When a location is added into your SLP data set, you will see a message “Store Locator Plus wants you to know:” and the output of the Latitude and Longitude where Google thinks the location is.
For Example, I added Sydney Opera House and no street address, just name, the city and the country Australia:
“Google thinks Sydney Australia is at lat: -33.8674869 long 151.2069902”
Whether doing a bulk import or adding locations by hand there are times when you will see a “location uncoded” or “cannot geocode” error message. This is always the result of an address that was sent to Google that cannot be processed in their address location system.
You activated the Store Locator Plus base plug-in and followed all the instructions but when you visit your locator page no map is there.
Here are some common reasons why the map will not appear:
As of June 22, 2016 Google requires all new domains, sites to obtain a key. There are many options based on how often your locations are queried. There are instructions in the SLP documentation site , in the SLP User Interface under INFO. See Getting Started Guide. More recently, 2018, Google has introduced security measures requiring SSL certification (HTTPS) for sites that may want the search to locate their customers location. (Location Sensor)
The directory feature of the Power add on allows you to quickly build a directory-style listing on your pages to show a list of cities, states, or countries where you have locations.
The [slp_directory] shortcode used to build this listing can be combined with a landing_page attribute to quickly refer your site visitors to an interactive map showing your locations in the selected city, state, or country.
The find button text is most easily changed via the WPSLP Experience add on. or the MYSLP Professional or Enterprise level plan
You can easily create lists of the cities, states, or countries where you have locations by using the slp_directory shortcode provided by the Power add-on. Premier Subscription members can install the Premier Plugin to further extend the functionality of the slp_directory shortcode.
The Power add-on provides added functionality and features for large location lists, SEO management, and categorization of locations.
It also includes the ability to build simple text list directories of your locations via the [slp_directory] shortcode.
Store Locator Plus Radius Behavior is set to “always use” in the base plugin or Advance level subscription for SLP SaaS
For additional options you would need Professional level and /or higher for MySLP/SLP SaaS or the Experience add-on for the WPSLP plug-in which allows you to extend the functionality beyond the basic “Always Use” setting. This setting impacts how the radius selector is employed and how locations are filtered before being displayed to the user.
The map radius is set under the Settings /Search tab and the results (after search) is found under the Settings/Results tab”Initial Search radius”. The search radius selection options presented to the user in the drop down menu is set under the Settings / Search tab panel.
Tags are text labels that can be used as identifiers and can be added to any location if you have WPSLP (do it yourself) Power Add On, or with the Professional level subscription for MYSLP. It is a quick and informal way to add filters or for grouping features to your Store Locator Plus locations.
Settings for Store Locator Plus Tag Search are under the Settings/Search section when you have the Power Add On installed.
Turning On Tag Searching
Tag based searches are off by default. Set the Search Form Tag Input to something other than “none”.
You can set a custom label for the tag search input. By default the label is blank. Leave blank type in what you want to appear for the Search By Tag Label: entry
You can elect to have either a drop down or a text box input for users when filtering results by location tags. The default mode is to allow for free-form text input. To use the other methods you must enter a series of your tags separated by commas.
You can also provide an “any” selection which will search for all locations, in addition to the list of tags you enter on the drop down. Check off the “show any” setting and Store Locator Plus will automatically add the phrase “any” to the top of your search list.
