Locating a specific address using currently available mapping software is an inexact science. If you entered an address or looked up a business and received a map that is incorrect, try the following troubleshooting steps:
- Always make sure you have the correct address, and that it is spelled correctly. Our software picks up most spelling errors of cities, abbreviations, and streets. However, you are ensured best results if you correctly spell the address.
- Make sure you have the correct postal code. If you enter the wrong postal code and city name combination, a search for postal code is performed by default. Again, you are ensured best results if you correctly enter the entire address.
- Make sure you add the street suffix ( such as 'Rd', 'St.', 'Ave', etc.). Add the directional prefixes even if they are abbreviated (such as 'N', or 'North'). Our locator software is intuitive and will find a match in most cases if you omit these, slashes ('/') or punctuation marks.
- If the address is complete and correct, try entering the address without the zip code.
- Internet Explorer users may experience some problems. If you are using version 2.0, you may notice the marker shifting as you zoom. We recommend upgrading to Internet Explorer 3.0 or better, or to Netscape Navigator.
Assuming that you are entering the information correctly and that the system can find a match for your address, two things could be causing the 'X' to be placed in the wrong location:
- There may be inaccurate data in the database. See the related help topic to the left for information how to report this.
- When the point is placed on the map to represent the address, this process is done via interpolation.
That is, the street segment is divided into numerous equal parts depending on the address range for that segment. For example, the address range for a given street (e.g. Maple) is 500 - 1000; therefore the street is divided equally into 500, 600, 700, ... 1000. If the address given is say, 599 Maple St, then the mapping engine will place the location point at around the 600 point on the street. Where the problem arises is, suppose in reality the section of the street that covers the 500- 600 range takes up 80% of the street and the 700 - 1000 range takes up the other 20%. The mapping engine will place the point where it believes 599 should go, which is equa-distant from 500 and 700, but in reality the point should have gone 2/3rds of a block further down the street.
There's not much we can do about this, as this is standard practice in the mapping industry. This kind of inaccuracy is not often noticed, because usually the icon showing the address location is large enough to cover most of the area around the address.
In some cases, the locator software attempts to find the address match but does not succeed. In these cases, we issue a warning. The software finds a street-level match and locates the closest address.
If the map is still incorrect, you are welcome to send suggestions to us. Please use the feedback form.