Get Geocoding can not deal with typos in query string

Question

Get Geocoding can not deal with typos in query string

Martin Müller 5

I'm using the Azure Maps Get Geocoding endpoint with version 2025-01-01.

According to the documentation, "the geocoder is very tolerant of typos and incomplete addresses".

However, this does not seem to be the case at all.

For example the query string "Almend 5, 4460 Gelterkinden, Switzerland" returns the following address as a result:

Hohenrainstrasse 5, 4133 Pratteln

With confidence high and matchCode good. However, this is a completely different municipality.
Note that the query string has a simple typo: It should be "Allmend" instead of "Almend".

Querying with the corrected address "Allmend 5, 4460 Gelterkinden, Switzerland" gives the correct result:

Allmend 5, 4460 Gelterkinden

Im experimenting using the following URL:

https://atlas.microsoft.com/geocode?api-version=2025-01-01&query=Almend 5, 4460 Gelterkinden&subscription-key=xxx

Am I doing something wrong when geocoding an address with typos?

VSawhney 880 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-14T15:54:44.7733333+00:00
Hello Martin Müller,

Hey there! It looks like you're facing an issue with the Azure Maps Get Geocoding endpoint when trying to handle typos in your query string. According to the documentation, the geocoder should be quite tolerant of typos, yet you're getting results that don’t seem related to your intended location.

Here are a few things you can try:

Adjust Your Query: Even though the documentation states that the service is tolerant of typos, it might help to try a more specific format or additional keywords. For instance, including the city or region in your query can improve accuracy.

Use Alternative Endpoints: If geocoding is not working as expected, consider using the AutoSuggest or Search modules. These can sometimes provide better results, especially if there are multiple matches for similar queries.

Check for Encoding: Ensure that your query string is properly URL-encoded. For example, if there are any special characters or spaces, they should be encoded to avoid any parsing issues.

Testing Different Queries: Test variations of your query, such as "Allmend 5, 4460 Gelterkinden, Switzerland", to see if different wordings yield better results from the API.

Hope this helps you get closer to a solution!
Thank you!
VSawhney 880 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-17T10:53:37.6766667+00:00

Hello Martin Müller,

Following up to see if the above response was helpful. Please feel free to reach us if you have any further query.

Thank you!
Martin Müller 5 Reputation points

2025-07-17T14:01:21.3733333+00:00

I already have the street name, city, zipcode, and country in the query string. I don't know what more information I could possibly add.

According to the Azure docs, the API Version 2025-01-01 doesn't have a Search or AutoSuggest module. The only way I found to search coordinates for an address is the Geocode operation I'm using here.

1 answer

Your answer

VSawhney 880 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-14T15:54:44.7733333+00:00

Hello Martin Müller,

Hey there! It looks like you're facing an issue with the Azure Maps Get Geocoding endpoint when trying to handle typos in your query string. According to the documentation, the geocoder should be quite tolerant of typos, yet you're getting results that don’t seem related to your intended location.

Here are a few things you can try:

Adjust Your Query: Even though the documentation states that the service is tolerant of typos, it might help to try a more specific format or additional keywords. For instance, including the city or region in your query can improve accuracy.

Use Alternative Endpoints: If geocoding is not working as expected, consider using the AutoSuggest or Search modules. These can sometimes provide better results, especially if there are multiple matches for similar queries.

Check for Encoding: Ensure that your query string is properly URL-encoded. For example, if there are any special characters or spaces, they should be encoded to avoid any parsing issues.

Testing Different Queries: Test variations of your query, such as "Allmend 5, 4460 Gelterkinden, Switzerland", to see if different wordings yield better results from the API.

Hope this helps you get closer to a solution!
Thank you!
VSawhney 880 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-17T10:53:37.6766667+00:00

Hello Martin Müller,

Following up to see if the above response was helpful. Please feel free to reach us if you have any further query.

Thank you!
Martin Müller 5 Reputation points

2025-07-17T14:01:21.3733333+00:00

I already have the street name, city, zipcode, and country in the query string. I don't know what more information I could possibly add.

