What is geocoding address

• What is an address?
• Address elements
• Address formats
• What can geocoding be used for?
• Geocoding using ArcGIS

Convert an address into an X, Y coordinates

Geocoding is the process of transforming a description of a location—such as

a pair of coordinates, an address, or a name of a place—to a location on the

earth's surface. You can geocode by entering one location description at a time
or by providing many of them at once in a table. The resulting locations are

output as geographic features with attributes, which can be used for mapping
or spatial analysis.

You can quickly find various kinds of locations through geocoding. The types of
locations that you can search for include points of interest or names, like

mountains, bridges, and stores; coordinates based on latitude and longitude or

other reference systems, such as the National Grid system; and addresses, which

can come in a variety of styles and formats, including street intersections, house
numbers with street names, and postal codes.
What is an address?

An address is simply a method used to describe a location. For geocoding

purposes, it can be a street address, a place-name, or a location that is identified

by a code. An address describes how to reference a location based on existing

features in your geographic information system (GIS) database. In most cases,

this description is relatively easy to understand. For example, if you needed to

locate the street address 380 New York St., Redlands, CA, 92373 with the correct

street data, it would not take you long to find the exact location. You might first
find California, then find the city of Redlands. You might also use a postal code

map and locate the region covered by the corresponding ZIP Code value. You
would then locate the street and, finally, interpret where and on which side of

the 300 block the address is located.

Just as you first narrowed your search to a specific region, found a particular

feature, and interpreted a point, the computer is using the same process to
assign a location to an address when geocoding.
As the illustration below shows, when finding a U.S. address, typically you find

the state; then the city; and finally, the exact street.

Address elements
Addresses have some specific characteristics. An address contains

certain address elements and is presented in a range of formats. When

geocoding, the address format is interpreted and address elements are

identified and compared against elements stored in the address locator.

An address element is an individual component in the address, such as the

house number, street name, street type, and postal code. Address elements help

in the geocoding search, pinpointing an address to a particular location.

Address formats
Addresses are represented in a wide range of formats. For example, a common

address format used in the United States consists of the following series of
address elements: house number; prefix direction, prefix type, street name;

street type, suffix direction; and zone information such as city, state, and ZIP
Code.
International addresses can also be presented in a range of different formats.

Besides the common street addresses, a place-name or a ZIP Code can be

considered as an address for geocoding purposes. Sometimes, finding a

location by only the ZIP Code is a common practice, as an area that covers the

ZIP Code can be identified.

While all of these addresses differ to some degree, some things remain

consistent. Each address consists of one or several address elements, presented

in a particular address format recognized by those in the region. Understanding

that all addresses contain particular address elements will help determine the
selection of an applicable address style and how an address should be matched

What can geocoding be used for

From simple data analysis to business and customer management to
distribution techniques, there is a wide range of applications for which

geocoding can be used. With geocoded addresses, you can spatially display the
address locations and recognize patterns within the information. This can be

done by simply looking at the information or using some of the analysis tools
available with GIS application (like ArcGIS). You can also display your address

information based on certain parameters, allowing you to further analyze the

information. A few of these applications are described in the sections that

follow:

Address data analysis

The annual record of burglaries was initially created by geocoding a database

table of burglaries that consisted of an address for each. The screen shots below
show how the geocoded addresses were presented according to time, season,

and day of the week to assist in crime prevention planning. Additional analysis
tools available in ArcGIS could be used to further analyze the information to

identify patterns.
Customer data management
Geocoding acts as a crucial part of customer data management. Nearly every
organization maintains address information for each customer or client. This is

usually in tabular format, containing the customer’s name, address, buying

habits, and any other information you have collected. Geocoding allows you to

take your customers' information and create a map of their locations. Using a
variety of related applications, you can use this information in many ways, from

establishing marketing strategies to targeting specific clusters of customers to

producing route maps and directions. The geocoded locations of your

customers can be invaluable data.

ArcLogistics is an application that uses geocoded addresses to optimally plan customer
deliveries.

Distributed geocoding applications

You can use various methods to share your geocoding functionality. These

include everything from collecting the address locators and sharing via a
compressed file or compact disc to developing an online application, allowing

users to do geocoding over the Internet.

Many real estate firms have found advantages in distributing information about

available real estate via the Internet. By combining the database of available
homes and ArcGIS Web services, you can distribute the spatial and nonspatial

information about a home to a wide audience.

Geocoding using ArcGIS

In the real world, you find locations based on some description. This might be

a number and street name. It might include the name of the city, state, or
country or natural features, such as a drainage basin or ecological region.

Geocoding starts with a textual description of a location and translates that into

the x,y coordinates that can be plotted on a map.

The value of good reference data

Your first step when you want to find something on a map is to have the right

map. There is no way you will find your way to 380 New York Street in Redlands,
California, if you only have a map of Canada. Also, you won't be able to pinpoint

the address very well if your map only shows highways and major cities. Your
map must have enough detail of the area to pinpoint the location for which you

are searching.

It is no different when geocoding in ArcGIS. The layers that you use for creating
an address locator, known as reference data, need to have details of the specific

point you want to find. When looking for addresses, the primary reference data
usually consists of a street network, but a parcel map can be used as well. The

important thing is that the data has the detail that you want to find.

