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Estimated Reading Time – 18 minutes

1 - Geo Accuracy Task

Your task is to answer two questions: Is the provided location of an address correct, and if not, then where is
it located

This guideline will go through the approved methods to verify the location of the provided address. We do not
want judges to simply use the locations provided by Google or Bing’s maps.

2 - Task Suggestions
1. Determine whether the provided location is residential, commercial, or a mixture of the two, as there
are different methods which can allow for quick verification.
2. If the entity is residential, you can use Street View to try to find the building number, or a resource like
Zillow to determine the location.
3. If the entity is commercial, you can use their official website to verify their location and reach absolute
confirmation through Street View.
4. After confirming the location, use Bing Maps to determine the size of the property (you can find full
instructions in the “Property Size Measurement” section.

3 - Judgment Options

3.1 Location Judgment

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3.1.1 Verify Location

This question is asking for verification that the provided address exists at the physical location indicated on the
map. Please do not use the maps on Google.com or Bing.com to verify these entities. There may be instances
where the maps are embedded on a different website, and we will go over those scenarios in this section. But
you cannot type the address in to Google or Bing and judge the location based on what those websites show.
Here are the acceptable methods for verifying the location:

3.1.1.1 House number in street side view

These can sometimes be difficult to read due to image compression or from obstruction by trees or other
objects. You may find that there was a less obstructed photo taken at a different time (click the icon to the left
of “Street View” to check images from other years). If you can get a clear view, this is a great way to confirm
the exact location. For example, the screenshot above shows evidence for the location of 350 5 th Ave, New
York. Building numbers can often be found on the front of the building, or on the doors or mailbox.

To find this on Google, drag the orange icon that allows you to “Browse Street View images” to the street in
front of the location you wish to research.h

If you are using Bing, you will mouse over this icon that sets the map type (it generally will say “Road”) in the
top right corner of the map.

And then you will select “Streetside”

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Then you will move your mouse to the road in front of the target building, and click

With both services, you can use the plus and minus keys on your keyboard to zoom in and out. Clicking on the
arrows that appear on the road can move you to different locations. Clicking and dragging on the screen will
change where the camera is pointing from that location.

You can generally trust the street information provided by the map service, and so long as you are on the
correct street and find the provided building number, this can be confirmation of the location. You can refer to
the minimap to determine the exact position of the property. The triangle coming off the orange icon
indicates where the camera is pointing and can be used to identify the exact location.
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3.1.1.2 Address is within numbered blocks

This option should generally not be used, as there should be a better verification method. But if the only
evidence you can find is through street signs like this, which provide information about building numbers on a
per-block level:

Then you can select this option. But please make sure to exhaust all other possibilities.

3.1.1.3 Zillow

For hits in the United States, this website can provide an exact location after you enter in the address. You
would simply check the provided map (shown above the streetview image in this screenshot) and compare
with the provided location.

3.1.1.4 Primary business site

If you can find a website for a business which shows the provided address, there are a few different ways you
can use the site. The most straightforward way is through an embedded map on the website. We do not trust
the map sites on their own, but if the business is displaying the map on their website, then that is a strong
signal that the information is accurate and enables us to use the map for the judgment.

We can also use photographs of the building or branding from the website in conjunction with street view. If
the street view of the provided address is consistent with that information from the website, we can take this
as confirmation.
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3.1.1.5 Government site

A government site may also provide similar verification methods as what is listed in the Primary business site
section.

3.1.1.6 Other
There may be verification methods that have not been covered in this guideline. If you feel that the
verification method you used does not fit under the other options, select this one.

3.1.2 Pin Placement

If you judge the location as incorrect, you’ll have to place the pin in the correct location. Please try to place the
pin in the center of the property. Here are some examples of what the full property should include. If the pin
falls within these property boundaries, they should be considered correct.

The general rule of thumb: only include private property. If the pin is on public property, it is not in the
correct location.

Residential address:

Included: Building, backyard, driveway.

