicated they want to buy a selfie stick.
want to buy (or service • Note that the user does not want to purchase an iPhone.
• PRODUCT: selfie stick
to be purchased)?

Did they include a

• No model name/number included in the query.
specific model name or
number?

Are there other • Are there other important attributes or specifications in the query?
• Research shows the user wants to buy a selfie stick specifically for the
important attributes or iPhone.
specifications? • SPECATTRIBUTE: iPhone
 Example 2 - Query: “oceanfront studio for rent hollywood”

• The user is looking to rent lodging. In the context of the query string –
What does the user studio can be considered a service as it is sometimes used in place of
want to buy (or service “apartment.”
• Note that if the term had been “studio apartment” then studio would
to be purchased)? become a Special Attribute modifying apartment.
• SERVICES: studio, for rent

Did they include a

specific model name or • No such information contained in the query.

number?

Are there other • Are there other important attributes or specifications in the query?
important attributes or • SPECATTRIBUTE: oceanfront
specifications?

The judging interface

Here is what you will encounter when judging:
Judging Process
• Select the appropriate tags (words) from the drop-down list for each term (Product, Product
Model, Spec Attribute, Services), where applicable
• Please note that you are not to consider Brands as part of this process. If we take an example
such as {Sony EX110 earphones} we simply need to identify the Product Model (EX110) and
Product (Earphones).
• Use the research panel on the right if and when needed to help identify product details (Model
number, for example)
• Click Submit
• A further Query will then be populated for the next judgment.