According to the Azure docs, the API Version 2025-01-01 doesn't have a Search or AutoSuggest module. The only way I found to search coordinates for an address is the Geocode operation I'm using here.

Answer 1

IoTGirl 3,716 Microsoft Employee Moderator

Hi Martin,

there is a big difference between using a Query API that takes a string of characters and a structured address API that takes components of the address separately. The Query API will take one character at a time and try to match against multiple parts of an address. For higher accuracy you can remove ambiguity if you know the address components and separate them in the call.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/maps/search/get-geocoding?view=rest-maps-2025-01-01&viewFallbackFrom=rest-maps-2024-04-01&tabs=HTTP

See the sample GET https://atlas.microsoft.com/geocode?api-version=2025-01-01&addressLine=15127 NE 24th Street&adminDistrict=WA&locality=Redmond

This points the geocoder to which part is the street address, City and Sate separately so the house number will not be matched to a postal code for example. Your breakouts could be:

addressLine=
locality=
postalCode=4460
countryRegion=

If you know the address breakdown, it is always best to use it as it will provide results with better context.

Sincerely,

IoTGirl

Martin Müller 5 Reputation points

2025-07-18T07:45:28.1766667+00:00

That makes sense. I tried it that way, but still it cannot deal with that simple typo.

I've split up all the address parts:

https://atlas.microsoft.com/geocode?api-version=2025-01-01&postalCode=4460&countryRegion=CH&addressLine=Almend%205&locality=Gelterkinden

With this query, the result is Solothurnstrasse, 2544 Bettlach, which is still wrong.

And again, wenn I correct the addressLine to Allmend 5, the geocoding works.

https://atlas.microsoft.com/geocode?api-version=2025-01-01&postalCode=4460&countryRegion=CH&addressLine=Allmend%205&locality=Gelterkinden

Am I doing something wrong? Does the typo tolerance somehow not work for Switzerland?
Manas Mohanty 8,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-18T08:39:23.8666667+00:00

Hi Martin Müller

Typo here in the input Almend 5 was missing "l" s in Allmend , it did not match place in Gelterkinden,Rendering most relevant result instead.

But it is conflicting the documentation mention "fully tolerant to typo"

Checking with product group internally on this for possible document update.

Thank you for sharing your observation.
IoTGirl 3,716 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2025-07-18T12:30:14.87+00:00

There does seem to be an issue with Almend VS Allmend as it also occurs with the public site. I have reported it using Bing.com/maps. You can also use this method. Paste the full address, do not type character by character or you will be using auto suggested api not the straight geocoder. With the address pasted hit return or press the search icon. Use the feedback button at the bottom right of the map panel to provide detailed information about the issue. The code that handles spelling issues is aptly called Speller and fairly complex as it is AI/ML based but more typically it deals with things like st being Street or Saint or cr being circle, creek, crescent or court. In the Allmend case, the map retrieves a polygon meaning that misspelling is enough to throw it off.
Martin Müller 5 Reputation points

2025-07-18T14:20:04.57+00:00

Thank you both for your answers. What's weird is that the example in the docs for 24th Street in Redmond is pretty tolerant for typos. I can remove a few letters from the address and it can still be found.
IoTGirl 3,716 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2025-07-18T17:44:20.6566667+00:00

That isn't that surprising to me actually. AI/ML are all about pattern matching and tend to cover the most typical scenarios, but Almend vs Allmend isn't as common a misspelling so not captured in a list somewhere to be ingested to the AL during the ML phase. For example, to capture every misspelling that missed a double ll you would have to break up all possible road names and remove each letter an introduce that as a common misspelling. For example, the fix for this will likely be to introduce "Almend" as a misspelling of Allmend to the training data but that won't impact "Allend" or other letter drops.

If your use case has misspelling as a common breaking point, we recommend using Fuzzy search or Type Ahead as those are designed to be more fault tolerant. Take a look at these https://samples.azuremaps.com/?search=fuzzy&sample= and see if one of them aligns well for your use case.

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Get Geocoding can not deal with typos in query string

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