You can search for points of interest, such as businesses and facilities, using data from Data Axle, SafeGraph, and other POI data sources. For example, you can search for hospitals or search using the name of a specific hospital. You can also search within a category using an industry list or search using NAICS codes.
The points of interest (POI) search workflow has four stages: search, refine results, set the map style, and explore the results. To search for points of interest, do the following:
- On the Maps tab, click Create maps and select Points of interest (POI) search.
The Points of interest (POI) search pane appears.
Tip:
You can also launch this workflow using the search tool.
- In the Geography section, use the Area of interest drop-down menu to define the geographic extent of the analysis by searching for a standard geography, selecting Current map extent, or choosing a site.
Selecting a standard geography or site locks the area of interest.
Note:
You can modify the area of interest at any time in the Geography section.
- If the country or region is set to a location with multiple POI data sources, use the Data source drop-down menu to select the data source. You can set the default POI data source in the app preferences.
- Click the Enter keyword, category, etc. field and do any of the following:
- Click the Keyword tab
and enter your search terms in the Enter name or category field. For example, you can search for theme parks or search using the name of a specific theme park. Optionally, use the Include related points toggle button to enable a semantic search, returning attributes related to the search terms you entered. - Click the Category tab
and enter your search terms in the Enter category name field or select from a list of categories included with the selected POI data source. For example, you could browse to and select Farming, Forestry, Pets & Animals > Veterinary Services. - Click the Code tab
and enter your search terms in the Enter name or code field or select from a list of industrial classification codes. Click the Classification system drop-down menu to change the industrial classification code used. For example, if you are using Data Axle as the POI data source, you can search for schools or enter the Primary NAICS code 61111007. Or, try using number + *, such as entering 72* to search for Accommodation and Food Services. - Click the All points tab
and click Add all points to map all points of interest (up to 5,000) within the search extent for the selected country. Data providers restrict the number of points
returned in a search to 5,000. To refine your results, try
either reducing the size of your analysis or using advanced search conditions.
- Click the Advanced search tab
to create an advanced POI search using conditions. To learn more about prefiltering your search, see the Add conditions section below. - Click the Saved searches tab
to use a previously saved search.
- Click the Keyword tab
- Optionally, click Save search. Name your search and click Save.
- To perform the search, click Search.
The search results appear on the map and Results pane.
- In the Filters section, refine your results. Click Show filters and do any of the following:
- To search within the results by keyword, enter text in the search field.
- To show only search results using specific attributes, expand the attribute's section and either use the check boxes or search within the attribute to narrow the results. For example, if you expand the City section and select Riverside and Redlands, only the results from those two cities are included.
- If you are using Data Axle as the POI data source, you can adjust the slider handles for the numeric attributes to define the minimum and maximum values included in the analysis, or enter the values manually.
Optionally, click Reset all to clear your filter selections or, if you've selected all items in an attribute section, click Unselect all at the bottom of the section. You can also remove filters individually by clicking Remove
on a filter in the workflow pane.
The map automatically updates to show the filtered search results.
- Optionally, enable point data aggregation to summarize point data to sites, standard geographies, or hexagons.
The point data is visualized on the map, but not saved in the POI search layer. To enable aggregation, do the following:
- Turn the Aggregate point data toggle button on.
Note:
If you have applied filters to your search, a warning message appears. Filters are removed from point data aggregation. To proceed, click Aggregate point data.
- Use the Site, Geography, and Hexagon tabs to switch between geography styles. To refine the level of detail for either standard geographies or hexagons, use the Level of detail drop-down menu to specify the geography level or hexagon resolution.
- Optionally, use the Calculation drop-down menu to select an attribute and calculation type.
By default, point data aggregation uses the Number of points option. For more information on the definitions of the attributes, see Attribute selection.
- Turn the Aggregate point data toggle button on.
- In the Style section, change the map style, and click Show style options to change styling, including colors, transparency, border, and labels.
Changes made appear immediately on the map. The available map styles depend on the attributes you are mapping. See the Map styles section below for more information.
- If you are using the current map extent as the area of interest and do not have aggregation enabled, you can refresh the search's area of interest. Change the map extent during the workflow and click the Search this area button on the map.
- In the Results pane, explore the POI search results as a summary, histogram, bubble chart, and table.
See the Explore the results section below for more information.
Note:
The Results pane shows a histogram and bubble chart only when using Data Axle as the data source.
If aggregation is enabled, the Results pane shows a summary, histogram, and table. The table only shows the geography level and measure value; individual POI are not listed.
- Optionally, click Clear all to clear your search and results.
- Click Save layer.
Enter a name for the layer and click Save. The saved layer can be accessed in the project pane in the Points of interest (POI) layers section.
Explore the results
The POI search results are displayed in the Results pane. To hide or show the pane, click Collapse 
or Expand 
.
To learn about the underlying calculations, see Results pane reference.
To explore the results, do any of the following:
- Click Summary
to view a summary of the results.Depending on if you have enabled point data aggregation and the number and type of attributes you mapped, the summary may include the count of areas, the average value of the attribute calculations, and the top and bottom five areas.
