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Maximizing Match Rates

Objectives

• In this section, you will learn a strategy that will help you maximize the percent of addresses that can be successfully geocoded.

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Overview

Keeping in mind that there is generally a tradeoff between high match rates and accuracy, in some situations, your goal may be to match as many records as possible with somewhat less of an emphasis on accuracy. This strategy works to find as many matches as possible by combining the various relax options.

You may wonder, "why can't I just select all of the relax options at once in order to get the maximum number of matches?" The problem with selecting more than one relax option at a time is that the addition of relax options opens the door to multiple matches. Multiple matches occur when more than one street segment meets the criteria for a match. Since there is no one clear segment that is the best choice, the Atlas Geocoder simply returns a match code indicating a multiple match but does not assign a geocode to that record.

The result is that, although it may seem counter-intuitive, selecting all of the relax options at once will actually lower the match rate when compared to a more selective approach.

Geocoding Procedure

Geocoding Procedure

Step 1 - Geocode all records with no relax options selected.

Step 2 - Set ROWS TO GEOCODE to UMATCHED ROWS ONLY

Step 3 - Geocode records with only the Directional Relax Option checked.

Step 4 - Geocode records with only the Street Type Relax Option checked.

Step 5 - Geocode records with only the Street Name Relax Option checked.

Step 6 - Geocode records with only the House Number Relax Option checked.

Step 6 - Geocode records with only the Zip Code Relax Option checked.

Step 6 - Geocode records with the House Number Relax Option checked.

Step 7 - Now, check the Directional Relax option and the Street Type Relax option and geocode.

Step 8 - Uncheck the Street Type and check the Street Name option together with the Directionals option.

Step 9... - The task is to now continue geocoding using every combination of Directional Relax and the other relax options. When you have done every combination, uncheck the Directional Relax option and Check the Street Type option and start working your way down through the remaining options until every combination has been tried. The following table summarizes the various options at each step: