We live in a world of geocodes. Any website or app that requests your name and address will potentially convert that data into geocodes for use. Often, the data are used for analytics and marketing purposes but geocodes are also used by rideshare and food delivery apps, real estate companies and property investors, urban planners, insurance companies for risk mitigation, and countless other use cases.
Here’s a detailed look at geocodes and their place in today’s digital and business world.
Geocoding 101
How often does your name and address appear on a payment portal or a website? Why do your name and address conveniently appear on a site via autofill? Welcome to the world of geocodes. Practically every organization or business is interested in collecting your data and converting it into geocodes for analysis.
Geocodes are unique identifiers consisting of numerical or alphanumeric characters. They represent specific physical geographic locations using latitude and longitude coordinates. The codes are so useful because they can be used to detect patterns in data.
For example, an ecommerce platform can analyze sales data and target certain demographics or geographic areas. Governments can use geocodes combined with crime data to reveal where burglaries are increasing and the time of day when burglaries are most likely to occur.
But how does geocoding work?
The process of geocoding is a computational process that transforms a description of a location, such as an address, into geographic coordinates. For example, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW can be converted into the geographic coordinates 38.8977° N, 77.0365° W.
Geocode data is often used for mapping or spatial analysis. For instance, an urban planner might use geocoding to map all parks within a town or city.
Put simply, the geocoding process assigns attributes to locations, which can then be the target of searches. For example, you could search for locations with mountains, shopping centers, parks, schools, railways, flood plains. You can search using addresses, street names, zip codes, latitude and longitude coordinates.
Forward and Reverse Geocoding
The geocoding process goes in two directions: forwards and backwards. Forward geocoding converts addresses, such as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20500, into geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude). An Uber driver uses forward geocoding to find their destination on their GPS.
Reverse geocoding is the reverse process, it converts geographic coordinates into a physical address. A GPS uses reverse coding to find a geographic point of interest on a map, for example, restaurants or gas stations close by.
Single and Batch Geocoding
In addition to forward and reverse geocoding, there is single and batch geocoding. Which one is used depends on how many locations you want to analyze.
- Single Geocoding
An example of single geocoding is a process that converts one street address into geographic coordinates at a time. For instance, you might plug in an address on Google Maps, and the software immediately pulls up the location on the map.
Single coding is fine for single use cases, for example, an Uber driver needing directions, but it is not practical if you want to analyze a larger data set. That would require batch geocoding.
- Batch Geocoding
Batch geocoding processes multiple street addresses simultaneously so that the data can be analyzed for patterns. For example, a real estate agent might want to search property listings within a school district. The system will use batch geocoding to analyze the coordinates (homes) that fall within that school district.
Geocoding vs. Geolocation
Geocoding and geolocation are two different things. Geocoding transforms a description of a location into geographic coordinates whereas geolocation determines the location of a device, such as a mobile phone or tablet computer. The two processes are often combined.
Who Uses Geocodes and How?
Real estate, urban planning, property development, insurers, home services, and government departments are examples of industries that rely on geocode data application, but as we showed in the introduction, practically all entities use geocode data in one way or another.
- Marketing
Most online businesses need to market their services, and most collect consumer data and convert it into geocodes. Ecommerce platforms, banks, educational institutions, insurers, governments, service providers, healthcare providers, all of these organizations can use geocoding data for marketing and strategy purposes.
- Navigation and Mapping Services
Ride-sharing Apps like Uber find your exact location and show you their exact location as they come to pick you up. Emergency response services rely on geocodes to pinpoint locations. Google Maps and GPS devices convert human-readable addresses into geocoded addresses to help users get accurate directions from point A to point B or find nearby services such as restaurants, hospitals, etc.
- Emergency Response Services
Emergency response teams use geocoding to locate incidents quickly. When someone calls 911, the system geocodes the provided address to find the exact location. This helps dispatchers send emergency services to the right place without delay.
- Real Estate and Property Management
Every MLS listing on a real estate website will show a map showing its location. Real estate companies use geocoding to analyze property locations and market trends. They convert property addresses into geographic coordinates for spatial analysis. This helps visualize property reference data on maps, identify high-demand areas, and plan new developments.
- Environmental Monitoring and Management
Scientists and researchers use geocoded addresses to map environmental data, such as pollution levels and wildlife habitats. This spatial analysis helps identify trends and make informed decisions about conservation efforts. Geocoding also supports disaster management by mapping vulnerable and high-risk areas.
- Insurance and Underwriting
Underwriters use geocoding data to map flood zones, areas prone to wildfire risk, and other factors that affect property insurance to help with portfolio risk mitigation.
Geocoding as a Tool for Growth
Geocoding is more than just obtaining a long list of coordinates. It is valuable data that allows businesses across various industries and verticals to uncover opportunities for growth. Geocodes are better datapoints than addresses because addresses are pieces of text and can change over time; coordinates do not change.
A moving company that first uses an address for application pre-fill to improve the customer experience, and then uses geocoding to find locations, plan routes, and streamline delivery logistics is a step ahead of its competitors.
ATTOM delivers geocoded property data through flexible channels, including bulk flat file delivery, cloud-based solutions, and property API access to location-enabled property records. Whether you’re mapping property locations, performing market analysis, or powering a spatial analytics tool, ATTOM’s geocoded datasets provide the accuracy and scale needed to support location-based decisions.
Contact a Data Expert Now and start using ATTOM’s geocoding.