- Click Histogram
to view the results as a histogram. To explore the histogram, do any of the following:- Click the Settings button
and do any of the following:- Use the Attribute drop-down menu to choose the attribute shown in the histogram.
- Use the Show outliers toggle button to show and hide outliers on the chart.
- In the Outlier calculation section, choose either the Percentage or Standard deviation option to display in the histogram. Optionally, for Percentage, change the Top & bottom percentage value. Optionally, for Standard deviation, change the +/- standard deviation value.
- Hover over an item in the histogram to highlight the corresponding site on the map as well as a pop-up with its range.
Note:
The histogram is only available when using Data Axle as the data source.
- Click the Settings button
- Click Bubble chart
to view the results as a bubble chart or scatterplot. To explore the bubble chart or scatterplot, do any of the following:- Click the Settings button and do any of the following:
- Use the Bubble chart and Scatterplot tabs to switch between chart styles.
- Use the X-axis, Y-axis, and Dot size drop-down menus to choose the attributes used in the chart.
- In the Regression section, use the Model type drop-down menu to select how the regression line is modeled. To display the regression line on the bubble chart or scatterplot, turn the Show line toggle button on.
- Hover over an item in the bubble chart or scatterplot to highlight the corresponding site on the map.
Hover over the bubble chart or scatterplot and zoom in, zoom out, or pan using the mouse. Hover over a bubble to view information about the location and its linear regression. Hover over the regression line to view information about the linear regression and coefficient of determination. Click Reset
to reset the chart extent.
Note:
The bubble chart and scatterplot are only available when using Data Axle as the data source. However, if you enable aggregation, this tab is not available.
- Click the Settings button
- Click Table
to view the results as a table. To explore the table, do any of the following:- Hover over an item in the table to highlight the corresponding site on the map.
- You can modify how the table appears. Click Transpose table
to switch the table's rows and columns. Click a column header to sort the table by the data in that column. Click Customize table 
to modify the columns in the table. Drag the name of a column to change its order in the table. Uncheck the check box next to the column name to deselect it from the table. Use the Rows per page drop-down menu to change the number of rows displayed in the table. Click Next 
or Back 
to navigate the table pages. - Click Export to Excel
to export the data from the POI search to an Excel worksheet.Note:
The Export to Excel
option is not available when using Safegraph or Foursqare as the data source. If you enable aggregation, the Export to Excel option is available for all data sources. When exporting data using Data Axle as the data source, street numbers are removed from the address field. Additionally, the Landmark Name and Location Parent fields cannot be exported. Fields that cannot be exported are identified with an asterisk in the table.
Map styles
You can style the points on the map using different map styles. Depending on the data source, the following styles are available:
Location (single symbol)
Display data on a map with a single symbol to show the distribution and reveal patterns. For example, when mapping a list of coffee shop locations, you may see coffee shops clustered together in a business district. Use the Cluster points check box to turn clustering on or off. To change the symbol, modify its color and size, or upload your own, use the Symbol drop-down menu.
Place
Use intuitive iconography to visually identify what kinds of places the points of interest represent. For example, the Place map style represents parks with tree icons, grocery store with a shopping cart icon, and restaurants with a knife and fork icon. The icons are curated and match the datasets available.
Counts and amounts (color)
Map numeric information by color to highlight data variances. For example, a light-to-dark color theme can show low-to-high data values. Click More options to choose a style for the symbols, change the attribute being mapped, and adjust the graph. Check the Classify data check box to adjust the classification method and breaks.
Counts and amounts (size)
Use an orderable sequence of proportional sizes to represent numerical data or ranked categories. Larger symbols indicate larger numbers. Click More options to choose a style for the symbols, change the attribute being mapped, and adjust the graph and clusters. Use the Size sliders to adjust the relative size of the symbols. Check the Classify data check box to adjust the classification method and breaks.
Type (unique symbols)
Use unique symbols to show different types of things rather than numerical counts. For example, use different colors to represent restaurant cuisine types. It is recommended that your layer show fewer than 10 types, as more types become difficult to distinguish. By default, the 10 most common types are shown, and additional types are grouped together in an Others group. Click More options to choose a style for the symbols and set the color ramp, change the attribute, or edit the symbols individually. Use the Cluster points check box to turn clustering on or off.
Heat map
Map the location of a large number of point features that are close together and aren't easily distinguishable. Heat maps use the points in a layer to calculate and display the relative density of points on the map as colors ranging from cool (low density of points) to hot (many points). Best practice is to avoid heat maps if there are only a few points; instead, map the individual points. Click More options to adjust the color gradient. Use the Area of influence slider to adjust the clusters. Using the Select tool, you can select heat map polygons or select underlying point data to create rings, drive times, or walk times.
Color & Size
Map two attributes in your data and finalize the color and size of point symbols on the map. You can use the same attribute twice: first to set the size of the symbols and again to set the colors, based on the part of the data you want to emphasize. This is suitable when you want to show count information, such as total population, shaded by an attribute, such as population density.