Excluded: Street, sidewalks, neighboring yards.

Fences are good indicators of the boundaries, though if they are not present, you will have to use your best
judgment to determine whether the pin is still within the property boundaries.
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Commercial address:

Included: Main building, parking lot, auxiliary buildings

Excluded: Sidewalks, roads.

3.2 Property Size Judgment

For this question we are trying to measure the property size indicated by the provided address, ignoring any
apartment or suite numbers.

Please only use the Bing Maps distance measurement tool to determine the size, and do not rely on
estimating the size from appearance alone or using sites like Zillow. Feedback comments may include
CalcMaps so areas can be demonstrated, but for consistency, use Bing Maps for your own measurement.

Step 1: Locate the entity on the map, using the aerial view to get the most accurate image of the boundaries,
and right click on one of the corners. You will see an option to Measure Distance, and you should select this.
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Step 2: Click on all the corners of the property.

Step 3: Once you have gone around the entire boundary of the building, you need to select the “Close Shape”
option.
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This will now give you the area of the building.

• Use the square footage in the table below as the deciding factor, rather than the descriptions.
• If the Address appears to be part of a complex such as a mall, hospital, university or apartment
complex, please check the surrounding buildings to see if they have different building numbers. Only
measure property that uses the same building number. Ignore apartment or suite numbers.
• All property belonging to the Address should be considered part of the entity size. This includes
parking area, yards, etc. In cases of shared parking areas, a portion of the parking area relating to the
size of the building indicated by the provided address should be considered part of the entity size.

Square
Bucket Descriptions
Footage
• Typical American homes
• Small business that only has one building and small parking lot, such
Small <= 100k sq ft
as MacDonald, drive buy fast food
• Apartment building
• Shopping center with large parking lot. For example, Target,
Walmart super center.
(100k, 500k]
Medium • Large park or empty lot
sq ft
• Apartment complex with multiple buildings
• Homes with very large property, small Farms
• Large shopping malls with multiple entrance and multiple buildings
• Large business complex with multiple buildings and multiple
(500k, 2,000k]
Large entrance
sq ft
• Large universities/hospitals that span through multiple streets,
building. Such as University of Washington
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• Apartment complexes with multiple buildings and span through

multiple streets
• Extra-large business such as Airport, Microsoft campus
• Extra-large parks such as Yellowstone national parks, Grand Canyon
XL > 2000k sq ft
national parks
• Towns/Cities without Address Line
• Addresses indicating a whole street which has more than 1 property
• Properties where the property outline cannot be reasonably
Can’t Determine Unclear
determined and the different options would result in different size
measurements
Size Rounding:
Round up when the size is really close. For example:
· 100,000 +/- 2,000 = Medium
· 500,000 +/- 5,000 = Large
· 2,000,000 +/- 5,000 = Extra Large

Measuring Malls:
For example, the hit is for 123 Awesome St. When you check, you see that 123 Awesome St. matches the
address for the Awesometown Mall. However, the stores have different addresses than 123 Awesome St. In
this case, measure the whole mall. Think of it like a complex. The address where I am now is 14980 NE 31st
Way, but it is also a part of 1 Microsoft Way. Therefore, consider 123 Awesome St. the same as 1 Microsoft
Way, encompassing the whole mall. However, if the hit was looking for 890 Awesome St., which matches the
Sears in the Awesometown Mall, consider 890 Awesome St. the same as 14980 NE 31st Way, only a small part
of the whole.
Extra Large Properties:
The following types of properties are almost always extra-large:
· National parks
· Ski resorts
· Airports
· Golf courses
· Amusement parks
· Zoos

Stores with a gas station attached:

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When there is a gas station attached to a grocery store, include the gas station in measurement. Some examples of
stores that often have a gas station attached: Costco, Safeway, Dillons, Fred Meyer. Additionally, if the orange pin is on
the roof of the gas station, this is acceptable as the gas station is part of the same address.