Search Ads Close Variant.pdf

Close Variants April 2023 1. Overview 2 2. Research 2 3. Good 4 4. Acceptable 5 5. Bad...

Close Variants April 2023 1. Overview 2 2. Research 2 3. Good 4 4. Acceptable 5 5. Bad 6 6. Special Cases 7 6.1. Change in word order 7 6.2 Language transformations 9 6.3 Changes to named app, product, or brand 11 6.4 Spacing in languages that don’t use spaces 12 7. Rating for China 13 7.1 Good 13 7.2 Aceptable 13 7.3 Bad 14 7.4 Examples 14 1 1. Overview Note: If you are rating for China, please also see the Rating for China section at the end of these guidelines. Welcome to Close Variants evaluation. In this task you’ll see a query about a specific app or type of app and a variant of that query. Use the research links provided in the tool, or other online resources, to be sure you understand what both the original query and the variant mean. You’ll then give one of the following ratings to the variant: Good Acceptable Bad If the original query, the variant, or both, are in a language that’s not used in your market, use an online translation tool to find the meaning and leave a note in the Comments box explaining what you did. Note: The examples below show pairs from many markets, including non-English ones. 2. Research The research links provided in the tool will help you understand the meaning and intent of both the original query and the variant. App Search Links The App Search links search the web for the original query or the variant, including only results from the App Store for your country. Use them to investigate which apps are returned for the original query and the variant. Keep in mind that when query or a variant seems likely to be functional, rather than navigational, it’s less likely that the results from the app search will be an accurate reflection of the possible intent of that query. Note: Ignore any ads that may appear at the top of the search results page and compare only the App Store results you see. 2 App search links research shows query and variant have same intent App Search results for query App Search results for variant Explanation [space draw] [draw space] The query and the variant are the same two words in a different order. Research using the app search link confirms that while the word order has changed, the intent has not. Both the original query and the variant unambiguously refer to the same thing. Rate Good. App search links research shows query and variant have different intents App Search results for query App Search results for variant Explanation [dyslexia the game] [dyslexia] The query is for a specific game called Dyslexia, but research shows the the variant, which is the word "Dyslexia" alone, could refer to a number of apps with a number of different functions. In this case research has revealed that the query and the variant do not share the same unambiguous meaning. Rate Bad. Web Search Links The web search links searches the web for general results about the original query or the variant, including, but not limited to, results from the App Store for your country. These links are most useful for general research and reference. 3 3. Good A Good variant has exactly the same meaning as the original query. This can happen when: The variant is a well-known short form of the original query, for instance, “fb” for Facebook ◦ Research any variants you aren’t sure about The variant clarifies or improves the original query The variant adds or deletes a space from the original query (and there are no other issues), but the intent is still very recognizable ◦ If adding or deleting a space makes the variant’s meaning or intent difficult or impossible to recognize, it must be rated Bad The words “app,” “inc,” or “gmbh” (or similar designations) have been added to the original query The word “game” or “games” is added to query about games The variant is an upgraded version of of the original query: ◦ This can be a version upgrade (“candy crush → candy crush 2”) or an explicit reference to the more recent version (“daily horoscope 2019 → daily horoscope 2021”) The variant is the original query in a different grammatical form (“free games → free game”, ”video edit → video editor”) Query Variant Rating Explanation A space that's not supposed to be there has tiktok tik tok Good been added to the name of this app, but the name is still very recognizable. A space that's not supposed to be there has match.com match com Good been added this query, but the intent is still very recognizable. A space has been deleted from the original query, mario kart mariokart Good but the meaning and intent are still easy to understand This is a well-known short form of the original instagram ig Good query Adding the word "app" does not change the facebook facebook app Good meaning or intent of the original query. strategy Adding the word "game" does not change the strategy Good game meaning or intent of the original query. The variant improves the original query's spelling utube youtube Good while keeping exactly the same meaning. 