Just as you first narrowed your search to a specific region, found a particular feature, and finally interpreted a point, the computer is doing the same process to assign a location to an address when geocoding.

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, address elements are identified, and these address elements are compared against elements in the reference data. An address element is an individual component in the address such as the house number, the street name, and the 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. A common address format used in the United States consists of the following series of address elements: house number, street name, street type, and zone information such as city, state, and ZIP Code.

In many areas, addresses are presented in different formats. One example of these alternative formats is the address format used in Queens, New York. In the mid-1920s, the Topographic Bureau of Queens unified the street names and implemented a hyphenated address style. The first number indicates either the north or west cross street. The second number indicates where on the block the building is located. Also as a general rule in Queens, avenues run east to west and streets run north to south. Queens also includes the neighborhood, or borough, where the address is located. This is a practice used in many parts of the world. While the address format used in Queens is not initially recognizable, the address format still contains the elements needed to assign it to a specific location.

Salt Lake City, Utah, also uses an alternative address format. When the streets were initially laid out in Salt Lake, the Latter-Day Saint temple was the center of the community. Roads in each direction from the temple were assigned a numeric name indicating how far it was from the temple as well as a directional value, indicating the direction from the temple that the street was located. The prefix direction simply indicated the part of the road where the address was located. Again, while the address format differs from the common format, the basic address elements exist to locate each address.

Another United States example of address formats can be found in regions of Illinois and Wisconsin. In these regions, the address format includes a grid zone address element. A grid zone is simply a larger block or grid on which the address is located. The corresponding house numbers on the streets are assigned values based on the location and the particular street block. The grid zone value helps to pinpoint the street number to a particular zone within the community.

International addresses can also be presented in a range of formats. For example, a common Brazilian address contains most of the basic address elements. However, they are arranged in a somewhat different pattern. Also, at times, the particular state or province is not directly specified. However, it can be derived from the postal code or city.

Due to some variations in language, it might appear that certain address elements are being eliminated; for example, in German, the street name as well as the street type can be concatenated into one term. Understanding the language and customs of an area will greatly facilitate translation of unfamiliar address formats.

While all of these addresses differ to some degree, some things remain consistent. Each address consists of 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 in understanding the geocoding process and the translation required by each particular geocoding rule base to interpret less common address formats.