Business Analyst Online: Make a Map

BAO can map where people with specific characteristics (e.g. age, number of people in their household, sports they play, etc.) live. It can also map business locations. To get started:

1. Sign into ArcGIS and open Business Analyst Online. See "How to Access" tab for more instructions.
2. Click on the “Maps” tab at the top of the page
3. Click on "Create Project"
   • If the "Maps" tab brings you directly to a map, click on the three bars menu icon on the top left (also called hamburger icon), and then click on "Create Project" and name your project.

1. Click on “Create Maps from Data”
2. Click on “Color-Coded Maps”
3. With the panel on the left, you can add any characteristics you want to look up:
   • If you want to see characteristics from one of these 6 variables, click an icon
   • If you want to see all possible variables, click “Browse all variables”
   • To choose customize variables (such as a specific age range), click on “Create a custom variable”. Note, not all variables can be customized.
   • Use the “Search all variables” text box to search for variables using key words, like “golf” to find people who watch golf on TV or play golf
4. When you find a variable you want to analyze, add it to the map
5. After a variable is added to the map, in the left tool bar, you can change the size of the groups to states, counties, zip codes, and more. You can also change the map's colors by clicking on the colored squares in the legend.
6. Zoom in to see data at a zip code, Census tracts, etc. level
7. Click on “Style” to change the map's colors and design
8. Click on "Data" to find a ranking of the counties, states, etc. 
9. Click on the "x" next to the variable you added to change the variable

Tapestry Segments

BAO also has segmentations called Tapestry which groups people and households based on their socioeconomic and demographic composition.

1. An easy way to find Tapestry segments is to use the “Search all variables” text box, searching for “Tapestry”
2. The segments are broken up by Adults (people 18 and older) and Households. Click on either the Adults or Households options.
3. Browse the list of segments and click on the segment you are interested in

You can map where certain businesses and facilities are located. 

1. Click on “Create Maps from Data”
2. Click on “Business and Facilities Search”
3. Enter a company name or keywords to search for a company with those words. For example, if searching for businesses with the word "burger" (e.g. Burger King, Back Yard Burgers, etc.), search for "burger". If searching for the restaurant Shake Shack, search for "Shake Shack".
   • Click on "More options" for advanced search capabilities
   • To search for business in a particular industry using NAICS and SIC codes, click on "More options" and search for the NAICS/SIC numbers
4. Click "Go" to execute your search
5. Refine your results by a particular business, location, industry, number of employees, and sales volume
6. Click "Next"
7. Customize your map and click "Save" to save your business search layer

You can add multiple layers of business locations, or use the color-coded map option to layer consumers' interests with business locations.