4  The variant is a plural form of the original query. It racing game racing games Good does not change the intent of the query. The variant contains a noun form "editor" of the photo edit photo editor Good original query's verb "edit". It does not change the intent of the query. 4. Acceptable An Acceptable variant contains a spelling mistake or other issue, but is still recognizable and has the same meaning and intent to the original query. Issues can include: Spelling mistakes that do not make the variant difficult or impossible to understand The variant is, or refers to, the former name of the app The variant is the same as the original, but a request for a specific feature has been added or removed, for instance tinder → tinder free ◦ Note that you do not have to confirm that the app actually offers the requested feature The query and the variant are synonyms (“baby games → infant games,” baby/infant are synonyms) The variant contains additional implied words (“wallet app → wallet money app”) Query Variant Rating Explanation The variant contains a spelling mistake (a instagram istagram Acceptable missing letter) but it is still easy to understand its intent. The variant contains a spelling mistake (a pic collage pic colage Acceptable missing letter) but it is still easy to understand its intent. The variant contains more than one spelling whatsapp watsap Acceptable mistake, but it is still easy to understand its intent. The variant is a non-standard, colloquial youtube utube Acceptable spelling of YouTube. Research shows that the "Smule" app used to smule sing Acceptable be called "Sing." Research shows that the "vsco" app used to vsco vsco cam Acceptable be called "vsco cam." free spanish dictionary The word "free" has been removed from the english Acceptable spanish english variant. dictionary 5 police scanner police scanner The word "free" has been added to the Acceptable radio radio free variant. The variant adds a feature request to the uno uno online Acceptable original query. In this case, the request is for an online version. 5. Bad A Bad variant is no longer recognizable or no longer shares the same meaning and intent as the original query. This can happen when: The variant has a totally different meaning from the original query The variant changes the scope of the original query by adding other words, including: ◦ The name of a country (when the original query did not include this) ◦ The name of a specific product (when the original query is a brand name only) The query refers to a specific app or intent and the variant’s meaning or intent is ambiguous (or the query is ambiguous and the variant refers to a specific app) Spaces have been added or deleted, making the meaning of the variant difficult or impossible to understand Query Variant Rating Explanation A country name has been added to the brand name, mcdonalds mcdonalds Bad narrowing the intent of the original query to a single austria country. The name of a specific product (the "Blaze" device) has been added to the original query, "Fitbit." This fitbit fitbit blaze Bad changes the original intent from a large range of products to a single one. The variant does not share the same intent as the shein she Bad original query. (It is a different query, going from the name of a shopping app to a generic word) The variant does not share the same intent as the google image search Bad original query. (It is a different query, even though image search is the name of a Google product) shooting The variant does not share the same intent as the racing games Bad games original query. Spaces/full stops have been removed from the news.com.au newscomau Bad original query resulting in a long string of letters that is difficult to understand. 6  The original query, "text free," refer to a specific app, text free message free Bad while the intent of the variant "message free" is to find messaging apps for free. Research shows that this query and variant are not water battle water fight Bad synonyms but refer to two different apps with similar names. Even though both the query and the variant contain the word "scanner," research shows they have scanner pro scanner app Bad different meanings. "Scanner Pro" is the name of a specific app, while "scanner app" is a request for any scanner app. The variant does not share the same intent as the add music to original query. The original query is for a video video editor Bad video editing app, where as the variant is meant for specifically adding music to videos. Query is intended for general baby games, but baby games 4 baby games Bad variant is meant specifically for games for 4 year old year old babies. The intents are different. The query is for a specific photo editor called Aviary, but research shows the the variant, which is the photo editor word "Aviary" alone, could refer to a number of apps, aviary Bad aviary including a photo editor, a Twitter