Geocoding

Every listing in Local Lab gets coordinates so it can sit on a map and in a "near me" search. Geocoding runs in the background when a listing is created or its address changes, from the admin or from a business claiming its page, and there is a Regeocode button and a bulk action for the rest.

Two providers are tried in order: OpenCage if you have set a key, then OpenStreetMap's Nominatim, which is free and paced to one request a second. Each listing is tried with progressively simpler versions of its address until one resolves. The map on the page is a keyless Google Maps embed with a Directions link, so there is no Maps API bill.

Worth knowing#

• It works with no key at all; OpenCage is faster and worth its free tier when you import a city at a time.

• A CSV import uses the latitude and longitude in the file and does not geocode, so the Places scraper's coordinates come through as they are.