How do I Geocode 20 addresses without receiving an OVER_QUERY_LIMIT response?

Question

Using the Google Geocoder v3, if I try to geocode 20 addresses, I get an OVER_QUERY_LIMIT unless I time them to be ~1 second apart, but then it takes 20 seconds before my markers are all placed.

Is there any other way to do it, other than storing the coordinates in advance?

Answer 1

No, there is not really any other way : if you have many locations and want to display them on a map, the best solution is to :

• fetch the latitude+longitude, using the geocoder, when a location is created
• store those in your database, alongside the address
• and use those stored latitude+longitude when you want to display the map.

This is, of course, considering that you have a lot less creation/modification of locations than you have consultations of locations.

Yes, it means you'll have to do a bit more work when saving the locations -- but it also means :

• You'll be able to search by geographical coordinates
  • i.e. "I want a list of points that are near where I'm now"
• Displaying the map will be a lot faster
  • Even with more than 20 locations on it
• Oh, and, also (last but not least) : this will work ;-)
  • You will less likely hit the limit of X geocoder calls in N seconds.
  • And you will less likely hit the limit of Y geocoder calls per day.

Answer 2

You actually do not have to wait a full second for each request. I found that if I wait 200 miliseconds between each request I am able to avoid the OVER_QUERY_LIMIT response and the user experience is passable. With this solution you can load 20 items in 4 seconds.

$(items).each(function(i, item){    setTimeout(function(){      geoLocate("my address", function(myLatlng){       ...     });    }, 200 * i);  }