client, and a game. When the query and the variant do not share the same unambiguous meaning, rate Bad. The following sections will cover some specific types of transformation and how to rate them. 6. Special Cases 6.1. Change in word order When the original query consists of two or more words and the variant is the same words in a different order, research both of them to see if they share the same meaning or intent. Rate Good when: Even though the order of the words has changed, the intent of the original query and the variant is the same ◦ Use the research links to confirm that both the original query and the variant return the same app results Rate Acceptable when: The word order has changed and the variant contains a spelling mistake or missing word (or words) or other small error that does not make the variant difficult or impossible to understand 7 Rate Bad when: A change in the order of the words gives the the variant a completely different meaning from the original query or makes it impossible to understand at all ◦ Check that the variant doesn’t seem to refer to a navigational app that the original query does not also refer to Query Variant Rating Explanation This change in word order has not changed tv remote sony sony tv remote Good the meaning. This change in word order has not changed free euchre euchre free Good the meaning. doctor on on demand This change in word order has not changed Good demand doctor the meaning. my home modern city my This change in word order has not changed design Good home design the meaning. modern city This change in word order has not changed google earth earth google Good the meaning. police scanner scanner police This change in word order has not changed Good radio radio the meaning. ymca greater ymca of greater In this case, the changed order of the variant Good of rochester rochester makes it easier to understand. The word order in this variant has changed clash of clans clan clash Acceptable from the original, and the "of" has disappeared, but the intent is recognizable The original and the variant mean completely man cave cave man Bad different things The original query is the name of a food to go go to Bad takeout app and the variant refers to an online meeting app. The original query refers to a specific karaoke music world world music Bad app while the variant is the name of a an entire musical genre. The original query refers to a real-world activity that might have many matching apps. paint ball ball paint Bad Though 'ball paint' doesn't seem to change the meaning, research shows it it is in fact the name of another app, unrelated to paint ball. The original query most likely refers to an app tracking app app tracking Bad for tracking deliveries. The variant sounds like it refers to tracking something about an app. english french french english The query and the variant are each seeking a Bad dictionary dictionary different kind of dictionary. 8  The original query is looking for a way to convert a word file to PDF. The variant word to pdf pdf to word Bad contains the same words, but is looking for a way to make the reverse transformation. 6.2 Language transformations When all or part of a query is in one language or script and all or part of the variant is in another language or script, research both of them to see if they share the same meaning or intent. Rate Good when: The variant is the original query in the form (translation, transliteration, etc) of a different language (“music → ⾳乐,” or “拡 張 現 実 → augmented reality” ) You have used an online translation tool or your own market knowledge to confirm that the variant means exactly the same thing as the original ◦ Be sure the online translator has not corrected the query for you The variant is is a language not used (or not used very much) is the testing locale, but has exactly the same meaning as the original query (“リマインダー → 미리 알림” which mean reminder in both Japanese, the testing locale and Korean, which is not the language generally used in Japan) Rate Acceptable when: The variant is a misspelled translation (“music player → ⾳乐播放弃” “free games → juegos gratus”). “⾳乐播放弃” here is a common misspelling of “⾳乐播放器“, which means ”music player“ in Chinese. Similarly, “juegos gratus” is a common misspelling of “juegos gratis,” which means “free games” in Spanish. Rate Bad when: The variant does not share same meaning or intent as the original query Query Variant Rating Explanation The variant is WeChat in Chinese. (If you used an wechat 微信 Good online translation tool to make this rating, you must leave a note in the Comments box.) The variant is Instagram in Thai. (If you used an นสตาแกรม Good online translation tool to make this rating, you must leave a note in the Comments box.) instagram The variant is is another version of Instagram in Thai. (If you used an online translation tool to ไอ Good make this rating, you must leave a note in the Comments box.) 9 อิ จี  The variant means "news" in