Org-Based Queries vs Location-Based Queries

When you’re setting up your Yodel Calendar plug-in, you’ll need to tell the system what events you want to display. That’s where queries come in. Queries are basically the rules you create to filter and pull in the right events.

There are two main types of queries you can build: organization-based and location-based. The type you choose depends on your goals and who you want to highlight.

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Organization-Based Queries

Organization-based queries are perfect for member-driven organizations—like a Chamber of Commerce, an association, or any group that only wants to feature their members’ events.

👉 When to use: If you only care about showing events from your members, and not from the broader community.

How to set it up:

1. Navigate to the Plug-In Manager and create a new plug-in or select the edit option of an existing one.
2. Go to Step 1: Event Rules.
3. Select “Add Group.”
4. Inside that group, click “Add Rule.”
5. Set your rule to: Organization equals [enter organization name]
   • Start typing the organization name, and matching results will appear.
   • If the organization doesn’t show up, that means it’s not yet in Yodel. (See our article on requesting an organization scrape for what to do next.)
6. Repeat this process for each organization you want to include.
7. Make sure the AND/OR setting is set to OR.

EXAMPLE:

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Location-Based Queries

If you’re not a member-based organization—say you’re a tourism bureau, city, or general event hub—then you’ll probably want to build rules based on location.

There are two ways to do this:

Option 1: Zip Codes

1. Create a Group.
2. Add a Rule: Zip Code equals [enter zip code].
3. Add additional rules for each zip code you want.
4. Set the AND/OR to OR.

EXAMPLE:

Option 2: Address + Radius

1. Create a Group.
2. Add two rules within the group:
   • Address equals [enter address]
   • Radius equals [enter mileage]
3. Set the AND/OR to AND.

EXAMPLE:

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Pro Tips

• Groups = Flexibility. Creating groups now makes it easy to add more filters later (like event categories or tags you want to include or exclude).
• Preview your work. Use the Event Preview option in the plug-in manager to make sure your rules are pulling in the right mix of events.