Store Locator Postal Code , City Address Format

Store Locator Plus® 5.2 brings a new search results shortcode to assist in proper formatting of European addresses — especially German addresses which list the postal code followed by the city.   Prior to the 5.2 release the standard shortcode was [slp_location city_state_zip] which displayed a standard US-format address with a comma between the city and state when warranted.

A new variation of the shortcode [slp_location zip_state_city] puts the zip (postal code) first followed by the state and city WITHOUT any commas.   The new shortcode goes in the Store Locator Plus® | Settings | Results Layout setting.     To swap the address format change the [slp_location city_state_zip] entry in the Results Layout setting with [slp_location zip_state_city].

In addition to the new layout option, the [slp_location city_state_zip] output was patched to ensure a space remains in place between city and postal code if the state is not set.

MySLP Users

Users of our My Store Locator Plus®  SaaS service will automatically receive this new feature  as our servers are updated.    That is one of they many benefits of having a monthly MySLP subscription — no more plugin updates or migration concerns.   As soon as the newest features have been tested and scanned for security issues we update our servers.    Your JavaScript embed code keeps on working, automatically getting the latest features.

If you wish to change your Results Layout setting you can login at the MySLP Dashboard.

WordPress Plugin Users

Users that opt to stay with our legacy Store Locator Plus® products, we are continuing to patch these self-managed/self-installed plugins.   You are responsible for making sure your WordPress account is backed-up prior to upgrading and will need to manage the installs on a site-by-site basis.

Remember, WordPress users are not required to upgrade to the MySLP SaaS subscription.   If you have purchased the WordPress plugins and want to check on what was ordered and what updates are available you should login at the WordPress Plugin Store.

Store Locator Address Accuracy

My Store Locator Plus® was updated this weekend with new software. While we were at it the MySLP servers were upgraded.

Better address accuracy outside the United States

The biggest change to the My Store Locator Plus® software was the implementation of region data handling. The map domain, aka “region” setting under Store Locator Plus | Settings | Map influences the accuracy of the results returned for new location addresses as well as user searches.

Users in countries like Australia or parts of Western Europe should see a notable improvement in the accuracy of locations returned when searching for an address. The map engines, primarily Google, that are used to geocode addresses are more heavily influenced by the region setting in those countries.

Inconsistent Google Map Coordinates – Kansas City Has Moved

One of the issues we run into fairly regularly is our Store Locator Plus® customers get no locations back when they search for a city where they know they do, in fact, have locations. Recently this came up with a customer that was searching Kansas City. If they type Kansas City, MO or Kansas City, KS the would see their locations. So what was going on?

Kansas City – November 2018

Way back in November 2018, Google Maps decided that Kansas City was at 39.0119, -98.48424

We’re not in Kansas City anymore…

Kansas City, November 2018

Kansas City – January 2019

Today, performing the very same address search for Kansas City yields a completely different result. Today Kansas City is in a far more reasonable location at 39.0997265, -94.5785667

Kansas City, January 2019

What Is Going On?

Both location requests pass the same URL to Google Maps JavaScript API with the region and language set properly. Google, however, likes to change their map data sets and lookup algorithms frequently. This is just one more specific case where historical evidence shows that Google Map locations move — at least with the “purposefully lower quality” data set provided via the Maps JavaScript API.

In years of testing we’ve found that some locations move by as much as a quarter-mile EVERY MONTH. It is the inherent “jitter” Google seems to have built into their published maps data. You may even find that if you search Google Maps for Kansas City today it has already moved from the above location.

Their own map service puts it here: 39.0915821,-94.8565881

Google Maps.com — where is Kansas City

Which happens to be pretty darn close to what Open Street Maps is telling us at 39.094, -94.537 — a service we use to cross-reference data on our MySLP service.

Want Kansas City To Stay Put?

MySLP uses an aggregate data set from multiple providers and is constantly refined by user input and our customer service staff to provide more accurate results. Unlike Google – our MySLP users CAN get better results and email real human beings that can fix location data NOW.

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