Chinese. (If you used news 新闻 Good an online translation tool to make this rating, you must leave a note in the Comments box.) The variant means "translator" in Russian, 翻译 переводчиĸ Good whereas the original query means "translate" in Chinese. Both have the same intent. The original mispelled query can be understood to juego de mean "cook game," and has the same intent as cooking game Good cocin the correctly spelled variant "cooking game." The variant has improved the query. bible catholic bible The variant is an exact translation of the original Good catholique query. The variant clarifies the original and means the waze same thing. (If you used an online translation tool waze navegación y Good to make this rating, you must leave a note in the tráfico Comments box.) Original query means "photo editing" while variant 相⽚編輯 editor photo Acceptable is "editor photo". The intent is recognizably the same. The variant contains a spelling mistake but it is blur photo foto desenfoq Acceptable easy to understand that it is a translation of "photo blur'" in Spanish. Variant is misspelled in Chinese. The perfect google 云 端 影 google drive Acceptable translation would be "硬碟," not "影碟." However, 碟 its intention for "google drive" is quite obvious. When rating in a Chinese-language locale, this variant does not share the same intent as the 麻花 mahjong Bad original query. The original query means "twist" in Chinese, but the variant shows intent for Mahjong. The variant does not share the same intent as the ピアノ パズル Bad original query. The original query stands for "piano," while the variant stands for "puzzle." The variant does not share the same intent as the original query. The original query stands for カメラ photos Bad "camera," while the variant shows intent for photos. These two words are not synonyms and carry different intents. The variant does not share the same intent as the original query. Although the order of the words 上海 海上 Bad changed, the intents are quite different. Original query means "Shanghai" and variant means "above the ocean". 10 For languages like Japanese that use multiple scripts, when the variant is in a different script from the original query but is still recognizable, rate Acceptable. For example: Query Variant Rating Explanation This variant for the Japanese market uses Hiragana Acceptabl script. The standard for foreign brand names in this linkedin りんくどいん e market is to use Katakana script (リンクドイン). This variant is still recognizable, but less than ideal. 6.3 Changes to named app, product, or brand When a query contains, or is, the name of a specific app, product, or brand and the variant adds or removes words, research both of them to see if they share the same meaning or intent. Rate Good when: The original query is a product name and the correct brand name has been added to the variant, for instance “photoshop → adobe photoshop” The original query is a product name + brand name and the brand name has been deleted from the variant, but the product name alone still has the same intent as the original query, for instance: “adobe photoshop → photoshop” The original query is a partial app name and the variant is the app’s complete name, for instance “pressreader → pressreader news magazines” The original query is an app’s complete name and the variant is a partial app name, but research shows the partial name has the same intent as the original query, for instance: “inpulse heart rate monitor → inpulse” Rate Acceptable when: The variant contains a spelling mistake or missing word that does not make the variant difficult or impossible to understand and it still carries the same intent as the original query Rate Bad when the variant no longer matches the meaning and intent of the original query. This can happen when: An app, product, or brand name has been removed from the original query, making the variant ambiguous or giving it a different meaning or intent from the original query, for instance, “stepwise pedometer → pedometer” or “fitbit blaze → fitbit” An app name has been deleted from the original query making the variant ambiguous or no longer a match in meaning or intent to the original query 11 Query Variant Rating Explanation Excel is known to be a Microsoft product excel microsoft excel Good (confirmed by research), so adding this brand name clarifies the query. The brand name "Microsoft" has been microsoft excel Good removed from the original query, but the intent excel of the variant is still extremely recognizable. The variant removed "talk to korean friend," datalk talk to datalk Good but retains "datalk," which has the same korean friend intent as the query. The variant "talisman om" contains an talisman abbreviation of the words "online mobile" talisman om Good online mobile present in the query. The query and variant have the same meaning and intent. The variant contains a spelling mistake (a tiktik trends tiktok Acceptable missing letter) but it is still easy to understand start here its intent. The variant added a specific device to the photo eraser for photo eraser Bad query. This narrows the intent of the original iphone to the iPhone only. The query is meant for a design and marvel design prototyping app. The variant has a much marvel Bad and prototype broader intent for any apps related to "marvel." 