How can I use Google's Geocoding to normalize addresses without violating the terms of service?

Question

I'm working on a API that will accept addresses in searches. We would like to use Google's geocoding service to normalize the addresses before submitting the search criteria to our search engine.

This caught my attention: http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/geocoding/index.html#Limits

"Note: the Geocoding API may only be used in conjunction with a Google map; geocoding results without displaying them on a map is prohibited. For complete details on allowed usage, consult the Maps API Terms of Service License Restrictions."

Does this mean we can't use the Geocoding service for this purpose? Having used libraries that access Google's geocoding service before, I know it's technically possible to do this but it sounds like a violation of the terms of service.

Are there other options for what we're trying to do?

Answer 1

You are correct: you can't use the Google Geocoder for address cleaning.

You can use this wrapper to access USPS's Web Tools.

Another inexpensive solution is Semaphore, but you'll have to write your own wrapper class to call the DLLs.

Answer 2

Short answer: You can't. The terms of service seem pretty clear-cut that geocoding using their API is not in line with their terms, unless you display them on a Google Map.

If you need this for other purposes, you should consider licensing a Geocoding library and dataset(s) for your regions of interest. There are quite a few companies which sell these for commercial purposes.

Answer 3

The USPS has a free service to validate addresses. It's in a fairly easy-to-use API that you can curl information to and receive a valid response back. The only rub is that they're a little slow when it comes to registering, and they require you to run several tests before they'll open it up. Regardless, once you've jumped through the hoops, it does a great job. It's been keeping addresses in my app clean for quite a while now without any hiccups.