An introduction to the address locator

The address locator is the major component in the geocoding process. An

address locator is created based on a specific address locator style. Once

created, an address locator contains the geocoding properties and parameters

that are set on the Address Locator Properties dialog box, a snapshot of the

address attributes in the reference data, and the queries for performing a
geocoding search. The address locator also contains a set of address parsing

and matching rules that directs the geocoding engine to perform address
standardization and matching.

What the address locator does

Think of the address locator as a street guide or map book that you use to look
up an address; it directs you to the page and pinpoints the location of the

address. When you enter an address, you want to find, the geocoding engine
converts the input address into pieces, such as number, street name, and street

type, based on the parsing rules defined in the address locator. These pieces
are known as address elements. The geocoding engine may generate multiple

interpretations of the same address, as some values in the input address can be
considered in more than one element. For example, the word park can be both

a street name and a street type. Each combination of the address elements will
be searched in the address locator. The goal is to find all the possible matching
candidates. Once possible candidates are identified, each individual variable in

the candidate is compared with each corresponding address element. A score

is generated indicating how well the address is matched. Finally, the address

locator presents the best matches based on the score and the location of the
address being matched

The geocoding framework

Understanding the geocoding framework helps when defining the address
locator and its interaction and function in the geocoding process.

User interface
Perhaps the most familiar of the geocoding components is the geocoding user
interface. ArcGIS Desktop consists of two major applications, ArcMap and

ArcCatalog. Many of the modifications and functions of geocoding can be

performed through dialog boxes or tools available in either application. The

primary dialog boxes used in geocoding are those for creating, adjusting, and
executing the geocoding process. Creation of and adjustments to an address

locator are made in ArcCatalog or the Catalog window in ArcMap. Finding

addresses can be done in either ArcMap or ArcCatalog through a variety of

dialog boxes. The Geocoding toolbar in ArcMap is a good place to start. Some
processes can also be performed using the geoprocessing toolboxes available
in both ArcMap and ArcCatalog.

The geocoding process

Once you have created an address locator, you can begin using it to geocode

addresses. However, understanding how an address locator prepares the

input address data, searches the address attributes, and matches addresses—

as well as knowing how modifying an address locator's settings affects this

process—can help you improve both the performance and accuracy of

geocoding.

The process is illustrated below:

Step Conceptual example

1. Original address entered 127 West Point Drive, Olympia, WA 98501

127 | West | Point | Drive | Olympia | WA | 98501

2. Address Parsed
127 | West Point | Drive | Olympia | WA | 98501

3. Multiple representations of the

address created

4. Address locator searched

5. Score of each potential match

established

6. List of candidates filtered

 Step Conceptual example

7. Best candidate matched 127 W Point Dr, Olympia, WA 98501

8. Matched feature indicated

Address parsed
When an address locator parses an address, it dissects the address into its
address elements based on the style of the address locator. For example, in the

address 123 Main Street, 123 is the house number, Main is the street name,
and Street is the street type. Sometimes, an address can be parsed in more than

one way. Although West is usually interpreted as a street direction in the

address 127 West Point Drive, it may also be considered as a street name, West

Point, in certain cases. To increase the chance of finding the address, the
address locator parses an address into one or more distinct sets of address

elements required for the geocoding process.

Multiple representations of the address created

Many elements of an address, such as direction or street type, are often written

using an abbreviation. These abbreviations are presented in a variety of formats.

For example, Avenue could be abbreviated as AV or AVE or spelled out

completely as Avenue. As defined in the address locator style, a list of values

for each address component is established. In the address of 127 West Point

Drive, Olympia, WA 98501, for example, each address component contains

multiple values or representations as shown in this table.
Address locator searched
Once the address locator has parsed the address and generated a list of values

for each address component, it finds features in the locator that match the
elements of the input address based on a set of search criteria. If address

candidates cannot be found using one set of criteria, such as searching the
address by its city, state, and ZIP Code, the search continues using less restricted

criteria, such as address and ZIP Code only, until all the likely match candidates
are found.

Score of each potential match established

When the address locator has generated a set of potential location candidates,
it scores each candidate to determine how closely each one matches the

address that you are geocoding. Each potential candidate is assigned a score
from 0 to 100. Each address element is used to generate this score. The score

for each potential candidate will be lower if any of the following apply to
address elements:

• Misspelled—Long or unusual street names, such as Pennsylvania and

Ahwatukee, can be misspelled easily.

• Incorrect—For example, the street number of the address does not fall

within the address range for the candidate.

• Missing—For example, the street direction is specified in the address

data but not in the potential candidate.
List of candidates filtered
Once each candidate is scored, the address locator generates a set of
candidates that are potential matches for the address based on the minimum

candidate score set for the address locator. Those potential matches that have
a score lower than the minimum candidate score are removed from the

potential match list.

Best candidate matched

The address locator ranks and displays the candidates by score. You can review
and select the match. In table matching, an address is matched automatically to

the candidate with the highest score.

Indicate matched feature

As the final step in the geocoding process, the feature that corresponds to the

best candidate is used for generating the location for the matched address. The
location may be based on an interpolation along a line feature, including side

offset and end offset parameters, or on a polygon centroid if the reference

feature is an area or point.