拼貼相⽚組合 Query is intended for photo collage apps, whereas the variant is "collage, combine and photo collage 編 輯 mixgram Bad edit mixgram camera," which has a very 相机 different intent. Without the brand name, the variant "weather accuweather tracker" could refer to a number of different weather weather tracker Bad weather-related apps. It does not refer to a tracker single, well-known, app like "accuweather." The variant does not share the same intent as microsoft the original query. The original query is for a microsoft Bad excel specific Microsoft product, the variant is about all of Microsoft. 6.4 Spacing in languages that don’t use spaces If your locale uses a language/script that doesn’t use spaces between characters, such as Chinese, and the query or variant does contain these spaces, you should rate as if the spaces were not there. When using the research links, you may need to remove unnecessary spaces from the searched queries/variants to make sure they return the expected results. 12 7. Rating for China App Search Links The App Search links search the web for the original query or the variant, including only results from the App Store for your country. Use them to investigate which apps are returned for the original query and the variant. Other search links are also provided. Keep in mind that when query or a variant seems likely to be functional, rather than navigational, it’s less likely that the results from the app search will be an accurate reflection of the possible intent of that query. Note: Ignore any ads that may appear at the top of the search results page and compare only the App Store results you see. 7.1 Good A Good variant has exactly the same meaning as the original query. This can happen when: The variant clarifies or improves the original query ◦ Removal of a token clarifies the query : 灵 锡 码 (Query) and 灵 锡 (Variant) ◦ Additional token improves the query accuracy: 百 联 (Query) and i 百 联 (Variant) ◦ Homophone matches the app name better compared with the query: 涌 派 (Query) 甬 派 (Variant) 7.2 Aceptable An Acceptable variant contains a spelling mistake or other issue, but is still recognizable and has the same meaning and intent to the original query. Issues can include: Spelling mistakes that do not make the variant difficult or impossible to understand ◦ Homophone misspelling - two queries that sound the same: ▪ 轻 颜 (Query) and 轻 ⾔ (Variant) ▪ 甬 派 (Query) and 涌 派 (Variant) The variant is, or refers to, the former name of the app ◦ 菜⻦驿站 is a featured service provided by the app provider, app name would better explain the query while the variant is the former name of app 菜⻦ 13 7.3 Bad A Bad variant is no longer recognizable or no longer shares the same meaning and intent as the original query. This can happen when: The variant refers to a different app. ◦ 唱 鸭 (Query) 唱 吧 (Variant) ◦ 宝 宝 巴 ⼠ 认 字 (Query) 宝 宝 巴 ⼠ ⼉ 歌 (Variant) The query is too short without clear intent ◦ wp (Query) and wsp (Variant) 7.4 Examples Query Variant Rating Explanation The variant clarifies or improves the original query 灵锡码 灵锡 Good The query has an additional token compared to variant and removing it clarifies the query. The variant clarifies or improves the original query 百联 i百联 Good The original query is a partial app name and the variant is the app’s complete name The variant clarifies or improves the original query 涌派 甬派 Good The variant matches the exact app name compared to the homophone query. The variant clarifies or improves the original query 轻⾔ 轻颜 Good The original query is a partial app name and the variant is the app’s complete name Spelling mistakes that do not make the variant difficult or impossible to 轻颜 轻⾔ Acceptable understand Homophone misspelling - two queries that sound the same. 14  Spelling mistakes that do not make the variant difficult or impossible to 甬派 涌派 Acceptable understand Homophone misspelling - two queries that sound The the same. variant is, or refers to, the former name of the app 菜⻦驿站 菜⻦裹裹 Acceptable 菜⻦驿站 is a featured service provided by the app provider, app name would better explain the query while the varaint is the former name of app 菜⻦ i 百 联 (Correct Variant is a version of the query name with 百联 Acceptable app name) fewer tokens. 甬 派 (Correct 涌派 Acceptable Homophone of correct app name. app name) The variant refers to a different bank than 联合银⾏ 瑞丰银⾏ Bad the query, so the two no longer share the same meaning The query is short and has no clear intent. wp wsp Bad The variant potentially stands for another prominent app (WPS). 唱鸭 唱吧 Bad The variant refers to a different app. 宝宝巴⼠认 宝宝巴⼠⼉ Bad The variant refers to a different app. 字 歌 15