Posted by Stamper_WI on 5/19/11 8:36pm
Msg #383792

Harry. Re Not Rot's search feature

I got a call for a closing way over on the other side of the state today. She said she found me here and that the "find the notary feature" said i was 9 miles from Green Bay. More like 6-8 hours! The second one was Jolene over in MN.
Has anyone else gotten any similar feedback from clients?

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 5/19/11 8:42pm
Msg #383794

I have...several times...both this site and

the numbers....sometimes the searcher merely has her numbers transposed in the zip code, creating a bad search - other times I think it takes it from zip code outer limit to zip code outer limit....not necessarily center to center.

There's a signing service/notary in my area who has a premier listing here (has not been deleted yet as was promised) and she's listed ahead of me - she's not only in another city/town, but she's in the next COUNTY over - but it puts her closer to Fort White than me - and I'm *IN* Fort White....

Go figure.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 5/19/11 9:15pm
Msg #383796

Had one last week for Salem - over the Cascades in

the Valley. True, it's only an hour, but into a "city."

And, true, it's a spectacular to and fro, but it's over Murphy Summit, and back over Murphy Summit.

So, not out of the realm, like yours, but my profile specifies Coastal.

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 5/20/11 7:55am
Msg #383813

Here's an email I sent about this last fall....

<<From: [e-mail address]
To: "Contact Us Page" <[e-mail address]>
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:12:21 -0500
Subject: 60646 zip code

I am in the 60646 zip code, but when doing a search for a notary in that area, I am listed as 2.6 miles away??

This doesn't make any sense since I am in that zip code.

You also have someone else who is in a suburb of Morton Grove which is absolutely NOT located in the city zip code of 60646.

Please correct this to reflect accurate and correct information.

Thanks!

Cari Rivera>>

_______________________________

The following is an email response....to darn complicated for me to understand, even now!

<<From: Notary Rotary Support <[e-mail address]>
Subject: Re: 60646 zip code
To: [e-mail address]
Date: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 1:35 PM


I will ask the system administrator to look into the coding but it does not appear there is
anything to correct. The reason your listing appears as 2.6 miles away from your own ZIP code is because search results are based on a somewhat centralized point in a ZIP code as determined by the USPS. Nearly all of the notary addresses in our system are geocoded to the street or house level, making distance estimation more accurate than other systems.

When a ZIP code is entered on the search screen, a radius search is performed from the latitude/longitude coordinate of that ZIP code. The coordinate of the ZIP code usually represents the approximate geometric center of the geographic region representing the ZIP code - in other words, the middle.

From the middle of the ZIP code, our system will search for all notaries located within whatever radius is chosen. It will calculate the distance from the center of the ZIP to each and every one of those notaries.

The confusion often occurs when, like you mentioned in your e-mail, someone in another city or ZIP is listed higher in you in your own ZIP code. This is due to the odd and inconsistent shape of ZIP codes and where the mapping utilities have placed the center. It is completely possible for one member in a ZIP code to be further away from the center of their own ZIP than someone in another neighboring ZIP code.

Grif Shoemaker
Notary Rotary, Inc.
[e-mail address]
>' target='_blank'>http://www.notaryrotary.com>>