Types & Size
Use unique symbols to show different types of things, with the size of the symbol representing a count. For example, use different colors to represent restaurant chains, and use different sizes to represent the number of employees. It is recommended that your layer show fewer than 10 types; more types become difficult to distinguish. By default, the 10 most common types are shown, and additional types are grouped together in an Others category. Click More options to choose a style for the symbols, change the attributes being mapped, or edit the symbols individually.
Add advanced search conditions
An advanced search condition is a rule that prefilters your search results. This prefiltering provides more specificity to the search query since the results must match at least one of the criteria. Since the number of points returned in a search is restricted to 5,000, it is useful to prefilter the search for refined results. In an advanced search, select a field to condition then choose a filter operator and set a value.
For example, you can add an advanced search condition in your point of interest (POI) search to only show businesses with more than 20 employees. Create a condition as follows:
- For field, choose Employee Count.
- For the filter operator, choose is greater than.
- For value, enter 20.
Multiple conditions can be used in a search to further prefilter the results. For example, create an additional condition as follows:
- For field, choose State Abbreviation.
- For the filter operator, choose contains.
- For value, enter PA.
To link multiple conditions, use a logical operator to select whether all conditions or any of the conditions must be met. The logical operator for all conditions to be true is represented by AND. Choosing all conditions means that the results must match each conditioned criterion. The logical operator for any conditions to be true is represented by OR. Choosing any conditions means that the results must match at least one of the conditioned criteria.
Add conditions
To add conditions to a points of interest (POI) search, do the following:
- In the Points of interest (POI) search pane, click the Enter keyword, category, etc. field and click the Advanced search tab .
- Click + Add condition.
- Select a field to prefilter from the drop-down menu.
- Choose a filter operator from the drop-down menu.
There are different filter operators depending on the selected data source, the type of search (keyword, category, or code), and whether the field for prefiltering is text or numeric.
- Enter a value.
- Optionally, repeat the previous steps to create additional conditions.
- If you are using more than one condition, set the logical operator. Choose either All of the following are true or Any of the following are true.
- Click the Options button
and do either of the following:- Click Delete to delete the condition.
- Click Add to condition group to create a condition group.
- To reset your conditions, click Clear all.
- Optionally, to save the advanced search, click Save search. Name the search and click Save.
- To apply the advanced search, click Search.
Use condition groups
To create a more complex advanced search, use condition groups. Each condition group uses its own logical operator. Some condition groups may require that all of the conditions are true and others may require that any of the conditions are true. Furthermore, each condition group is logically related to one another. Either all condition groups are required to be true or any of the condition groups are required to be true.
- Click the Options button for a condition.
- Click Add to condition group.
A new group containing the existing condition and an empty condition appears.
- Select a field, choose a filter operator, and enter a value for the empty condition.
- To add conditions to the group, click the Options button and click Add to condition group.
- Use the logical operator drop-down menu to choose either All of the following are true or Any of the following are true.
- Optionally, repeat the previous steps to create additional condition groups.
Set preferences
You can set preferences for Business Analyst Web App in the app preferences. For the points of interest search workflow, you can choose a symbol for the search results and include industry descriptions in the results table. Administrators can set preferences for the entire organization.
To set the workflow preferences, do the following:
- On the app header, click My preferences .
The Preferences window appears.
- To set the default points of interest data source, expand the General section and click Settings. In the Points of interest data source section, use the Select data source drop-down menu to choose a points of interest data source.
- Expand the Maps section, expand the Create maps section, and click Points of interest search.
- By default, the preferences for the Points tab are shown. For points, you can set the following preferences:
- Use the Symbol drop-down menu to select or upload a symbol for search results.
- Use the Cluster points toggle button to turn point clustering on or off.
- Check the Include related POIs check box to perform a semantic search, returning attributes related to the search terms you entered. Semantic search is available only when your web browser language is set to English.
- In the Area of interest outline section, use the Color drop-down menu to select an outline color and width. Use the Transparency slider to adjust the color transparency.
- Use the Dialogs check box to show a warning when you click Clear all on POI search results.
- Click the Aggregation tab. For point data aggregation, you can set the following preferences:
- In the Fill color section, use the Color ramp drop-down menu to choose a color for the map fill. Use the Transparency slider to change the transparency of the fill style or enter a transparency percentage.
- In the Outline section, use the Color drop-down menu to choose a color for the map outline. Increase or decrease the width of the outline. Use the Transparency slider to change the transparency of the outline style or enter a transparency percentage.
- In the Area of interest outline section, use the Color drop-down menu to choose a color for the map outline. Increase or decrease the width of the outline. Use the Transparency slider to adjust the color transparency.
- In the Fill distribution section, click the Continuous or Classify tab. Use the Breaks slider to set the default number of data breaks. Use the Method drop-down menu to adjust the classification method.
- Use the Dialogs check box to show a warning when you click Clear results on POI search results.
- To restore the default settings, click Restore defaults.
- To save your changes, click Save or, optionally, click Save and close to close the Preferences window. To view your changes, refresh the app.
Workflow video
To see a video of the workflow, watch Use points of interest search in Business Analyst Web App.