Question 1

Why do some places have 'Sponsored' under their names?

Accepted Answer

Typically, we determine a restaurant's or a store's ranking by its distance from the customer, quality of reviews and popularity. The higher the restaurant or store scores in these three areas, the better its ranking order will be.

However, restaurants and stores can pay to appear higher in the business list. When a restaurant or store does so, we indicate this with the word `Sponsored'. Distance, reviews and popularity still affect the position of a sponsored restaurant or store.

Question 2

How are the search results ranked?

Accepted Answer

How are the search results ranked?

The order of partners on our platform is subject to a wide variety of factors that interact in a dynamic way. We aim to show our customers the businesses that they are likely to order from, in a way which is fair for businesses connected to our platform, whilst optimising for a great ordering experience.

The default order we list our businesses in is what we refer to as the ‘Best Match’, which uses a point-based system. The parameters as described below all provide a certain number of points towards each business’s total points score. The search results are then shown in descending order, where the business with the most points will be shown first. As the parameters interact in a dynamic way, neighbours could see different results, and there could also be differences in the search results at different times of the day.

In addition, our customers can use filters to make their selection more specific, for example by only displaying certain cuisine types. Customers can also use the sorting options that are available, which will allow customers to sort their results on selected criteria, such as delivery fees. Filters and sorting options affect the order and types of businesses displayed to a specific customer based on how well those businesses meet the applicable filtering, sorting, or searching criteria of that customer. We aim to always display the most relevant businesses for our customers, as after all, tastes differ!

The following main parameters influence how our ‘Best Match’ list is sorted:

Organic

Distance - The most important ranking parameter is distance, which is based on the provided delivery address and the business’s location. We prioritise businesses that are closest to the customer’s delivery address to ensure waiting times are short and that couriers only need to travel a few kilometres for delivery. At the same time, where there are several businesses operating in the same area, distance becomes less important in determining the order of the search results displayed. In this situation all of these businesses will likely have the same or a similar number of points based on the Distance parameter, so the other parameters create the distinction. When selecting ‘Pick-up’ instead of ‘Delivery’, we sort all businesses based on distance.

Logistic Efficiency - We may temporarily move businesses down the list if we know that their orders are unlikely to be delivered to customers within a reasonable timeframe. This could be due to capacity issues at the business or our delivery services, or during severe weather conditions. In addition, both we or the relevant business can decide to temporarily "close" a business on the platform if it is too busy. This means the business will temporarily disappear from the search results. For chain businesses with multiple locations that deliver to a customer's location we show the closest open location first and move the other locations further down the list. We do this to ensure we can offer customers a wide variety of options to choose from.

New Businesses - New businesses temporarily receive an improved position in the search results. To help these businesses get started, they receive a higher position for a short period of time because they have fewer reviews. We indicate new businesses with the ‘New’ label.

Ratings - The rating of a business influences their position in the search results. The rating is indicated next to a business’s profile on our platform and is measured out of 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest rating. The rating is a measurement of our customers’ average reviews on their orders and deliveries. The content or characteristics of a business’s offering will not on its own have an effect on the business’s position on the platform, but could impact its quality score due to better reviews.

Most Popular - We determine the popularity of a business by the number of recent orders processed by a business compared to other businesses in that area. Popular businesses tend to employ more delivery staff and therefore can typically cover a larger delivery area and fulfil more orders. Based on their popularity, these businesses receive more points than businesses that do not have this kind of capacity.

Other - Apart from the main ranking parameters as explained above, there are other parameters or circumstances which influence the sorting. For example, customers have the possibility to save businesses as a ‘Favourite’, which causes such businesses to appear higher up in the search list for that specific customer. Additionally and from time to time, we may run tests or experiments to monitor and improve our service, and these may have an impact on the search results.

Sponsoring

Sponsorship services - In addition to the points provided to businesses based on the organic ranking parameters, we offer sponsorship services to our businesses in return for payment or other commercial benefits. Where enabled, this sponsorship service applies additional points to improve a business’s position in the search results. The effect that these sponsorship services have greatly depends on how each business uses the service. For example, where there are many restaurants operating in the same area, restaurants could use the service to improve their positions to stand out. However, businesses are limited in the extent they can improve their position in the search results as the number of additional points that can be applied is restricted. We want to ensure that even when businesses are using our sponsored services, the other ranking parameters will maintain their influence on a business’s position in the search results. Partners using the sponsorship service can be recognised via the “sponsored” label displayed on their listing.

Question 3

What is the status of restaurants and stores listed on Takeaway.com?

Accepted Answer

Takeaway.com provides an online ordering and delivery platform that lists more than 15.000 professional third party restaurants and stores across България, where consumers can place their orders. We ask restaurants and stores listing on our platform to provide us with their company information, and this enables us to make a declaration that they are a professional trader (and not a consumer) to the best of our knowledge. If you are in България, you will find this declaration within the "info" section of each restaurant's or store's page.

Via the platform, Takeaway.com acts as a technical intermediary allowing restaurants and stores to provide products (such as meals) for delivery and/or takeaway. The contract for the supply and purchase of the products is between consumers and the restaurant or store from which an order is placed. In some cases, Takeaway.com is also responsible for the delivery.

General

Why do some places have 'Sponsored' under their names?

Related articles

How are the search results ranked?

What is the status of restaurants and stores listed on Takeaway.com?

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